In addition to being a well known recreational game for students on the quad, the sport of Ultimate (Frisbee is technically a brand name of discs) has a small but extremely passionate competitive following. Most large colleges and universities have school teams that compete as non-NCAA club sports during the spring, and there are clubs in many metro areas that compete in the fall. Oregon has a long history with the sport as Henry Callahan (whom the Callahan Award, the ultimate equivalent of the Heisman
is named after) founded both the university men’s team and the Eugene area club “Darkstar.”
Both the Oregon men “Ego” and women “Fugue” are some of the most successful programs in USA Ultimate D-I, each claiming a national title though only the women have won it (multiple times) in the current post-season format. In 2026 both have again made it as far as the national tournament which will be held this weekend in Rockford, IL. Both men’s and women’s competitions consist of 20 teams organized into 4 pools. Teams play a round robin (4 games total) in the pool stage on Friday and Saturday. First place teams in each pool will automatically advance to the quarterfinals, while 2nd and 3rd place teams will play an extra pre-quarterfinal match on Saturday to advance. The quarter and semifinal rounds take place on Sunday with the championship matches set for Monday (Memorial Day).
Select games will be shown on YouTube and both championships will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Men’s Pool A
Oregon Ego
The Ego has cause to be a bit inflated this year coming in as the number one overall seed in the tournament. They dominated a typically very competitive Cascadia Conference going 32-3 on the season. The only losses were a pair of 15-14 decisions against #3 Carlton College and a 13-11 loss to #9 Pittsburgh. Oregon already has victories so far against many of the teams in the national tournament including #2 Colorado and #4 North Carolina. Most importantly Ego went 5-0 against #7 Oregon State and 3-o versus #15 Washington. There usually isn’t a big gap between the top 4-8 teams at nationals, it is all about who gels and plays their best when the lights are brightest, but this is one of the best chances Oregon has had in years for their first title since 1992.
UC Santa-Cruz Slugs
The Slugs of Santa-Cruz are the #8 seed boasting a 28-7 record on the season. Aside from a single 12-10 loss in their first weekend of competition against Victoria (Canadians get to play too, it’s an inclusive sport) UCSC’s only losses are to other teams who made it to nationals. They swept the NorCal conference tournament against big name programs UC Berkeley, Stanford, UC Davis, and San Jose State. They defeated Stanford twice at regionals with their only loss coming to #6 Cal-Poly SLO. Ego defeated the Slugs 15-11 back on March 1.
Texas TUFF
The #12 squad from Austin had a winning record at 20-12 on the season but mostly struggled with the best teams on their schedule. They do boast a pair of wins over #9 Pittsburgh and blowout victory against #13 Georgia Tech. They dominated the Texas Conference but came in second in the South Regional after a close 12-10 loss to #2 Colorado. The TUFF will need to be at their toughest to advance far beyond pool play. Oregon defeated Texas 13-6 in their only meeting this season on March 28.
Georgia Tech Tribe
A Tribe Called Tech comes in at #13 with a 22-9 record against a poorly regarded schedule. Georgia Tech dominated the Southeast Region but their seeding was pulled down by early season losses against middling teams and non-competitive performances against their best competition at the Easterns Tournament back in March. With that said they have beaten UCSC, Pittsburgh, Brown, and Texas all of whom made it to Nationals. The Tribe failed to humble the Ego when they met back on March 28 losing 12-7.
Utah Zion Curtain
The Salt Lake City squad is 19-13 heading into this weekend and boasts no wins over any other team at the national tournament. They snuck into nationals by finishing 5th at the Northwest Regionals thanks to a pair of victories against British Columbia. The same tournament also featured the one time they faced Oregon, a game they lost 15-11.
Women’s Pool C
UC Santa-Cruz Sol
Sol’s regular season demonstrates the sharp divides the top seeds on the women’s side. #3 UCSB lost their only meeting with undefeated #1 Carlteon College 13-7, but went 1-1 against #2 British Columbia and 5-1 against #4 Stanford. Unless Carleton falters the tournament may be mostly about who comes in second but Sol is a heavy favorite to make it to at least the semi-finals.
Tufts EWO
The small New England school didn’t have the opportunity to play as many games as some of their peers but made the most of their opportunities with 19-2 record that included victories over #10 Oregon, #7 North Carolina, and #16 Vermont. Seeded #6 EWO’s only losses were close at 15-12 game against #1 Carleton and a 13-12 rematch with UNC. Anyone who can stay within single digits of Carleton this year has an outside shot as a Cinderella story.
Oregon Fugue
Our-ladies-of-the-disc are an unusual case this season as they boast a losing record to this point at 17-18. A third place finish at the Northwestern Regionals secured a national tournament bid. Their relatively high seeding at #10 is a result of an extremely difficult schedule that included multiple meetings with #1 Carleton, #2 British Columbia, #5 Washington, #8 Colorado, #11 Western Washington, and #13 Victoria. The team has been inconsistent this season but wins over Western Washington, Colorado, and a close 10-8 loss to British Columbia in the last two months show they have the potential to pull an upset or two.
UC San Diego D-Co
UCSD could be forgiven for thinking they were seeded too low at #15. Their schedule didn’t include nearly as many marquee matchups as Oregon’s but they have a winning 19-15 record. One of those wins was over Fugue in the teams’ only meeting this year, and they also scored a victory against Western Washington. D-co couldn’t make a dent against other higher seeded teams when they faced them earlier in the year though.
Toronto Torontula
The sole Canadian team in Oregon’s pool is a curious case in that they are undefeated, but only 12-0 against an extremely weak schedule. In a region that has few teams and no doubt struggling with travel costs as a club squad, #19 Toronto only competed at two events all year: their conference and regional tournaments. They did all they could and swept their opponents to make it to nationals. Torontula is the equivalent of a #68 (#76 now?) seed in the basketball tournament. They could take someone by surprise but if they make it to the championship bracket Disney will need to get the rights ASAP.
