Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 23, 2026) – Last month teams from around the nation gathered in Rockford, Ill. for the exciting culmination of the 2026 college ultimate season. After Carleton beat Colorado in a semifinal rematch of 2025’s men’s division final, the stage was set for another Carleton attempt at a sweep. Last year, the Carleton men took home the national title, while the women’s team finished second in a one point loss to British Columbia. This year those places were reversed, with the undefeated Carleton women taking down British Columbia in a 2025 finals rematch, and Massachusetts triumphing over the Carleton men to win their first national title since 1986.
Both finals were broadcast live on ESPN-U, and plays from the college ultimate postseason were featured three times on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10. The College Championships generated excitement nationwide as USA Ultimate’s media partner Ultiworld streamed 62 games live throughout the tournament, and USA Ultimate’s social media platforms generated over 8 million views across all channels. All 40 competing teams were broadcast live at least once during the event.
The Championships, which took place May 22-25, generated significant local impact as well, with roughly 2,500 tickets purchased as spectators came to cheer on the best college teams in the nation. These spectators — plus the visiting athletes, team personnel, event staff and volunteers — are estimated to have contributed approximately $2.2 million in total economic impact to the local community.
“Hosting a National Championship event was a great win for our local community,” said Illinois Ultimate Director of Operations and tournament director Jacob Nuxoll. “Getting to showcase the best of college ultimate in Chicagoland helps to elevate the profile of both our organization and our sport locally. Both USA Ultimate and Go Rockford were great to work with and helped make the process of hosting an event of this caliber go smoothly. Roughly 60 individuals came out to volunteer for the event, doing everything from scorekeeping and stats recording to keeping water stations stocked and staff fed, many giving up their entire weekend to support this event. I’m proud of the way our local disc communities came together from across the greater Chicago area, and hope to bring more events like this here in the future.”
This year’s event also saw the return of the annual college Color of Ultimate showcase game, which was broadcast live on the final day of the tournament just prior to the women’s championship match. Two mixed gender teams faced off for a fun and spirited game highlighting players of color from across more than 20 college teams.
Awards
The winners of the 2026 Callahan Award were announced in separate ceremonies during semifinal play Sunday, with the award going to Mika Kurahashi (British Columbia) in the women’s division and Zeke Thoreson (Colorado) in the men’s. Kurahasi and Thoreson were each selected by their peers, finishing ahead of the other finalists as the players who best represent not only superior skill and athleticism, but also demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship, leadership and dedication to the sport of ultimate
Team Spirit Awards for the College Championships went to Cal Poly in the men’s division and Vermont BRuckus in the women’s. Vermont took home the Team Spirit Award once previously, in 1987 — the first year there was a women’s division at the College Championships. Interestingly, the Cal Poly men’s team also took home the spirit award that year, then again in 2019 and 2024, making this their fourth win. Team Spirit scores overall were lower than typical in the women’s division, although above average in the men’s — particularly in bracket play which have historically been games with lower spirit scores assigned.
Stat Leaders for the tournament were Mina Brown (Tufts) with 25 goals, Chloe Hakimi (Carleton) with 42 assists and Freya Spiekerkoetter (Stanford) with 23 blocks, all in the women’s division. Men’s division leaders were Sarek Mallareddy (Carleton) with 20 goals, Tobias Brooks (Colorado) with 24 assists and Logan Piercy (Penn State) with nine blocks.
Fueling the Future
The Ultimate Foundation’s 2026 College Championships Fundraising Challenge ran alongside the tournament, encouraging alumni, family and fans to make donations in the name of their school. Contributions were made in the name of 45 different colleges with over $5,500 being raised across the duration of the campaign. Funds raised by The Ultimate Foundation help fuel the future of ultimate by directly supporting USA Ultimate programs to foster access, grow youth ultimate and invest in local communities.
