RIP Salt Lake Lions

Salt Lake Lions were winless (0-14) in the 2014 AUDL season, then had their 2015 season canceled one month before the season was to start. At the time, the league said the team planned to return in 2016.

However, in early October 2015, the AUDL announced they "reached a mutual agreement with the Salt Lake owners through which the league will retain franchise rights, and will not be reintegrating the Lions team next season." So, the Lions were winless in 2014, gameless in 2015 and now lifeless for 2016.

R.I.P. Salt Lake Lions (2014, 2015, 2016)

For a team that did not participate in the 2015 American Ultimate Disc League season and was later dissolved before the 2016 season, Salt Lake still has an online presence.

1. Salt Lake Lions website
The website is still up and running, and even actively selling season tickets for a 2016 season.

[Salt Lake was a rare pro team to post attendance (and weather updates) after each game, which led to this season aggregate.]

2. AUDL Official Store
Shop online at http://shop.theaudl.com/collections/salt-lake-lions and you will still find 2 products affiliated with the Lions; a mug and Tshirt — typical parting gifts.

3. West Division Teams
Three out of the six West teams currently list the Lions as a division rival.

Screengrabs from websites of  (clockwise) San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose.

4. Social Media
Salt Lake Lions Facebook with 1,962 likes recently posted on October 16, while their twitter account (@SaltLakeLions) with 921 followers has been quiet since mid-August. Neither of these sites have announced the team's demise.

AUDL Expands to Texas

TEXpansion!

Two more teams were announced to the list of American Ultimate Disc League teams. Austin Sol and Dallas Roughnecks. Texas becomes the 6th state/province with multiple AUDL teams (California, New York, North Carolina, Ontario, Pennsylvania) in the league. Both teams are planned to play in the South Division, which completed its first season in 2015.

Also of note, the AUDL announced they bought back the franchise rights of Salt Lake Lions.

[h/t Ultiworld]

Salt Lake Attempts to Woo Women Ultimate Players for Team

Salt Lake Lions have always been verbose with their tryout details; last year, they posted a full job description for a professional Ultimate player. To prepare for the 2015 AUDL season, the Lions posted some general details for all ultimate players, and then got really specific about the "type" of player they seek for the rescheduled November 15th combine.

DETAILS OF THE 2-PART COMBINE

WHAT:
Salt Lake Lions 2014 Combine! This year's Combine will be longer, harder and will require even more of our athletes. We've restructured the event to have less down time, more action and a more impressive outcome. There are only 28 spots on the Lions roster - do you have what it takes to fill one?

WHY:
To find the best talent from the surrounding mountain states and the Big Sky region! To put that potential to good use, make a name for Ultimate in Utah and propel the sport into the future!

FOCUS:
Among other things, the Lions staff members are looking for throwing ability, field awareness, in-game decision making and grace under pressure. Although the staff is particularly deft at recognizing potential, you should be in good physical condition at the time of the Combine. We expect you to have a regular workout regimen and to know the rules of an AUDL game - you will be playing in a refereed AUDL-style game during the Tryout.

Then, within the tryout details, the website goes a step further under "Additional Info" to single out a specific type of player...
"Yes, women can compete in the AUDL - we'd like to be the first team with a professional female player. If you're a woman, ask us about a discounted rate!"

In Salt Lake's September 2014 e-newsletter, the Lions offer two types of discounts - one for males; one for females. The item under REDUCED COMBINE PRICES reads: "LIONESS - $20 off for female participants. Yes, woman [sic] can play in the AUDL!"

That's right, women ultimate players even get their own discount code of "LIONESS." Get it? (Because lioness is a female lion.) Is this discount kind of sexist? A discount for college students, okay; but, this discount is not dissimilar to a ladies' night bar promo.

Screengrab of Salt Lake Lions 9/26/2014 email

I'm all for encouraging females to play in any/all levels of the sport of ultimate. However, this is an overt approach by the Salt Lake Lions where the motivation is misguided as organizational gain (hey, we wanna be first!) rather than unconditional support of women players.

