Conference 1
A Detailed Breakdown
The Problem
The UPA College Division is not a perfect institution, and Board members and UPA staff alike are quick to acknowledge these deficiencies. The method for Championship qualification, based on strength of finish from the previous year similar to that used in the Club division, is a poor and much derided system. This necessary evil, however, is relatively easy, low-cost and objective to administer. The relatively meaningless regular season is similarly fiscally responsible, though it is barely regulated and difficult to market. UPA Strategic Planning initiatives seem to indicate a desire for a more NCAA-like, or at least more professionally run, competitive model. The grassroots UPA system, which is excellent and vital in many respects, is poorly equipped to the task of investing in a new College Ultimate paradigm.
What Cultimate Wants to Create
Simply put, Cultimate wants to make College Ultimate similar to an NCAA sport. Meaningful regular seasons, better publicity and tiered competition; a proposed plan which could potentially accelerate the development of the sport. This altruism is balanced with their entrepreneurial nature; Cultimate also wants to make money off a division which has been, in the past, almost completely run for the financial betterment of individual teams.
What Cultimate Offers
Since the swooping takeover of talent that occured when Centex virtually replaced Easterns (in 2004), Cultimate has shown that they can run excellent tournaments. In conjunction with team outfitter Five Ultimate, they surely have more and better contacts within the College Ultimate division than anyone has at any point in the history of the division (since it's inception with the UPA in 1984). They bring investment capital built over several years of tournament directing, and the time and effort investment needed for wholesale change.
Cultimate already has field sites, manpower, and investment for the 15 tournaments necessary for this effort. They also have a title sponsor in Five Ultimate that brings credibility, a worktime partner, and a "cool" brand association.
What Cultimate Needs to Make this Happen
First and foremost, Cultimate needs the top Open College teams to say yes. Without a preponderance of those teams, the attempt will not succeed, and Cultimate will have to make this decision prior to the beginning of tournaments, at the very latest. For an analysis of why a given team (in this case, Florida) would say yes to Conference 1, please see our short interview with Florida captain Brodie Smith.
Second, and very significantly, Conference 1 will be poorly run without a system for determining college eligibility. While one might think this would relatively simple, it is in fact a massive undertaking. The UPA spent a significant amount of money developing their relatively smooth online eligibility system, and has improved their system of determining eligibility through college registrar feedback. This is a huge task, and Conference 1 would either need to develop their own method, or find some way to work with the UPA.
Third, Cultimate would benefit from the legitimacy and legacy of the UPA brandname, or (for 2009) they would need the legitimacy of having held a successful Championship in 2008.
The UPA Position
It remains to be seen what action the UPA takes, as Cultimate has begun talks with UPA officials and Board members only in the last several days. Most notably, if the UPA were to eventually lose the revenue created by the College Series they would be likely forced to massively scale back operations. We lay out our opinions of the possible interaction between the UPA and Cultimate in Our Take.