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History of American Ultimate Disc
The sport of ultimate originated in the fall of 1968 when a student at Columbia High School in
Maplewood, New Jersey named Joel Silver proposed his idea of a new sport to the student council.
Silver had learned about the sport from an instructor, Jared Kass, at Mt. Hermon summer school earlier
that year. The next year, the first game was played between students and the sport quickly took off
from there.
Within a few short years, the first collegiate game took place in 1972 between Rutgers and Princeton.
Coincidentally, the two schools played the first game of ultimate on the same ground that the first
collegiate football game was played on exactly 103 years prior, with the result being the same — a twopoint victory for Rutgers.
Throughout the decade, the sport grew from its East Coast beginnings and soon spread across the
United States. By 1973, 23 colleges had ultimate Frisbee teams; and two years later, Yale University
hosted the first organized championship tournament. Nearly a decade later, the first College Nationals
were held in 1984, with Stanford crowned the winner.
As the number of college and club teams grew, organizing bodies were formed to oversee play. The
Ultimate Players Association (later renamed USA Ultimate) was established in 1979 to oversee play in
the United States, and has been a leader in growing the sport and organizing tournaments throughout
the country. Due to the sport’s growing popularity internationally, the European Flying Disc Federation
(EFDF) was formed in 1981. EFDF went on to form the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) to be the
international governing body for disc sports. In 2001, ultimate was included as a medal sport for the first
time at the WFDF World Games in Japan and is presently being considered by the International Olympic
Committee as an Olympic sport for the 2020 games.
Ultimate has consistently been among the fastest growing sports in the United States over the past
couple decades and the fastest growing over the last 4. In just over 40 years, the sport now boasts over
five million Americans, both male and female, who play the sport at least once per year. That growth set
the stage for ultimate’s next step: professional ultimate. Founded in 2012, the American Ultimate Disc
League (AUDL) was formed with the mission to increase the visibility of one of North America’s fastest
growing sports by creating fun, family-friendly events that showcase the sport being played at its highest
level. The AUDL has grown from 8 original teams to now include 25 teams throughout the United States
and Canada. In 2015, the AUDL will host 182 regular season games across four divisions.
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