February 4, 2025
By Evan Lepler
Back in 2021, the UFA featured one premier matchup that was free for all fans to watch on every Friday night during the regular season. After a few years without this consistent and delightful weekly constant, the 2025 UFA schedule is poised to bring back those three glorious F words: Free. Friday. Frisbee.
As the league announced this morning, “Friday Night Frisbee” returns on April 25, with more than half the league getting a chance at the spotlight over the 13-week regular season. The schedule includes a delicious mix of epic interdivisional matchups, long-time rivalries renewed, and even showcases the two most recent UFA expansion teams, including the season opener with New York taking on Vegas.
Personally, I am giddy to begin booking travel as I begin my 11th season broadcasting these marquee matchups for the UFA. It was an immense honor back in 2014 when I started this journey, and the feeling of gratitude and appreciation has not subsided one bit as I embark on my second decade helping to share our great game with the world.
Without further adieu, here are my initial thoughts on each of the 13 “Friday Night Frisbee” pairings coming up this season.
Week 1: New York Empire at Vegas Bighorns - First ever meeting
Hey, Vegas! Welcome to the Ultimate Frisbee Association! We’re so glad you’re here! We’re excited to see you compete! Oh, you’re curious who your first game will be against? Haha, well, how would you feel about the three-time champion New York Empire making the trek to Sin City? You ready for that challenge? Ready or not, here they come.
Indeed, "Friday Night Frisbee" begins with the UFA’s two newest teams hosting a couple interdivisional contests where they will undoubtedly be sizable underdogs. One immediately intriguing storyline between the Empire and Bighorns: this New York-Vegas matchups pits a couple coaches who know each other pretty well. Since 2007, Empire Coach Anthony Nuñez has guided hundreds if not thousands of young ultimate players in the Delaware Valley with the DEVYL program. One of those players, way back in 2008 and 2009, was Matt Bode, who was recently named as the first head coach of the Vegas Bighorns. So there will be a little bit of a mentor vs. mentee angle when they match wits on April 25.
Week 2: Madison Radicals at Houston Havoc - First ever meeting
It’s another recent expansion team getting its first taste of the national UFA spotlight against a franchise that’s trying to rediscover its past championship form. The Houston Havoc are entering their third season in the league, and they are still hunting their first victory against an opponent other than Dallas. The Havoc went 7-2 against the Legion over the past two seasons, but were winless in 15 games against everybody else. But that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy for the Radicals to spoil the party at Houston’s home opener. Madison, who returned to the playoffs in 2024 after a half-decade drought, will presumably be expected to win, but the Havoc should have their strongest roster ever along with a rowdy home crowd that’ll be hungry to get a signature early-season result. Additionally, it will be the Radicals’ first game ever in Texas, and dealing with the generally gusty Houston conditions will be another wrinkle for Madison to try and conquer.
Week 3: Seattle Cascades at Oakland Spiders - 33rd meeting, Spiders lead all-time series 22-9
The Cascades and the Spiders arguably share the most under-discussed rivalry in the entire league. For more than a decade, in fact, Seattle and Oakland have usually been right around the same level, almost always engaging in super tight battles with one another. More than half of all their games—17 of 31, all-time—have been decided by three or less, and that includes 11 decided by a single score. Last year, both regular season contests were one-goal games, with the visitor prevailing in dramatic fashion on the road. But Seattle got the last laugh in the playoffs, which happened to double as the first postseason appearance for both franchises in the current decade. It’s very reasonable to believe that the 2025 playoffs made not have enough room for both the Cascades and Spiders, so this early-season collision—the second of their three scheduled regular season matchups—should carry a huge sense of urgency for both, but especially for whoever dropped the previous battle six days prior.
Week 4: New York Empire at Boston Glory - 10th meeting, Empire lead all-time series 7-2
The East Division’s balance of power undeniably shifted last summer; the primary question heading into 2025 is whether last year was truly a changing of the guard or just a mere hiccup in the Empire’s dominant dynasty. New York had won all seven of their previous games against Boston when they collided on Friday, May 31, 2024, a 16-14 Glory triumph that changed the dynamic of the rivalry. A couple months later, Boston’s 19-18 playoff victory over the Empire, with Jeff Babbitt skying for the unbelievable game-winning score, sent New York home before Championship Weekend for the first time since 2017. Looking ahead, the battle at the top of the East Division has never been more compelling or competitive, and both sides know it will be super tough to reach their goals without earning this critical Week 4 win.
