FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2009

BOULDER, Colo. – The Ultimate Players Association, the National Governing Body for the sport of Ultimate in the United States, today announced that it is restructuring its collegiate competition for next season, including changes to the determination of regular-season rankings, team eligibility verification, and sectional and regional bid allocations for the 2010 UPA College Series; as well as introducing a Division III College Championship. The UPA includes nearly 15,000 collegiate student-athletes and more than 650 college teams across the country.

The announcement was made by UPA President Peri Kurshan (Boston), Chief Executive Officer Tom Crawford (Boulder, Colo.) and Managing Director, Competition and Athlete Programs Will Deaver (Boulder, Colo.) on behalf of the UPA College Restructure Planning Committee: Matthew Bourland (Boulder, Colo.), Jeff Kula (Columbus, Ohio), Gwen Ambler (Seattle), Lucy Barnes (Cambridge, Mass.), Adam Tarr (Denver) and Kyle Weisbrod (Atlanta).

“We are excited to announce this important step in support of the continued success and expansion of Ultimate at the college level,” said Crawford. “These revisions are the result of all-inclusive planning and discussion phases coordinated by the UPA and the collegiate community over the last 10 months, and directly align with the goals of our five-year strategic plan.”

All UPA College Team Representatives are invited to join a live online forum on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. ET (4 p.m. MTN), to be hosted by upa.org. UPA national office staff members will provide additional details about the collegiate restructuring plan and answer questions from forum participants.
To read a detailed description of the restructuring plan, please CLICK HERE. The UPA also will conduct a survey of the Ultimate community later this month to collect feedback on the 2010 college plan and two proposed future alternatives, which will impact additional changes at the college level beyond 2010. 

There are four primary components to the UPA college restructuring plan:

1. Improve determination of regular-season rankings.
All regular-season collegiate events will be required to be sanctioned by the UPA in order for the participating teams’ results to qualify for official regular-season records and standings. In an effort to make the regular season more meaningful, these sanctioned games now will be included in a new season-long rankings formula for all eligible teams to determine bid allocations for the 2010 UPA College Series. The 2010 regular season will run from Jan. 1 through March 28.

2. Establish enhanced eligibility verification for competing teams.
All competing teams will be required to participate in online game-results reporting and the delivery of official rosters to event organizers in order to be eligible for UPA-sanctioned college games and events. Only games at regular-season events between teams of eligible players will count toward the rankings formula. Each team will be required to participate in 10 eligibility-verified regular-season games to be included in the official end-of-season rankings.

3. Increase merit level of allocations for Sectional and Regional bids for the UPA College Series and Championships.
Sectional and Regional bid allocations for the UPA College Series and Championships will include new strength-based bids determined by individual team, sectional and regional performances during the regular season.

Each division of Regionals will be composed of 16 bids. The first 12 bids will be based on the ratio of participating teams between sections, with one automatic bid guaranteed to each section, as in the current system. The remaining four bids will be based on regular-season strength rankings.

The number of teams (20) per division advancing from Regionals to UPA College Championships will remain the same. As in 2009, there will be two automatic bids per region (eight regions) and four strength wildcards based on official regular-season rankings. No region may receive more than two wildcards (i.e., four total bids to UPA College Championships).

4. Create a Division III College Championship event to accommodate growth of the sport.
Beginning in 2010 the UPA will sponsor a Division III College Championship with a separate qualification process, for two divisions of 16 teams each: Open and Women’s. Teams from colleges/universities with a combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of less than 7,500 will be eligible. The 16 bids for each division will break down accordingly: one automatic bid for each of the eight regions; one additional bid from each of the four regions with the largest number of D-III qualifying teams; and four bids to the next-highest ranked teams regardless of region. A UPA-designated local organizing committee will host and operate the event. The UPA also will create a volunteer College Division III Coordinator position, to help facilitate the Division III College Championship event and regular-season qualification process.

The Ultimate Players Association (UPA) serves as the National Governing Body for the sport of Ultimate in the United States. The UPA is a non-profit organization headquartered in Boulder, Colo., and focuses foremost on the needs of its athletes while improving access to the sport and enhancing members’ overall experience. Founded in 1979, the UPA is one of the first flying disc sport organizations in the world and is also the largest, with more than 30,000 members and a national volunteer network. This year the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) named Ultimate the fastest-growing team sport in the nation. Internationally, the UPA is a member of the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), which is an affiliate of the General Association of International Sport Federations (GAISF) and the International World Games Association (IWGA). The UPA annually fields U.S. National Teams to compete at international events, including The World Games, which operates under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).