ST. AUGUSTINE'S ATHLETICS

St. Augustine's is the first historically Black college or university to launch an ultimate program, formerly known as Ultimate Frisbee. The sport is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and is part of the 2028 Summer Games.

Saint Augustine’s is playing ultimate.

The Falcons will be the first historically Black college to field a team in the fall. Ultimate, formerly known as Ultimate Frisbee, is played with a plastic disc that can be thrown to a teammate in the opponent’s end zone for points. The sport, invented in 1968 by students at Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J., is played between teams of seven or five players.

Ultimate is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and will debut at the 2028 Summer Games.

St. Aug’s joins North Carolina, which won last year’s men’s and women’s collegiate national titles as well as a pair of professional teams in Durham whose games are nationally broadcast.   

“Ultimate fits in well with our club sports mission to introduce sports that are not traditionally part of the HBCU experience,” said Mark Janas, a professor in the Accreditation Council for Schools and Business Programs at St. Augustine’s and supervisor of virtual and club sports programs. “But we want to do more than introduce the sport. We want to contend for championships against other big-school brands in the area.”

Tryouts will be held this month and exhibition matches against local collegiate teams are planned for the fall. Tournament play will begin in spring 2023. Triangle Ultimate, a nonprofit that organizes leagues, tournaments, camps and clinics, will support the team with coaching and resources.

“The Triangle region has over 3,000 local ultimate players,” said executive director Tristan Green. “It is quickly becoming one of the best places in the world for ultimate Frisbee, with recent championships at the youth, collegiate, and adult club and pro levels.”
 

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