Week 5: Seattle Cascades at Salt Lake Shred - 7th Meeting, Shred lead all-time series 5-1
For the third straight week, "Friday Night Frisbee" will deliver a playoff rematch from a season ago. Much like the New York-Boston series, the Salt Lake-Seattle history had been completely one-sided, with the Shred never ever losing to the Cascades. That’s what made the 2024 West Division title bout so magically captivating, when the Cascades overcame a three-goal deficit to absolutely stun Salt Lake 21-20 and deny the Shred the chance to play Championship Weekend at their home stadium. It was definitely an otherworldly performance by Seattle that earned them the semifinal berth, but now’s the time to ask whether the Cascades can maintain that level for another season, or will Salt Lake be able to reclaim its perch as the projected team to beat out West?
Week 6: Atlanta Hustle at Minnesota Wind Chill - First ever meeting
Undoubtedly, it’s a potential Championship Weekend preview. And beyond that possibility, there’s just so much to like about this tantalizing late-May matchup, two towering teams looking to make a statement and also keep pace with the other powerhouse contender in their respective division. For Minnesota, the Wind Chill will spend the entire season seeking to validate their surprising title run last August. Their young core is back together, wiser and tougher after last year’s playoff performance, and they have added several other talented free agents to add even more firepower in pursuit of the repeat. For Atlanta, two heartbreaking playoff results the past two years does not change the fact that the Hustle have elevated their stature and level to perennial contender status. They steamrolled through their interdivisional slate last year, picking up impressive wins over New York, Indianapolis, and Colorado. Can they replicate that interdivisional dominance against the reigning champs?
Week 7: New York Empire at DC Breeze - 35th meeting, New York leads all-time series 20-14
These East Division titans continue to bring out the best in each other, with the pendulum swinging DC’s way in 2024 for the first time in quite a while. The Breeze took both regular season meetings last season, sweeping the season series for the first time since 2017. Prior to last year, the Empire had won 11 of the previous 12 matchups against the Breeze, including playoff victories in the 2022 and 2023 East Division Championship. What does this all mean for 2025? Well, the fascinating reality is that all three East playoff teams from a year ago enter the new season with a legitimate feeling of desperation, with serious unfinished business to try and make right this summer. New York disappointingly lost to Boston in the playoffs, the Glory had their best season ever but still fell short against the Breeze in the East final, and then DC’s Championship Weekend experience was a shocking, adversity-filled journey, far from what they ever imagined the semifinals would be. That’s a lot of meaningful, recent history heading into the upcoming season, setting the stage for another epic chapter in the New York-DC rivalry.
Week 8: Minnesota Wind Chill at Madison Radicals - 35th meeting, Madison leads all-time series 19-15
The Wind Chill have now won 11 of their last 12 meetings against the Radicals, drastically reshaping the expectations in the border battle. The 2024 Central Division title game, a 23-14 Minnesota rout, was also the second-biggest margin of victory ever for the Chill against the Rads. So, to put it mildly, Madison does not have much momentum heading into their first chance against the champs. But the Radicals almost always keep it interesting at Breese Stevens Field, which will host this summer’s Championship Weekend event for the fourth time. After Madison’s wild overtime playoff victory over Chicago last year, Adam Ruffner was right when he declared, “Madison magic has returned to Breese Stevens Field!” The Radicals will need all that magic, along with the continued development from their young, rising core, to try and snap their six-game losing streak against Minnesota.
Week 9: Toronto Rush at New York Empire - 26th meeting, Toronto leads all-time series 17-7
As if the East Division race wasn’t already spicy enough, the Toronto Rush have brazenly re-entered the contender conversation with some of the UFA’s boldest offseason acquisitions. The Rush are determined to be relevant again, and while it remains to be seen if they can actually compete with New York, DC, and Boston, their international delegation of free agent signees certainly makes them a compelling story. Headlined by Latvian sensation Arvids Karklins, Toronto’s cadre of European standouts should give the Rush plenty of weapons, and with the return of Mark Lloyd, Toronto has a leader who knows how to beat New York. From the team’s inception in 2013 through the end of the 2018 regular season, Toronto was a perfect 17-0 all-time against the Empire. But the rivalry turned upside down starting with that 2018 East title game, and the Empire have won the last seven matchups. New York will make just its second trip to Toronto in the past seven years earlier in June, prior to the Rush’s return game in the states. By the way, here’s a crazy fact: in the last five seasons—since the start of 2019—the Rush only have one win on U.S. soil, a 25-13 interdivisional dismantling of Detroit in July of 2023.
