FAMILYFUN
Pro frisbee finds a home Story by Alexander Cramer Photos submitted
Kevin Pettit-Scantling hands the disc to an excited fan after scoring a goal during a Radicals game at Breese Stevens Field. Courtesy AUDL/Matt Messina
National champion Madison Radicals’ games fun for fans, players
O
n certain spring and summer days, drivers passing Breese Stevens Field in downtown Madison might be treated to a strange sight: plastic discs flying high above the nearly century-old brick walls and tall lights beaming down on a thousand fans rising and falling with the on-field action. Folks around Madison have a few options for family-friendly sports events with the Badgers, Mallards and
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Capitols all calling the area home. But a younger franchise has been vying to win over local fans in a sport that’s just entering the mainstream: the Madison Radicals, reigning champions of the American Ultimate Disc League. Owner, general manager and coach (not to mention marketing director and occasional sign-putter-outer) Tim DeByl founded the team in 2012 and began playing in 2013 in the AUDL’s
second season, drawing about 550 fans to each home game to watch professional ultimate frisbee. Seven years later, the Radicals have won their first championship after coming close several times and are averaging over 1,000 fans at each home game. They are the first and only AUDL team to break even financially in a league that’s just starting out. But DeByl says he’s “bullish” on the