About magnUM

Who are We?

We an intensely competitive and extremely athletic intercollegiate men’s team that plays the sport of ultimate. Since there is no varsity ultimate yet, we are a University of Michigan club sport and the highest level of ultimate at U of M. We regularly travel around the county (in a typical year we go to Georgia twice, Missouri, North Carolina, Florida for spring break, Texas, and several other exotic locales) to compete against the best teams from all over the nation. Any full-time graduate or undergraduate student at the University of Michigan is eligible to play.

No Experience Necessary

Experience with the sport of ultimate is not necessary to try-out for or make the team. In fact, well over half of our current players had no previous ultimate experience before making the team. We’ll teach you the rules, plays, strategies, how to throw, and the fastest way to drink liquids from discs. The only thing you need to be is athletic.

Time Commitment

This issue worries many prospective players and few current ones. The bottom line is that being on the team takes time, but it is way more than worth it. Many players have found that being on the team actually helps them stay more organized and on top of their school work. The team consists of students from all sorts of academic concentrations (English, economics, engineering, architecture, urban planning, etc.) and levels (undergrads, masters students, and PhD candidates). We practice twice a week and travel to 2-3 tournaments in the fall. In the winter we practice 3 times per week indoors (we get access to the football team’s practice field) and travel to 3-5 tournaments. Once spring comes we really kick it into gear as it is playoff time, known as the “College Series.” We practice approximately 4 times per week and do team distance runs, throwing sessions, and track workouts. With all that said, school still always comes first. Classes and tests take precedence over all things ultimate.

The Benefits

This could be endless, but here is a brief list:

  • Continue playing competitive sports at a high level.
  • Learn a new sport that you will (guaranteed) love.
  • Meet a whole new group of cool guys.
  • Get to travel all over the country. It’s pretty awesome to head to Texas or Georgia for a weekend when it’s -5 degrees in Ann Arbor.
  • Stay in/Get in great shape.
  • Take the most ridiculously fun Spring Break trips ever. period.
  • Be able to chill out on the Diag (or the beach) and look sweet throwing 70-yard flicks while talking on your cell phone and waving to all your honeys.
  • Kickin’ theme parties.
  • Access to older dudes for class, professor, and program recommendations.
  • Be part of the long history of great teams and great times.

Monetary Musings

We’re all college students and short on cash so we do whatever we can as a team to raise funds and reduce costs for tournaments. Dues are $40 for the year. The tournaments we drive to generally cost less than $50 for the whole weekend (vehicles, gas, hotel, and tourney fee). The University gives us some money, the use of their vans, and practice space which helps a ton. Beyond that we raise money by selling discs, hosting an outdoor tournament in the fall and an indoor one in the winter, cleaning up Crisler Arena after basketball games, and whatever else we can come up with.

Rookie Award

This year, the best rookie gets $500! That’s right – the rookie who shows the most athleticism, commitment to the team, ability to learn ultimate, and spirit for the game gets a check for $500 cash.

Tryouts

If you’re interested in trying out, be sure to sign up for our mailing list. Tryouts start in the fall – check out our calendar page for details. If you plan to try out for the team, we recommend you check out our FAQ and Blog sections. They’re full of information intended to help you out.