Week 10: Austin Sol at Atlanta Hustle - 17th meeting, Atlanta leads all-time series 9-7
This is another really underrated rivalry, created in part because they’ve played so many close games against each other dating back to their first every meeting on May 15, 2016, which Austin won 23-22 in double overtime. Five weeks later, the Hustle returned the favor with a 31-29 OT triumph, and the Austin-Atlanta dynamic has been packed with drama ever since. Overall, nine of the 16 meetings between the two teams have been decided by one (or gone to overtime). The Hustle did sweep both regular season meetings last year, outscoring the Sol 46-35 in a pair of uncharacteristically convincing results, but Austin’s playoff stunner in the 2023 South Division final still looms as the most memorable outcome in the recent history between the teams, a loss that unquestionably still lingers as a gloomy cloud over the Hustle sideline. Without a bunch of relatively easy wins over Dallas this season, the Sol will also have a more difficult schedule in 2025. This might be exactly what they need, though we’ll see if they are ready for the increased week-to-week challenge that’s ahead.
Week 11: Minnesota Wind Chill at Chicago Union - 37th meeting, All-time series tied at 17-17-1
It’s pretty incredible to recognize that after 35 meetings over the past decade-plus, Minnesota and Chicago’s all-time series against one another is dead even. Entering 2025, the Wind Chill and Union have each beaten the other 17 times, with one weather-shortened tie mixed into the history too. This Independence Day showdown in Chicago will be the second meeting of the season—the Union go to the Twin Cities in mid-May—but considering all the offseason moves that these two franchises have made, these pair of regular season collisions basically feel like a mere precursor to the presumed third chapter of the 2025 trilogy. Sure, it’s only February 4, more than six months prior to the Central Division Championship contest, but no division title matchup feels more certain a half-year prior than Minnesota and Chicago clashing for the right to take the field for the UFA semifinals in Madison. If the Radicals, Thunderbirds, AlleyCats, or Mechanix can put this on OldTakesExposed later this summer, more power to them. But the odds are heavily in favor of either the Wind Chill or the Union taking the Central this season. These are two heavyweight rosters, both fiercely confident that they will be superior. It will be incredible theater to watch them go head-to-head.
Week 12: Colorado Summit at Salt Lake Shred - 9th meeting, Summit lead all-time series 4-3
Speaking of certainties, at this time last year, I believe I was 100 percent sure that Colorado and Salt Lake would be the top two teams in the West. Welp, we know how that turned out, with the Summit missing the postseason entirely and the Shred getting upended by Seattle in a stunning playoff thriller. All of this suggests perhaps I should roll back the Minnesota-Chicago bluster, and it also makes me hesitant to fully trust Colorado and Salt Lake in 2025. Their talent on paper looks to be legit, particularly with the Summit adding Tobias Brooks from Carolina, but as for how all the pieces will fit together, and whether these two teams can shake some of the mental demons that plagued them for stretches in 2024, that all remains in question. But despite all this, I do feel very confident that Colorado and Salt Lake will both be in the mix when they meet on July 11, 2025, jockeying for position with a potential playoff rematch beckoning just a couple weeks later. This game also happens to occur on my 40th birthday; I don’t need a cake or balloons, but double OT would be awesome.
Week 13: Minnesota Wind Chill at Salt Lake Shred - 2nd meeting, Shred lead all-time series 1-0
Good news for the Wind Chill: Joel Clutton won’t be wearing a Shred jersey on the final Friday of the regular season. (Though it would be a pretty savage move to bring Clutton back for the ceremonial opening pull. Or maybe Chad Yorgason launches the pregame pull, with Clutton emerging from the tunnel to deflect the warning track shot into the end-zone where Elijah Jaime is waiting. Too soon?) Look, after winning the title on Salt Lake’s home field last August, the Minnesota Wind Chill shook free from the devastating shackles of that painful 2023 semifinal. It may still sting a bit, but it’s far overshadowed by the exuberant joy and happiness that Minnesota experienced one year later. Frankly, it’s the Shred that have more to prove heading into 2025. No team in the UFA has more regular season wins over the past two seasons than Salt Lake, but after a disappointing performance in the 2023 final against New York and their own heartbreaking conclusion to the 2024 campaign, the Shred will be feeling the pressure to find their best form when it counts most in 2025.
