In all cases, multi-year winning totals and percentages are calculated only for seasons at your current team. So if you changed teams two seasons ago, only the past two seasons count towards promotion or demotion. However, ranking criteria are measured only at the instant that the promotion/demotion determination is made. (This happens following conference tournaments, but before national tournaments in baseball and basketball. In football, it happens prior to conference championship games.) If you change teams, AutoGM will be set; you will likely want to clear this before the next season initializes.

In addition to promotion and demotion, a coach may elect to move to a new team in the same tier as his current team, with the limitation that the new team has a worse national ranking than the current team. This is most often done when a coach's alma mater or other personal favorite becomes available.

In keeping with the simulation of the college game, a move to a new school is treated as a job change, meaning that a coach moving will inherit whatever program is at the school instead of taking his old team with him. All changes are made during the off-week between seasons.

1. One full season, and currently ranked in top third of Tier III. A coach with less than a full season can be eligible for promotion with a sufficiently high ranking.
2. At least 1 1/3 full seasons, and currently ranked in top three-fourths of Tier III

Criteria for Promotion to Tier I:

1. Currently ranked in top third of Tier II
2. For ECHL, it is also necessary to have coached a full season and at least ten games of the previous season.

Criteria for Demotion to Tier II (must meet all three):

1. Four or more full seasons at your current school
2. Less than N wins over past four seasons (80 CMEL, 12 CCEL, 36 CBEL, 60 ECHL). Note that in ECHL, a draw counts as half a win.
3. Currently ranked in bottom sixth of Tier I

Criteria for Demotion to Tier III (must meet all of the three):

1. Four full seasons at your current school
2. Less than N wins over past four seasons (80 CMEL, 12 CCEL, 36 CBEL, 60 ECHL). Note that in ECHL, a draw counts as half a win.
3. Currently ranked in bottom tenth of Tier II

Occasionally a coach who has been in DEL will quit and later re-join. Generally this is done at the bottom tier, although the commissioner may allow a coach to join at a higher tier at his discretion. The CBEL (basketball) commissioner has posted the following criteria:

• Joining at tier 2: 100 career wins and at least a 0.500 winning average.
• Joining at tier 1: 300 career wins and at least a 0.650 winning average.

The CCEL (football) commissioner has posted the following criteria:

• Joining at tier 2: Any returning veteran CCEL coach may join directly at Tier 2 but will be required to select an open Tier 2 team outside the top 25% of Tier 2 teams in the standard rankings. In addition,any coach with 3 full seasons of pro football experience or any coach who has been a CCEL assistant for at least one full season may join at Tier II.
• Joining at tier 1: A returning CCEL coach with at least 125 career wins and a 0.650 winning average may rejoin the league at Tier 1. Further, a returning CCEL coach who had been promoted to Tier 1 and who has only been absent from CCEL for one season may rejoin the league at Tier 1. In addition, any coach who has been an assistant coach for the same Tier I school for the past three seasons can take over that school if the head coach moves to another school or leaves CCEL.

When two or more coaches request the same team, the commissioner will choose which coach gets the job. This decision is made at the commissioner's discretion. The CCEL (football) commissioner has posted the following criteria for making this choice:

1. A coach returning to a school they coached within the last 10 seasons
2. A coach who has the team listed as his "Dream Team" with the commissioner (more below) for at least two seasons and is first on the list for the team
3. Current Tier of the coach moving
4. All-time CCEL wins
5. Current CCEL coach rating
6. Coin flip

As a way of avoiding the big arguments over the plush coaching jobs in CCEL, alumni and other big time fans have a way to have an advantage should their dream jobs open up. Any CCEL coach (at any level) can e-mail the commissioner at any time with their "dream team", i.e. the coaching position he would most like to have in CCEL.

The following rules apply to dream teams:

1. Dream team requests are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Should a team open up, per normal league rules, the team must remain vacant for one full season. At the end of that season, the coach listed first for that team will have the opportunity to move to that team as long as their current team is ranked higher than the dream team they want to move to. If the first coach listed is not ranked higher than the dream team, the opportunity will go to the next coach in line who is ranked higher than the dream team. This ranking will be calculated by DEL Standard ranking on the day coaching moves are announced.
2. Listing a dream team does not limit you to changing to that team; it just gets you past one of the main tiebreakers should your team open up.
3. To award longevity, if a coach leaves the league, they will be removed from the dream team list. If the coach returns to the league and sends another email to the commissioner requesting a dream team, they will be added to the end of the list for that team.
4. Requesting a dream team automatically gives you first right when that team becomes available. It will be job of the commissioner to ensure that each coach is notified when their dream team becomes available. Upon confirmation that the coach wants to move to the dream team, the coach will be moved automatically.
5. You can change your dream team once every ten CCEL seasons. That will allow for people whose real life rooting habits change without letting someone game the system each year.