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Posted 12/17/2008

UPA STATEMENT REGARDING THE RESULTS OF THE DEC. 13-14 COLLEGE RESTRUCTURE TASK FORCE MEETING

Over the Dec 13-14 weekend, seventeen individuals comprising the UPA College Restructuring Task Force met in Boulder, CO to develop potential structure(s) for the UPA Collegiate Series of the future.

The Architects

The Task Force was selected from approximately 40 applicants who responded to a call for candidates made via the UPA web site and RSD in October. By nature of their current or past affiliations (big and small schools, players and coaches, densely and sparsely-populated regions, etc.) or characteristics (established and newer programs, men and women), the group represented the vast majority of collegiate Ultimate players. Click here to view the members of the Task Force.

The Work

In preparation, the Task Force reviewed analysis of survey results from more than 7,000 respondents to understand what is important to current College players and other members. In conducting research on potential competitive structures, the group considered the models of 3 other sports in the US and Europe, existing competition structures for Ultimate in 2 other countries, and 9 hypothetical Ultimate models submitted by interested members.

The meeting involved the following portions:
•    Agreement on goals: For each major Series element, the group used survey data to  identify conditions that must be met by an agreed-upon proposed structure (e.g., allocation of bids to the post-season must be based on a combination of geographical and excellence of play)
•    Review of desired elements in alternative models: The group identified portions of various Ultimate and non-Ultimate structures that were attractive and might help the UPA meet the goals agreed upon
•    Drafting of high-level structures: The group worked on a total of 8 potential structures over 2 days, ultimately synthesizing and/or winnowing down to 2 final proposed structures, which are fundamentally different from each other in design. Each of these plans was developed with the Task Force’s goals in mind. The UPA’s final plan for College Ultimate (pending member feedback – see ‘Next Steps’ below) will be derived from one of these plans, or a combination of the two.

The Proposed Structures

Long-term plans
Since the two high-level structures created by the Task Force have several characteristics in common, the UPA is confident that these characteristics (many of which involve changes from the current UPA Collegiate Series approach) will be included in the final plan. The following conditions will be met for both men’s and women’s teams (though the details may differ between the two):

•    The UPA will sanction and/or run a series of high-quality regular-season multi-team tournaments that will have bearing on ‘post-season’ placement for one or more competition division
•    The UPA will require that all regular-season games that have significant impact on the post-season placement of a team are played with eligible players
•    The UPA Collegiate post-season will be split into 2 or more competition divisions, with opportunities for all college teams to participate in at least 1 division, thus allowing for more games per team at their level
•    Some bids to post-season play will be allocated to the top team(s) in each geographic region, while others will be purely strength based - excellence in play during the current season will play a key part in allocating bids
•    The UPA will administrate a post-season competition division in which teams from smaller schools (and possibly select others) can opt to compete against each other for a distinct championship
•    The UPA will crown a clear, unambiguous national champion in each division via direct competition
•    Any team will have the opportunity (pending fulfillment of rostering/eligibility requirements and excellence in play during the regular and/or post-season) to play for the National Championship in the highest competition division.
•    The benefits of observing, including potential enhancements, will be made available to more of the college post-season
•    In implementing changes to the College series, the UPA will be sensitive to the burden collegiate players bear in travel time and expense

The characteristics above will be part of the final structure voted on by the UPA Board in the 1st half of 2009, and implementation will begin in 2010.

Changes for 2009
There are also select changes to the current UPA Collegiate Series that will be implemented for the 2009 season. These changes are those that:
•    Can reliably be implemented in 2009 with sufficient advance warning for teams and organizers
•    Are consistent with the proposed structures above
•    In some cases have been requested/supported by a majority of surveyed collegiate members.

The Task Force is still finalizing the list of proposed changes to be implemented for 2009 (further detail needs to be finalized on a few items), and a draft list of 2009 changes will be submitted to the membership for feedback within 2 weeks. However, changes that are definite include:

•    The UPA will experiment with active travel calls and active up & down calls by Observers during select non-Series games in 2009. If well-regarded by Collegiate players, these active calls will be made available to participants in observed Series games in 2009
•    The UPA will take steps to improve Regional and Sectional tournaments in 2009 (e.g., amenities, information availability)
•    The UPA will seek to partner with the existing DIII Nationals tournament to ensure its continued success and eventual incorporation into the UPA series

The Next Steps – Timelines and where we need your help

Drafts of planned 2009 changes as well as two proposed Collegiate competition structures will be submitted to the membership for feedback on the following timeline:

•    2nd half of December: Proposed 2009 changes
•    Month of January: Two proposed high-level structures drafted by the Task Force

Based on feedback from the membership, the UPA will begin implementation of supported changes for the 2009 season as soon as possible. Additionally, given feedback on the two proposed ‘longer-term’ structures, a consolidated plan will be finalized by the UPA staff (with support from members of the Task Force) and voted on by the UPA Board of Directors before the end of the 2009 Collegiate season.

If you have questions about this article or the College Restructuring effort, please reach out to your Board representative or UPA Headquarters.

Best regards,

Mike Payne, President of the Board
Peri Kurshan, Vice-President of the Board
Sandie Hammerly, Executive Director
Will Deaver, Championships Director