Sport Ultimate Ceased 2016 Continent North America Founded 2012 | Inaugural season 2013 No. of teams 8 Number of teams 8 | |
Country United States (7 teams)
Canada (1 team) Profiles | ||
Major League Ultimate (MLU) was previously one of two semi-professional Ultimate Frisbee leagues in North America, the other being the American Ultimate Disc League. However, league operations are currently suspended. It was composed of 8 member teams: 7 in the United States and 1 in Canada. It was formed in 2012, and began its inaugural season in April, 2013. The season concluded with championship games for the Western and Eastern divisions and a cross-divisional championship game. The most recent champions were the Philadelphia Spinners in 2016.
Contents
History
The Philadelphia Spinners left the AUDL at the end of the 2012 season after disagreements on how it was run. With the help of their staff, including former GM Jeff Snader, and a core group of individuals now referred to as the Founders, the MLU was created in 2012. On December 21, 2016, the league announced that its investors has pulled funding and that league operations would be suspended indefinitely.
Rules
The MLU used most of the standard rules of Ultimate, with multiple adaptations. Most of the adaptations are like those of the AUDL, from which the MLU originated. They play on slightly expanded fields, and double-teaming of an offensive player is allowed. Also unusual for Ultimate, although common in other sports and the AUDL (the other semi-professional Ultimate league), the MLU does use referees to make the calls. With time, more changes to the rules were applied by the MLU
While most Ultimate games use the Ultrastar disc, the MLU used a slightly different disc, whose design made it stay in the air longer, leading to more hucks, deep games, and skys.
Competition Format
The eight teams in the MLU were split into two conferences (East and West). During the regular season, each team played 10 matches (sometimes including cross-divisional matches). The top two teams from each division advanced to a conference final. The winners from these matches then advanced to compete in the MLU Championship match.
Media coverage
Highlights of the 2013 championship game were broadcast on Fox Sports 1 as part of an anthology show co-hosted by former NFL player Dhani Jones and Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley. ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 and SportsNation have also featured highlight clips from the MLU, bringing national attention to the league.
In 2016, all games were livestreamed on YouTube and through the MLU website.
Sponsorship
In 2013, Five Ultimate was the official uniform manufacturer for all eight teams.
For the 2014 season, Puma became the official jersey sponsor.
Since 2015, Canterbury has been the official jersey sponsor.
Executive Committee
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