By Timothy Jacques
For many aspiring young duellists, who may not like the long odds of amateur night, but don't have the cash to buy their own car, going to college on a duelling scholarship may put them on their way to fame and fortune.
The average college duellist is between 18 and 23, has proven himself in several amateur duels and tryouts, and meets the NACAA academic requirements. He's full-time student and must have a C+ average. Finally, he's an amateur - the NACAA dose not allow professionals!
Many colleges offer scholarships during the national "letter of intent day" held in February. Duellists selected choose which recruiting college they'll be attending, and make the necessary arrangements.
Even if he's not selected in the draft, most colleges have several position open for "walk-ons" (duellists who make the team without a scholarship). The best walk-ons can expect to be offered a 2-3 year scholarship later on. Scholarships cover tuition, room and board, and books, The NACAA also allows a $100 per month stipend for personal expenses.
The regular season runs from early April to late July. Teams compete against other teams within their conference twice while the rest of the schedule is played against non-conference teams and tournaments. This comes to roughly a 17-20 meet season, depending on how many tournaments a teams goes on.
The regular season meets are broken down into several events. These are one-on-one divisions (5-20), two-man team, five-man team and special event. The team that wins the best four-out-of-seven wins the match. The team matches very from division 5 to 20 - divisions are determined randomly by the NACAA before the season starts. The special event can be almost anything, as long as both sides agree and it doesn't violate NACAA safety rules. During tournaments, the NACAA furnishes the special event.
Tournaments are handled like high-school or college wrestling matches. The tournament is broken down into the same seven events and each school competes for points (3 points for first place finishes, 2 for a second, 1 for a third). The team with the most points wins the tournament. The Regionals are handled the same way, but the top two duellists or teams in each event are eligible to go to the NACAA championships. All schools in their respective conference are eligible to play in the Regionals.
The NACAA championships, held in September, are huge media spectacle. Prestige is doubled if you participate here. As a rule of thumb, the more players a school sends, the better their chances of winning. If a college is only able to qualify one or two, their chances aren't too good of winning the championship, but it's still a good way for roleplaying and developing character backgrounds. Example: You're the only duellist from your school to make it to the championships. All the eyes of your town are upon you! Such duellists can easily play the role of the spoiler.
There are several major differences between NACAA and AADA duelling. The NACAA established a strict safety code after the UN/OU incident in 2031. The safety rules fill volumes, but they can be narrowed to certain broad principles.
1) "The safety of the duellist comes first." This means that certain steps will be taken so that college duelling will not have the same high fatality rate as its professional counterpart.
A) No car may be over Division 20 (anything higher is just too dangerous).
B) Ramplates are forbidden! AADA statistics show that ramplates increase the chance of fatality by 65%. Ramming is not illegal, but is usually discouraged by NACAA coaches.
C) Body armor must be worn at all times. The NACAA furnishes impact armor and fireproof suits to all of its competitors. This dose not count toward the vehicle's division cost.
D) Anti-fire systems of some sort must be installed (at least a PFE).
E) Medics and medical transport must be at the arena at all times during an event.
F) Anyone who leaves his/her vehicle is off-limits and is automatically out of the event. The pedestrian is to proceed to the nearest safety zone or bunker. Hand weapons may not be used once out of a vehicle.
A team which takes or leaves excessive casualties during a season is subject to an NACAA investigation and possible disciplinary action. This is done to encourage additional safety measures, like roll cages and safety seats. It's also reason that rams and similar high-risk tactics are discouraged.
Surrendering in the NACAA is considered honorable, and the penalty to prestige is halved. Coaches can surrender one of their players, if they feel his safety is seriously jeopardized. Anyone firing on a surrendering vehicle or pedestrian will be disqualified and the school may be subject to a fine, suspension, or both. With these rules in effect, the injury and fatality rate is only 12% of the AADA's.
Getting the money for such a team can be challenge. Many colleges depend on ticket receipts, donations, endorsements and tournament purses for their main source of funding. Some have corporate sponsors, and some have the backing of a local AADA club or rich alumni. One of the many reasons for keeping the divisions low is to make it economically feasible for colleges to participate.
The benefits for the players are many. They can get relatively safe, yet high-profile start on their duelling career, allowing them to build a popular reputation in their region and get a professional sponsor. College also allows duellists to pick up many helpful skills, including mechanic, karate, medic and business skills. Their is a national draft held every January in New York, in which professional teams sign the nation's best college duellists. The average starting salary for a rookie professional fresh from the draft is $50,000.
College autoduelling can also be played like corporate Car Wars, with several people owning their own teams (this works best when there are four to eight players). Each player goes through his or her regular seasons in their respective conference, playing against the other teams. The referee can play the opposing forces, when players aren't playing each other. Other players can also play opposing forces besides their team. Players then go through the Regionals, trying to qualify as many of their duellists into the championships as possible.
The system will take a long time to finish, and should be treated like an on-going campaign. Each event in the Regional and championships must be played out. The referee can resolve bouts between two non-player cars with a single die-roll, modified by skills.
Good luck!
IVY LEAGUE CONFERENCE
Boston College
MIT
Yale
Army
Harvard
Syracuse
University of Maryland
Penn. State
ATLANTIC CONFERENCE
Richmond
West Virginia
University of Delaware
Virginia military Institute
University of North Carolina
Navy
Georgetown
SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE
University of Florida
University of Georgia
North Carolina ST.
University of South Carolina
University of Alabama
Georgia Tech
Mississippi University
University of Kentucky
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE
Notre Dame
University of Michigan
Michigan St.
Purdue
Ohio ST.
University of Wisconsin
University of Illinois
University of Indiana
BIG EIGHT CONFERENCE
University of Nebraska
University of Missouri
University of Kansas
University of Colorado
Air Force
University of Arkansas
University of S.D. at Bismarck
University of Minnesota
FREE OIL STATES
Oklahoma St.
University of Oklahoma
LSU
University of Texas
Texas A&M
Baylor
NW Louisiana Tech
Texas Christian University
WEST COAST CONFERENCE
UCLA
USC
Stanford
Oregon University
Washington University
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
University of San Diego
University of Cal-Berkeley
MOUNTAIN WEST
University of Arizona
Arizona St.
University of Texas at El Paso
New Mexico St.
University of Wyoming
Colorado St.
Montana-Nippon University
University of Pueblo
