The San Diego Growlers will join the Ultimate Frisbee Association’s (UFA) South Division, the league’s first coast-to-coast division.
The change comes after the UFA (formerly AUDL) changed to four six-team divisions. Previously, the west division featured seven teams while other divisions consisted of 5-6 teams.
It’ll be the first time since the team’s founding in 2015 that they do not play in the west division.
The Growlers will join the Atlanta Hustle, Austin Sol, Carolina Flyers, Houston Havoc and Los Angeles Aviators in the South Division. The UFA cited the need to keep rivalries of Atlanta-Carolina and San Diego-Los Angeles as reasons for the big change of divisions.
The South will now consist of two California teams, two Texas teams and two Atlantic coast teams in Georgia and North Carolina, keeping intact three geographical rivalries. They are the six southernmost teams in the league.
San Diego will make cross-country trips each year, alternating between the east coast trip to Atlanta and Durham, N.C. in the odd years and the Texas trip to Austin and Houston in even years. They’d play both teams in the region in one weekend double-header.
The Growlers and Aviators will play two home-and-home series each year for a total of four matchups.
Atlanta and Carolina will alternate coming to the west coast. The Growlers would host one of those two teams each year. The same will be done for Austin and Houston who, likewise, would alternate every other year either coming to the west or east coast for a weekend doubleheader with San Diego and LA or Atlanta and Carolina.
The 2025 season will open the April 25-27 weekend with the full schedule release expected in early-February, UFA insider Evan Lepler wrote.
San Diego will play four interdivisional games to round out their schedule.