As the summer comes to a rapid close and the fall begins to creep in, the smell of football on the weekends is now as strong as the players themselves. The opening weekend for the NFL and collegiate sports is among us. All of the fantasy draft fans are doing their last minute lineups before each game kicks off every weekend — except for collegiate athletes.

For those who may not know, athletes that play in the NCAA are not allowed to gamble on other sports in the NCAA. This includes fantasy football within the NCAA. These regulations do not only restrict one from their sport, but for all sports the NCAA sponsors. If caught in a collegiate gambling case, one may be stripped of eligibility for all sports.

Student-athlete Neojoe Lughas said, “I usually join a few leagues, especially with college football. I think it’s better than the NFL, but since I am a dual sport athlete here I can no longer join.”

Collegiate athletes do not have the same problem when it comes to professional sports — they are allowed to join these fantasy leagues. However, it would be good to proceed with caution — do not jump into a money league if you do not take it seriously.

Some would call these leagues easy money, but others struggle from week to week. The easiest way to struggle is by not setting your league each week. This means from week to week, before your player takes the field, you must first make sure he is actually playing. Things like injuries and bye weeks must be checked often to ensure your player is competing that week. In addition, suspensions are becoming more relevant — another thing to keep up with.

At the end of each weekend, you go head to head with a team in your league. Your players rack up points depending on how good of a game they had, and at the end of the season, your record gives you a playoff seed and you play from there to find a winner. Usually first, second, and third place gets a prize, and anything after that loses money.

Fantasy drafts are known for their fun and innocent way of making money. Many people do these for fun, or join free leagues that do not cost or win money. Money leagues are in place to add a competitive edge between a group of friends (or random people) by testing their knowledge of professional or collegiate athletes.