Attendance for 2014 Salt Lake Lions

The Salt Lake Lions played their home games at a high school stadium in Taylorsville, Utah with a beautiful mountain backdrop. After each 2014 home game, they posted attendance numbers on their website. Not sure why more pro Ultimate teams don't post these figures. Hoping more teams publish attendance stats, and for Salt Lake to continue to do so.

• In 2014, Salt Lake's total attendance reached 2,564 during 7 AUDL games
• The largest attendance was on April 12, 2014 -- their inaugural AUDL game
• 366 = average attendance per Lions game
• $30,768 = ticket sales for Lions, in 2014 (estimated based on single game tix price.)

Salt Lake Lions (0-14)

With their 37-12 loss on Saturday versus San Jose, the Salt Lake Lions became the first American Ultimate Disc League team to go winless in the regular season. There has never been a pro Ultimate team that lost all their games. Never.

The Lions end their inaugural AUDL season with a -207 point differential, which averages to nearly 15 point losses per game (14.78). Salt Lake is in a very tough AUDL West Division with the likes of San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Vancouver -- all perennial Ultimate hotbeds.

Detroit Mechanix (0-12), from the Midwest Division, are on pace to join Salt Lake in this dubious distinction.

Callahan by Beau

Beau Kittredge of the San Jose Spiders caught a Callahan in last Sunday's AUDL game versus the Lions. The play which took less than 3 seconds has the makings of a segment on Sport Science.



The Salt Lake player establishes a pivot 10 yards before the endzone line and throws a backhand aimed toward a teammate in middle of the field.

Beau (#50 in black) immediately sniffs out the pass and sprints 10+ yards in the direction of the disc as the Lions receiver waits for the disc to arrive. Beau jump-lays out with outstretched arm for the disc and snags the disc one-handed (avoiding contact) as his momentum carries him 3 yards into the endzone for the score.

Breakdown:

Breakdown of Spiders Callahan (April 20, 2014) [Measurements are approximate]

Play sequence:

Imagery:
The shadow cast of this play is remarkably bizarre.

Review: Salt Lake Lions (AUDL)

Part of the series critiquing the professional Ultimate team logos and nicknames.

Team: Salt Lake Lions

Web: http://saltlakelions.com // twitter: @SaltLakeLions

Representation: City // League: AUDL

Disc within logo?: No. // Ultimate element in team name?: No.

Eli's Eval: For a really amazing logo featuring a lion, check out the NYPL logo. The Salt Lake logo seems a bit more suited to a high school team, or a kid's rec center. The quality of the line is inconsistent; thick and pointy at the back of the jaw, thin and lumpy down the bridge of the muzzle, truncated and flat-edged near the eyes. There are a few floating shapes that could be deleted, like the dimple on the chin and the Cindy Crawford mole near the eye.

The type is reminiscent of the University of Oregon's "O" logo but is appropriately used and spaced, and the incorporation of the Leo astrological symbol as the "N" is a nice touch.

I've been known to complain or at least wonder at the recent trend of angry animal logos (new Miami Dolphins logo? Angry dolphin! New Atlanta Hawks logo? Angry hawk!) and there is a certain nostalgic fondness for some of the cutesy logos of the past like the Celtics' Lucky or or Brownie the Brown, but this lion is neither and could benefit from a personality infusion of some sort.

:Eli's Grades:
Overall Grade: B-
On Logo: C-
On Typography: B+

Background by SLUDGE: The Lion House is a mansion built in 1856 by Brigham Young, a polygamist, to accommodate his enormous family. Young had a lion statue installed at this residence in Salt Lake City, Utah. "Lion of the Lord" was also one of Young's nicknames because of the tenacity of his faith and the power with which he often preached in the LDS Church.

First impression(s) by SLUDGE: The O-N pairing looks like a Q. The "N" is prime for a face under goldilocks or a mustachioed doodle.

Not to mention, there's already a pride team associated with a lion -- PONY.

