What if March Madness was College Nationals?
March 19, 2025 by Theo Wan in Opinion
It’s the best time of the year – March Madness!
Instead of sitting at your desk scrambling to fill out our brackets based on which schools might actually play good basketball, we’re taking a different approach. Our bracket? Completely based on where each ultimate team sits in the current iteration of frisbee-rankings.com. Same bracket, same format, same chaos, with just a whole lot less dribbling involved. Here’s how we think the brackets would unfold.
Women’s March Madness
With four of the top five teams in the current frisbee rankings (UBC Thunderbirds, Tufts EWO, Carleton College Syzygy, Colorado Quandary) not in attendance at the big dance, this is anyone’s tournament for the taking. That opens the door for a new champion to rise or for a Cinderella team to make an unexpected run.
South Region
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, UCSD D-Co comes all the way from barely making the big dance as a First Four team and no. 16 seed to go on an unprecedented run. They make it all the way to the Elite Eight before finding themselves up against another low-seeded team in no. 15 Vermont Ruckus. The showdown of double-digit seeds goes the way of Vermont as they become the lowest seed to ever make the women’s Final Four.1
East Region
Utah Spiral Jetty, seeded eighth and fresh off their appearance at Nationals last season, takes down the no. 1 seed South Carolina to get themselves all the way to Elite Eight where they have to line up against another Northwest rival in Oregon Fugue. Fugue has the toughest path of any team in the tourney so far having to defeat North Carolina Pleaides, the no. 3 seed, in the Sweet 16 en route to a spot in the Final Four.
West Region
Every year there is a weak region that is ripe for the taking. In 2025, this title goes to the West Region, with not a single real-life bid-earning team in the mix. In what would be the equivalent to the NIT, the West Region is won by the California Pie Queens, the no. 8 seed, over Connecticut, a matchup between teams who have not made the College Championships since 2017.
East Region
Having not made College Nationals since 2021, Texas Melee is back at the big dance as the no. 1 seed in the East. They keep their mojo going, making it all the way to the Elite Eight before falling to Ohio State Fever. In a preview of the Great Lakes women’s final, No. 6 Michigan Flywheel beats the higher-seeded No. 3 Notre Dame Echo in the Second Round before eventually booking their ticket to the Final Four.
Final Four
The slipper still fits for this year’s Cinderella, Vermont Ruckus, as they make their way to the final against Oregon Fugue. The last time these two teams played on the field, it was a 15-3 drubbing by Vermont in pool play of the 2023 D-I College Championships. This time around, Oregon has the last laugh as they are crowned women’s champions in the ultimate-based NCAA tournament in what would promise to be a tight contest.
Bid-earning teams (7): Oregon, Vermont, North Carolina, UC San Diego, Washington, Utah, Michigan
Men’s March Madness
Six of the top 10 bid-earning teams, including potential on-field semifinal contenders in no. 2 ranked Massachusetts ZooDisc and no. 4 Carleton College CUT, will be sitting home dreaming about what could have been, as their respective school’s basketball teams could not get the job done. But the top-ranked UNC Darkside program can thank their basketball team for the making it through the First Four, gifting themselves a spot in the big show.
South Region
In a surprising twist, the current No. 1 team in the rankings, UNC Darkside, find themselves fighting for their lives through the First Four as a no. 11 seed. They destroy everyone in their path with their toughest matchup being a no. 5 seeded Michigan MagnUM squad that made an inspired run to the prequarters at Nationals last spring. When’s the last time a First Four team made it to the Final Four?2
East Region
No. 5 Oregon is underseeded and throttles their way to the Elite Eight without giving up more than a handful of points where they meet fellow Northwest rivals BYU, the no. 6 seed. It would be a fresh matchup for both sides, with the team from Eugene expected to take it home in a tight battle.
West Region
In the weakest of the four regions, two Atlantic Coast regional contenders go at it for the chance at the Final Four. The no. 4 seed Maryland Space Bastards fight off the No. 1 seed Florida Gators and the no. 14 seed UNC Wilmington Seamen from the other side of the bracket to make their way to Indianapolis. Eerily similar to the West Region on the women’s side, there are no real-life bid-earning teams in the mix, with Maryland coming in the highest ranked at no. 37.
Midwest Region
Faring slightly better, this region contains two Nationals team from last season. The no. 9 seed Georgia Jojah defeats an upstart 16 seed Southern Illinois-Edwardsville who blew by a no. 1 Houston Skyline squad that hasn’t played all year in the first round. Texas has to go through the First Four and eventually a gritty UCLA Smaug squad before besting Georgia, shaking off the bitter taste of their recent Centex performance.
Final Four
On the field, UNC beat Maryland 13-2 at Carolina Kickoff, so they cruise to the final where an Oregon Ego squad awaits, hunting for revenge from their pool play loss at this year’s SMI. Unfortunately for Oregon, revenge from last year’s quarterfinal contest at Nationals will have to wait as UNC comes all the way from the First Four to be crowned national champions!
Bid-earning teams (4): North Carolina, Oregon, BYU, Texas
