ATLANTA — In 2012, Steve Hall was 46 and in a stage of life not unfamiliar to Georgia Tech graduates of his age. A chemical engineering graduate with an MBA from Emory, Hall was running his own private-equity firm in Charlotte, N.C., after 13 years in New York in the investment business for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Married with two sons, he also was an avid player of ultimate (commonly known as Ultimate Frisbee), a sport he had first picked up playing intramurals with his fraternity at Tech.
It was at an ultimate practice that a teammate shared with him that a professional ultimate league was being started.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s crazy,’ ” Hall said.
There were — and are — no shortage of reasons to find such a venture foolhardy. To begin with, the American professional sports industry would seem to have little space for a new league, particularly a niche sport like ultimate, a game that combines elements of basketball, football and soccer that is largely a re-creation of college students and twentysomethings.
That was 2012. Hall is now is in his fourth year as CEO and commissioner of the American Ultimate Disc League.
“Not what I thought of when I was in the middle of physical chemistry class and thermodynamics class, not what I thought I would be doing at 55,” Hall said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Calling on tools to grow the league such as gambling, video gaming, analytics and video streaming, Hall is cultivating the grandest of visions for the sport – to someday challenge soccer in popularity.
“Some people think I’m crazy,” Hall said. “I truly believe that this can be bigger than MLS because it can be as big as soccer globally.”
For the record, Hall apparently is in possession of all of his marbles.
“Steve is a great guy,” said Nick Josties, a fellow Tech grad and fraternity brother who played ultimate with Hall at Tech and now plays on a masters team with him. “He’s one of my best friends. … He’s one of the most motivated people I think I’ve ever met.”
Josties sees the job as “a perfect fit” for his friend. A self-described tinkerer whose profession has been helping build private companies, Hall has applied his expertise to the game he continues to play three times a week, including twice at 5:15 a.m. with an illuminated disc.
“That’s where the passion of ultimate met my private-equity reality,” he said. “Which is, ‘Hey, here’s a business I can invest in.’ I also happen to love it. It’s a passion of mine, and that’s why I’m spending 60 to 70 hours a week as CEO working.”
There’s a long way to go before ultimate can challenge soccer worldwide. Attendance across the league is about 525 per game. Participation rates in the U.S. in ultimate are trending downward, according to a survey by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. And the league is trying to win a share of the American sports fan’s interest at a time when it seems every league is competing for attention with an increasing number of options.
“It’s really just competition from other activities that people have,” said Gabby Roe, president of Legends Growth Enterprises, part of a global sports marketing agency founded by the Yankees and Cowboys that works with the AUDL (and Tech, among other organizations). “You have to be good enough to warrant their attention and then keep it once you get them initially interested.”
The league appears to be on an upward path. It began with eight teams in 2012 and now has 25 teams in the U.S. and Canada, including the Atlanta Hustle, which plays at Silverbacks Park near the northeast intersection of I-285 and I-85.
One game a week is broadcast on FS2. All games (save the FS2 game) can be streamed live with a monthly $10 subscription. Prices are reasonable. Hustle tickets are $15, and children under 14 are admitted free.
Hall’s belief in the game is understandable. It is fast-paced, high-scoring and, through leaping, diving catches, shows off players’ athletic ability. A recent win for the league’s publicity was Hustle team member Matt Smith earning the top spot on ESPN’s SportsCenter’s top-10 highlights by leaping with a defender to try to bring down a disc thrown from 40 yards away and then, after it was deflected, diving headlong and snatching it with one hand, inches above the turf, for the score.
Games are two hours long and not the three-plus that football and baseball typically last.
From a participation standpoint, it’s an aerobic workout, it’s low-contact and low-cost. All you need is a disc and some open space.
Supporters tout its “spirit of the game” concept. Games are largely played without referees, and players are expected to make their own calls with integrity. Even at the AUDL level, where referees call the games, players can and do overturn officiating judgments that are made in their favor.
“We don’t know of any other sport where this actually happens,” Hall said.
Hall first invested in the league by buying the Charlotte franchise in 2015 and then took over the Hustle in 2017 (and suspending operations in Charlotte). It was the aforementioned factors that he believed made the AUDL a favorable investment. In 2018, he met with league chairman and chief financier Rob Lloyd (previously the president of Cisco Systems) and expressed his desire to succeed commissioner Steve Gordon, who was stepping down after serving two terms.
“I said, ‘Rob, I have a vision this’ll be as big as soccer in 20 years. I truly believe it,’ ” Hall said. “Rob’s like, ‘Steve, let’s do this.’ ”
The league is a long way from its origins. Hall said that in 2013, teams were advertised for purchase on Craigslist for $2,500.
To build the league, Hall and league officials have raised more than $7 million between private investors and two crowdfunding campaigns (supporters could purchase a share of the league for as little as $150), according to Lloyd. While most players work full-time jobs — a handful work for team owners — and compensation amounts to a game stipend and health care, players see the progress.
“Just everything about the league is so much further advanced than it was in those early years,” said Smith, the Hustle star. “On the field, off the field, it’s night and day.”
The league is valued at just under $18 million. Last year, the franchise fee was $50,000.
“Still pretty modest in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a long way from $2,500 on Craigslist,” Hall said.
Among other objectives, that has gone into improving the quality of video content and developing the amount of data from games potentially for use by fans in fantasy leagues or gambling.
The potential for betting on the AUDL — a vehicle for gaining and sustaining interest — is a big play for the league. It began a partnership last season with online sportsbook DraftKings to set betting lines and started a subsidiary — UltiX Technology — to develop technology to capture live data and statistics at every game for fans to use in fantasy leagues or in gambling.
The league also is developing its own ultimate video game, another way for younger fans to access the game. Hall has also been working on a deal for non-fungible tokens — unique collectibles that Hall said could have the added benefit of being something like a pass for VIP experiences at games.
“So that our fan of the future is going to be today’s high school student or junior high student that is actually thinking of what they want in a sports experience, and I think ultimate is a great fit for that,” said Lloyd, the league chairman.
There are other plans, like increasing participation at the youth level. Hall said Vermont is the only state in the U.S. whose high school association recognizes ultimate as a varsity sport. Another is for the league to be successful enough for it to be a full-time job for players. Increased exposure is a more immediate objective. Hall projects the league to be profitable by 2026.
It’s a daunting to-do list but one Hall welcomes.
“It takes a certain kind of entrepreneur to throw themselves into this growth sports business,” said Roe, the Legends executive. “You have to have passion, you have to be smart, you’ve got to be really hardworking, you’ve got to have vision. He has all four of those things, for sure.”