What are you thoughts on this AUDL's team name & logo?

Job Description: Pro Ultimate Player

The Salt Lake City Lions - an expectant 2014 AUDL expansion team - have posted pro ultimate player expectations and benefits. In summary, free/discounted swag, don't expect to profit, free travel, meet "celebrity Ultimate players," sell autographed gear, and be a role model.

Here's the copied text from SLCL's website:

"What's in it for me?"

• All Travel and Hotel accommodation paid for: 
• As of right now, most Away Game travel will be by large vans/tour buses. Some distal venues may require we travel by air, and the AUDL is currently working on league-wide airline sponsorship. This may mean air travel for all Away games – no promises on this, though. 
• Jerseys and Shirts paid for. 
• We are looking into being able to cover hats and cleats through sponsorships as well. 
• Ability to play as the best, against the best, with fans cheering for you on a national stage! 
• A chance to win a large cash prize at the end of the year: 
• In the 2013 AUDL Championships, the Toronto Rush took home $20,000 of the $25,000 Championship purse. 
• A percentage of team profit will be awarded to each player – do not expect thousands of dollars the first year. However, the amount everyone takes home will be determined, in large, by how well each player aids in promoting the team and sport of Ultimate Disc. 
• Small stipend for Away Games to help pay for things like food. 
• Team MVPs Cash Award (amount TBD by season). 
• Ability to travel and see various cities around North America for free! 
• Discounts from VC Ultimate. 
• Various discounts and special promotions from future sponsors/vendors of the Salt Lake Lions. 
• FREE tickets for your friends and family to all Home Games. Away Game tickets may be available upon request. 
• Ability to meet, and play against, celebrity Ultimate players like Brodie Smith. 
• Potential to become the next household name in Ultimate Disc, and sell your autographed gear and replica jersey on the Salt Lake Lions' website for profit! 
• Become a part of History: you could be on the first-ever Professional Ultimate Disc team in Utah! 
• Chance to be someone a child looks up to, and wants to be like!

screengrab via SL website

"What's expected of me?" 
Below is a rough outline of what we are expecting from each player. Some of these things will change over time, though this is relatively what we're anticipating requirements to be:
We know that many of you will have familial, spousal, work and other time-related commitments to adhere to. These will be taken into account, and we will work with all future Lions players to the best of our abilities.

GENERAL: Have superb knowledge of the official AUDL Rulebook. Maintain a professional appearance online, and in person. You will each be a voice for the Salt Lake Lions, and we want to make sure you are received as respectable and reasonable human beings. Promote the sport, league and team to the best of your abilities. Be timely, honest, direct and sincere. Listen to, and apply, directions and information given by the coaching staff. Take good care of yourself: mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

PRESEASON: Attend practices laid out by the coaching staff – this will likely be 1 or 2 times each week for a few hours, and will begin in early 2014. Be a part of various special occasions: player signings and appearances, charity events, media releases, conferences, etc. This will most-likely be by request of the Owner/Coaching Staff and/or player availability.

SEASON: Attend practices laid out by the coaching staff – this will likely be 1 or 2 times each week for a few hours, and will begin in April, 2014. Attend 75%-100% of all Home and Away games. There should be around 8 Home and 8 Away games (16 total) for the season: April – July. The vast majority of games will be played on the weekends (Fri-Sun).
We realize not everyone will be able to make each game: we will work with each athlete individually on this. **A schedule will become available in early 2014 as venues are chosen by each team in our division.
** Be a part of various special occasions: player signings and appearances, charity events, media releases, conferences, etc. This will most-likely be by request of the Owner/Coaching Staff and/or player availability. Do your best to win while maintaining Spirit of the Game. 

POST SEASON: Continue to present yourself in a professional and personable manner. There will be fans following you, and it is important to uphold an image parents can feel comfortable having their kids admire. Be a part of various special occasions: player signings and appearances, charity events, media releases, conferences, etc. This will most-likely be by request of the Owner/Coaching Staff and/or player availability.