Buffalo Hunters
Current season, competition or edition: 2017 AUDL season
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| Sport | Ultimate |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Inaugural season | 2012 |
| No. of teams | 24 |
| Country |
United States (20 teams) Canada (4 teams) |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Dallas Roughnecks (1st title) |
| Most titles | San Jose Spiders (2) |
| Official website | theAUDL.com |
The American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) is a semi-professional ultimate frisbee league in North America. Between 2013 and 2016, it was one of two such leagues, the other being Major League Ultimate, which ceased operation on December 21, 2016. It was founded by Josh Moore in 2010 and its inaugural season began in April 2012 with eight teams. Regular season games are played during the months of April through July. The playoffs consist of division championships and culminate with a championship game in August.
AUDL players do not receive a regular paycheck for playing in the league. Instead, players receive a portion of gate receipts and an ownership interest in the team.
The first AUDL game was won by the Connecticut Constitution on April 14, 2012 over the Rhode Island Rampage by a score of 29 to 22, and the first goal was scored by Brent Anderson of the Constitution. The first championship was held on July 11, 2012 and was won by the Philadelphia Spinners by a score of 29 to 22 over the Indianapolis AlleyCats.
In the first season, the league consisted of eight teams broken into the Eastern and Western conferences. Jonathan 'Goose' Helton of the AlleyCats was named league MVP for the inaugural season. Helton, alongside Evan Boucher, Cameron Brock, Rob Dulabon, Dave Hochholter, John Korber, and Jake Rainwater were named to the first All-AUDL Team.
In May 2012, the AUDL announced its plans for expansion for the following season, including franchises in New Jersey, New York, and Boston. Owners of the Connecticut Constitution and Rhode Island Rampage contended that the Boston and New York franchises impinged upon their Territory Licensing Agreements, which specified a non-compete radius of 100 miles. Separately, the league compensated the Philadelphia Spinners for the encroachment of the New Jersey and New York franchises. Negotiations between the Constitution, the Rampage, and the league reached an impasse in early June and the franchises' owners threatened legal action. The league preemptively sued the owners on June 17. As negotiations wore on, the league (at least twice) offered various settlements to the owners of the Constitution and the Rampage, but those offers were rejected. On July 5, the Constitution suspended team operations due to legal fees, missing two games. The league then fined the team the maximum fine of $10,000 per game, which Constitution owner Bryan Ricci called “severe and excessive” and refused to pay. Both the Constitution and Rampage had games cancelled near the end of the season. The Constitution would have earned a playoff berth but were disqualified due to their unpaid fines and the Rampage advanced in their place, losing to the Philadelphia Spinners in the Division final.
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