D-III College Championships Wrap with Historic Sweep

The 2026 USA Ultimate D-III College Championships in Waukegan, Ill. concluded with the first ever sweep of both divisions. The Middlebury Pranksters pulled off dominant wins in both finals, with the men’s team finishing 15-7 over Carleton and the women’s team defeating Whitman 15-6, to bring home two national titles.

The event, which took place at Waukegan’s Greg Petry Sports Park from May 16-18, was co-hosted by USA Ultimate and Illinois Ultimate and was broadcast live via Ultiworld. Thirty-two games were streamed across the three day tournament, representing approximately 52 hours of live college ultimate coverage. 

In addition to the online streaming audience, many alumni, friends and family members attended to watch in person, which alongside the visiting teams brought in more than 1,200 visitors to the area. This is estimated to have generated $550,000–$650,000 in direct local economic impact through lodging, dining, transportation and other visitor spending.

This year’s event marked only the third time the D-III Championships have been hosted in the greater Chicago area, having previously taken place in Rockford, Ill. in 2015 and 2018. Illinois Ultimate, a USA Ultimate Tier 1 affiliate, worked closely with the City of Waukegan and local Convention & Visitors Bureau Visit Lake County to bring this event to a new site.

“Visit Lake County was proud to welcome USA Ultimate and the Division III College Championships to Waukegan for the first time,” stated Teresa Lewis, Director of Sales for Visit Lake County. “Events like this bring significant economic impact to our communities while showcasing Lake County’s outstanding sports facilities, hospitality partners and visitor experiences. We were thrilled to host student-athletes, coaches, families and fans from across the country and look forward to continuing our partnership with USA Ultimate to bring high-quality sporting events to the region.”

A Spirited Event

Spirit scores were close across both divisions, and good overall, with an average of 6.69 in the men’s division and 6.71 in the women’s. Team spirit scores are an essential part of the self-refereed aspect of ultimate and are assigned by opponents after each game. Scores ranging from zero to four are given in three categories: rules knowledge and use, fouls and body contact, and communication and conduct. A two is considered a good score in any category. Across both divisions, more than 88% of the scores given were two or higher. Team spirit scores are the combination of the scores received for all three categories, making six the baseline score, indicative of an average game.

The team Spirit Award winner for the men’s division was Claremont with a final average score of nine, and the women’s division award went to Macalester with an average of eight.

“The D-III College Championships are a great event with fantastic energy on and off the field,” shared Illinois Ultimate Director of Operations Jacob Nuxoll. “The athletes competing for a national title, alumni and fans who showed up to offer encouragement and support and of course the volunteers and staff who worked together to make this event happen, all showcased the mutual respect, dedication and collaboration that are part of what makes our sports community great.”

In addition to the Team Spirit Awards, the winners of the Donovan Award were also announced during the Championships. The annual Donovan Award is presented by Ultiworld and recognizes one men’s division and one women’s division player from D-III college ultimate. Award winners demonstrate skill and athleticism, uphold the principles of Spirit of the Game for themselves and their teammates and are also leaders off the field. Winners are selected by their peers based on their play and leadership throughout their college career. This year’s Donovan winners are Peter Mans (Middlebury) and Maggie Brown (Wesleyan). The other finalists are listed below.

Stat Leaders for the D-III event include Kaley Johnson (Kenyon) with 25 goals and Claire Lee (Macalester) with 38 assists. In the men’s division Anders Moody (Hillsdale) led with 23 goals and Theodore Barton (Bowdoin) with 36 assists.