RMFL 2008 KICK-OFF MEETING: A NEW ERA FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAINFOOTBALL LEAGUE

MEETING DATE CHANGE ANNOUNCED: February 1st – 2nd

 

DATE: Friday, February 1st, 2008

TIME:  6:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

DATE: Saturday, February 2nd,  2008

TIME:  9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

 

PLACE: Best Western Cottontree (1415 Bench Rd); Pocatello, Idaho (east off Pocatello Creek Road Exit, exit I-15 to Bench Road./turn left)

RSVP: Space is limited. Each team is limited to NO MORE than 2 representatives each.

 

POCATELLO –  In 2006, the RMFL went to a AA/AAA format for its ever-growing slate of teams

 

In 2007, the RMFL added a “live scoreboard” for game day Saturday’s and re-formatted the league meeting into a two-day event.

 

2008 brings but further change and growth into the Rocky Mountain Football League as it enters its 12th season ; there will be new league commissioners taking office for the first time since January of 2001.

 

Former league Head of Officials, Dave Sire, will take over the reigns of the AAA level division which is expected to include defending champion, Rhino-Raiders as well as Cache Valley, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Salt Lake, Utah Heat, the Muddogs (Shock), new addition, AA Champion, Bitterroot and the Utah Wolverines.

 

The Utah Wolverines long-time, well-respected GM, Ed Cerise, in addition to keeping his finger on the pulse of his AAA franchise, will also pilot the AA Division of the RMFL as Commissioner.

 

Cerise will inherit returning franchises, Idaho, Snake River, Magic Valley, Morgan, Bear River Valley, Vipers, Glacier, Missoula, Great Falls and Missoula. He will also likely pick up Boise, who went winless in the AAA in ’07 and have an array of new teams applying.  Teams are expected to apply from Grand Junction, Colorado, Ogden, Utah, Logan, Utah, Vernal, Utah, and Bozeman and Havre, Montana.  Cerise may be looking at 15 or 16 AA teams with the RMFL potentially expanding to as many as 26 teams by the end of the evening on February 1st.

 

The February 1st start date represents a one-week shift backwards from the originally scheduled weekend (January 25th and 26th) as the hotel availabilities in the usual geographical center of the RMFL, Pocatello.

 

2008 continues the mode of adjusting to the changing times as the two meetings in one will, once again, take place over two sessions on consecutive days; a Friday evening session on February 1st  and a Saturday morning session on Saturday, February 2nd .

 

League Commissioner, Jared Neumeier, noted that when the kick-off meeting was conducted over a full single day (previous to 2007),  it “really wore at members of the managing board and it seemed to him that decisions became hastily made later in the day as representatives became agitated and anxious to ‘get it over with’”.

 

Big issues for the 2008 meeting, besides the usual key issues of structuring, scheduling and setting up the league for 2008, will be some policy changes and procedure changes as each commissioner implements his “own way” of doing what Jared Neumeier has been doing for the past 7 years.  Further, even more than usual discussion will be centered around the “game rules” and new league policies when it comes to “conduct towards officials” as the league attempts to head off potential problems arising from game treatment of officials in all of the RMFL areas.

 

“For a long time,”Neumeier added, “ it seems that certain coaches and players have felt that since this isn’t high school or college football, we don’t have to treat officials with the same amount of respect.  This is an attitude that has GOT to change if this league is to continue.  Officials don’t always get the call right and can be confused by the rules we give them… which we will address as well.  But we don’t pay these guys near enough for the type of behavior some of them have had to deal with.  New policies and rules will be put into place in 2008.  It will mean that guys (some players AND coaches) will have to learn to control their behavior or they will not be participating in the Rocky Mountain Football League.”


Neumeier will also be addressing several new “Staff” changes.  Besides the Commissioner, Sire and Cerise, Randell Silcox will be attending his first meeting as the league’s new “Head of Officials”.  The Meeting will address Marketing status, currently under RMFL Marketing Director, Ken Perkins and a new League Web Master may be unveiled as well.  “We could have a staff of 8 in 2008,” Neumeier conjectured, “that doesn’t even count anyone the Ed Cerise or Dave Sire bring into their divisions to share that work.”

 

For the second straight year, Neumeier will be using some carry-over funding to fund a pizza dinner for the Managing Board prior to the Friday night session.

 

MEETING AGENDA

NOTE: Whenever possible, every effort will be made to close issues sooner than allotted times to keep meeting ahead of schedule. Discussions will be kept topical and "to the point".

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST  (SESSION ONE)

 

I.                   5:45 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. - Social Gathering Time – Pizza Dinner

 

II.                6:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Introductions and Announcements (Jared Neumeier)

 

III.             6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. New team Presentations (5 – 10 minutes each)

 

IV.             7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.- Closed discussion/approval of new teams (Managing Board)

 

V.                Break – 8:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. – LEAGUE FEES DUE DURING BREAK

 

VI.             8:15 p.m. – 8:35 p.m. 2008 League Structure/Ratification of AAA/AA Teams (Jared Neumeier)

 

Split Groups (AA and AAA)

 

VII.          8:35 p.m. – 9:10 p.m. Schedule Discussion/Validation (Dave Sire/Ed Cerise)

 

VIII.       9:10  p.m. – 9:30 p.m. – Playoffs, All-Star Game, Final Date Validation (Dave Sire/Ed Cerise)

 

Combined Groups

 

IX.             9:30 p.m. – 9:45  p.m. - Budget Review/Approval (Jared Neumeier)

 

X.                9:45 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Marketing Presentation (Paul Erman)

 

XI.             10:00 p.m. – 10:45 p.m. – GAME RULES – Player/Coach Behavior Policy/Rules/Enforcement (Randell Silcox)

 

XII.          10:45 (or earlier) – Close Session

 

 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND  (SESSION TWO)

 

Split Groups (AA and AAA)

XIII.       9:00 a.m. - Session II Begins: (distribute League Handbooks including season schedule)

XIV.       9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. - Roster Rules, Procedures, Restrictions, Dates and Deadlines (team preview input) (Dave Sire/Ed Cerise)

XV.          9:40 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. - Home Team Requirements: Field Set up Lockers/changing room Officials Programs Chain crew, scoreboard operator, statistician Flags, National Anthem Other (Salt Lake/Ogden officials payment deadlines/penalties) – PENALTIES/POLICIES/PROOF – Visitor Locker Room/Sideline violations (Dave Sire/Ed Cerise)

XVI.       10:30 a.m. – 11:15  a.m. – Statistics Gathering & Reporting (Dave Sire/Ed Cerise)

a.       Deadlines and Penalties Cross-check validation

b.      Pre-season Preview information Gathering

XVII.    11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Break

Combined Groups

XVIII. 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 a.m. - All-Star/MVP Selection Process (30 min.) (Dave Sire/ Ed Cerise)

a.       Coaches nomination Process

b.      Composition Guidelines

c.       MVP balloting (by division)

d.      Coach of the Year

e.       GM of the Year

 

XIX.       12:15 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. – New Player Movement Rule – Changes, proposals, clarifications (Jared Neumeier)

XX.          Open Agenda 12:45 – 1:00 p.m. (Jared Neumeier)

XXI.       1:00 p.m. Close