Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO — BYU has an ultimate Frisbee team, and the Cougars are ranked No. 16 in the nation with a 19-11 record in the popular club sport.
But the students won’t be allowed to compete at the national tournament.
USA Ultimate, the sport’s governing body for intercollegiate athletics, informed BYU coach Bryce Merrill this week that the tournament, which plays Saturday and Sunday, will not schedule around BYU or any other school with religious qualifications regarding Sunday play.
“We indicated to coach Merrill on Monday that there are no plans to deviate from the 2016 college guidelines, which were published roughly six months ago,” USA Ultimate director of communications Andy Lee told ultiworld.com. “This means that if BYU were to earn the Northwest Region bid to this year’s national championships, that bid would indeed remain in the Northwest Region. Furthermore, if BYU is knowingly unable to finish regionals, they unfortunately cannot participate.”
As the charter institution of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, none of BYU’s intercollegiate, intramural or extramural athletic squads compete on Sunday.
Pre game pic.twitter.com/CvOk0I1144
— BYU CHI Ultimate (@BYUCHIUltimate) February 13, 2016
This is not the first time a BYU team has had issues with its regulations regarding Sunday play. As far back as 1958, the BYU baseball team rejected an automatic berth in the College World Series because the tournament would have required the Cougars to play on Sunday. The Cougars had an automatic bid to the tournament, but gave it up to 20-8 Northern Colorado (then known as Colorado State College), which lost to BYU 4-3 in District Seven play that year.
Since then, the NCAA has adopted special rules for religious-affiliated schools such as BYU to allow them to compete for postseason championships without playing on Sunday. The men’s basketball selection committee, for example, always seeds BYU in a regional that plays on Thursday/Saturday when the Cougars are eligible for a berth in the tourney.
Ultiworld.com Report
No Postseason Accommodations For BYU; Any Earned Bid Will Stay With Northwest
BYU’s men’s ultimate team will not be accommodated with scheduling changes during the 2016 USA Ultimate Series, Ultiworld has learned.Coach Merrill told ultiworld.com the school will respect USA Ultimate’s decision due to the “condensed timeline” for the ruling.
“If there is any frustration, it’s with the current process for suggestions and changes through USA Ultimate,” he added. “We hope that there is an added degree of transparency and communication on this.”
The BYU rugby team successfully lobbied the sport’s governing body to compete in 2004 to change the college championships to a Friday-Saturday formation in order to avoid a potential lawsuit.
Merrill did not rule out potential legal action in the future, but hopes the decision doesn't necessitate such requirements.
“We are confident that we will be able to have a positive discussion and come to an agreement,” he told the website. “We haven’t taken anything off the table and we are considering all options, but we look forward to working through their processes first.”
