USA Ultimate Teams To Gather In Round Rock For Championship Play

ROUND ROCK, TX — This news is ultimate, quite literally. The nation's top 40 college Ultimate teams are scheduled to convene in Round Rock this weekend for championship play.

According to USA Ultimate, the sport combines the non-stop movement and athletic endurance of soccer with the aerial passing skills of football. A game of ultimate is played by two teams with a flying disc on a field with end zones, similar to football. The object of the game is to score by catching a pass in the opponent's end zone.

The sport will be dramatically illustrated in Round Rock this weekend, when the top 40 college teams will gather at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex for the three-day Ultimate Division I College Championships tournament taking place May 24-27. The event is hosted by Ultimate Players League of Austin and the Round Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau in association with USA Ultimate. This year marks the first time the USA Ultimate College Championships have returned to Texas since 2003 when the event was held in Austin, organizers noted.

The sporting event is the latest to be staged in Round Rock, helping to further its self-branded identity as the "Sports Capital of Texas." The claim was significantly buttressed last year, as the city hosted five national tournaments at its ample sports venues. The USA Ultimate gathering is the latest feather in the city's cap in furthering its reputation as a sports destination, officials suggested.

Related story: Round Rock 'Sports Capital of Texas' Reputation Grows With Events

"Hosting the 2019 USA Ultimate Division I College Championships this weekend is a thrill for the city and yet another nod to the versatile appeal of the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex,” Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to welcoming Ultimate fans and competitors from around the country to our state-of-the-art sports facility and to our community."

More than 750 teams across the country competed this year to qualify for the USA Ultimate Division I College Championships, officials noted, with only 40 teams moving forward to play in the elite postseason finals. The 40 victorious teams — 20 female and 20 male — will descend upon Round Rock for a highly competitive elimination bracket-style tournament culminating in the finals championship competition on Monday, May 27. Each team will vie for a chance to emerge victorious over the No. 1 seeded University of North Carolina.

“We’re thrilled to bring the 2019 USA Ultimate College Championships to the Sports Capital of Texas and showcase the sport’s top student-athletes to current and future fans of ultimate,” Andy Lee, Managing Director of Marketing, Communications & Brand for USA Ultimate, said in a statement. “The atmosphere will be phenomenal – particularly with UT qualifying two teams. The up-close and intimate field-side access during the first couple of days, combined with the energy of a full stadium and national TV coverage on Sunday and Monday is unlike anything else in college sports.”

Added Chad McKenzie, City of Round Rock Sports Management & Tourism Director: “Our state-of-the-art facility features beautiful playing fields ideal for the sport of ultimate. The 2019 USA Ultimate College Championships is exactly the type of event the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex was built for and we look forward to providing these talented athletes and their fans a first-class environment for a weekend of exciting competition.”

ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIPS DETAILS

WHEN: Friday, May 24 - Monday, May 27
Full tournament schedule can be found here.
WHERE: Round Rock Multipurpose Complex
2001 N. Kenney Fort Blvd., Round Rock
in the Sports Capital of Texas!
SEEDING AND BRACKET SCHEDULE
Men’s schedule and seeding can be found here.
Women’s schedule and seeding can be found here.

TEXAS TEAMS COMPETING

The University of Texas will compete in both the men’s and women’s championships. UT women’s team, Texas Melee, is seeded 9th overall and Texas Tuff, UT men’s team is seeded 11th overall. Both have previously finished as runners-up but have never won the championship.
UT Schedule:

• Melee: 8:00am Friday v. Cornell; 12:00pm Friday v. Wisconsin; 8:00am Saturday v. Carleton College; 12:00pm Saturday v. Dartmouth (rematch of 2017 title game).
• Tuff: 12:00pm Friday v. Michigan; 4:00pm Friday v. Iowa State; 10:00am Saturday v. Brown; 2:00pm Saturday v. NC State.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS

• Saturday, May 25 at 9:00 a.m. - Free “Learn to Play” clinic for kids 18 and under, led by elite Ultimate players. Sign up and more info here.
• Sunday, May 26 - Awarding of the Callahan Award (season-long MVP award) in both the men’s and women’s divisions.

TICKETS
General admission and premium seating tickets are on sale now. General admission one-day passes are $15 and premium seating one-day passes are $40. Weekend packages are also available.

Ticket information is available here.

PARKING
Free onsite parking is available at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex.

BROADCAST AND LIVE COVERAGE
The finals competitions on Monday will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

Additional live tournament coverage will be broadcast on ESPNU, ESPN3, the WatchESPN mobile app, TSN, TSNGo. Live updates will also be provided on USA Ultimate Facebook page, YouTube page and Twitter.

For complete information on teams, tournament schedule, and tickets visit collegechampionships.usaultimate.org.

ABOUT USA ULTIMATE

USA Ultimate is the National Governing Body for the sport of ultimate in the United States. Through hosting programs and events, the USA Ultimate organization works to fulfill its mission to advance the sport of ultimate in the United States by enhancing and promoting character, community, and competition.

ABOUT ROUND ROCK MULTIPURPOSE COMPLEX

Located within Old Settlers Park, the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex is a $27 million state-of-the-art sports venue that enables Round Rock to host many new types of events, such as lacrosse, soccer, rugby, ultimate frisbee, flag football and more. The 60-acre sports complex features a championship field with natural grass, another championship field with synthetic turf, four multipurpose fields with natural grass and four with synthetic turf, and Musco sports lighting on all 10 fields. Spectator amenities include permanent seating with shade structures for 250 people on each of the championship fields, plus options to add portable seating. The complex also has more than 900 parking spaces and a clubhouse with meeting rooms overlooking the fields. Additional amenities for families include plazas, pavilions, playgrounds and more.
For more information, visit www.roundrockmpc.com.

ABOUT ROUND ROCK SPORTS TOURISM

The Round Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, a division of the City of Round Rock Sports Management and Tourism Department, promotes Round Rock as The Sports Capital of Texas for youth, amateur and recreational sports to tournament and meeting planners across the nation. A central location in Texas, unique shopping opportunities and an abundance of tournament-ready fields, courts and courses are helping Round Rock quickly become the top choice for planners when selecting a location for their next big event. Here’s to Round Rock: a great place to visit and a great place to play. Game on!

For more information, visit GoRoundRock.com.