University Athletic Association of the Philippines

The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is a sports association of eight universities in the Philippines. Each year, teams from these universities play in 15 sports.

History
In 1924, Dr. Regino Ylanan (then University of the Philippines Physical Education Director) saw the need to regulate and set general athletic policies; met with representatives of University of Santo Tomas, Manila Central University, National University, De La Salle College, Ateneo de Manila and Institute of Accounts (now Far Eastern University) to discuss possibilities of forming an athletic organization, which eventually became the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

In 1930, the University of the Philippines sponsored an experimental meet with the "Big 3" of the league (UST, NU, UP) on basketball, football, baseball, volleyball, swimming, track and field, relays, and tennis. In 1931, the NCAA Board of Directors divided the meet into three divisions to put competition on a fairer basis and to stimulate athletics among a greater number. In March 1932, UP, UST and NU formally seceded from the NCAA. Led by UP's Candido C. Bartolome, NU's Leon Tirol and UST's Fr. Silvestre Sancho, the move was made to put competitions on equal footing, to increase amateur athletic competitions and to separate the universities from the college members of the league. On April 6, the "Big 3 League" is born. On August 14, the "Big 3" Association is inaugurated with a meet that starts with basketball. Other events were swimming, baseball, relays, track and field, volleyball, tennis and soccer.

In 1935, UP did not participate in the "Big 3 League" because of mass intramurals at the state university. NU and UST held the meet with FEU (formerly Institute of Accounts) taking UP's place.

In 1938, the University of the Philippines Alumni Association and the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF), then the highest sports body in the country, encouraged the original "Big 3 League" and FEU to form a permanent sports association—the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. Events included were basketball, women's volleyball, baseball, football, swimming and track and field. UP bagged three titles (volleyball, baseball, track and field). UST was tops in football and swimming and FEU triumphed in basketball.

In 1941, the outbreak of World War II hindered the staging of the 1941–1942 UAAP with UST failing to complete its term. In 1952, University of the East, University of Manila, Adamson University, and Manila Central University were granted two-year probationary membership to the UAAP. In 1954, UE was permanently accepted into the league. The other three universities (UM, Adamson, and MCU) were dropped from the UAAP due to their inability to comply with the UAAP requirements. In 1970, Adamson University reapplied for admission to the league with a two-year probationary period. In 1974, Adamson successfully hosted the 1974–1975 athletic season paving the way for its permanent membership into the league.

In 1978, The UAAP admitted Ateneo de Manila University into the league. In 1986, De La Salle University joined the league.

Logo
The UAAP logo features the university colors of the eight member-schools of the league in a circular formation. It also bears the year when the league was established, 1938, in the center.

The logo changes every season where the university colors of the season host is placed on the very top. Nonetheless, the arrangement of the colors never changes.

The colors of University of the Philippines (green and maroon), University of Santo Tomas (gold and white), Far Eastern University (gold and green), and National University (gold and blue) come first, clockwise. These are followed by the colors of Ateneo de Manila University (blue and white), De La Salle University (green and white), Adamson University (blue and white), and University of the East (red and white).

Member schools
Following is a list of those universities with their team designations.

Notes:

Sports
Member universities compete in 15 sports. Basketball, being the most popular sport in the Philippines, is the most watched and most supported among all the sports.

All of these sports have Men's and Women's divisions, with the exception of baseball, in which only men participate, and softball, which is for women only. The following sports have a Junior division, in which the associated high schools of the universities participate: for both Boys' and Girls' (swimming and volleyball) and for Boys' only (track and field, chess, football, judo, taekwondo, table tennis and swimming,).

As of now, only four of the eight member universities participate in all sports, namely the Ateneo de Manila University, the De La Salle University, the University of the Philippines, and the University of Santo Tomas.

1st semester sports (July-October)

 * Basketball (July - Smart Araneta Coliseum, PhilSports Arena, Filoil Flying V Arena)
 * Badminton (August - Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Badminton Hall)
 * Beach volleyball (September - UE Parade Grounds, University of the East Caloocan)
 * Judo (September - FilOil Flying V Arena, San Juan)
 * Swimming (September - Trace Aquatics Centre, Laguna)
 * Taekwondo (September - FilOil Flying V Arena, San Juan)
 * Table tennis (September - Blue Eagle Gym, Ateneo de Manila University)
 * Cheerdance (September - Araneta Coliseum)

2nd semester sports (November-March)

 * Baseball (November - Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium)
 * Football (January - Erenchun Field and Ocampo Field, Ateneo de Manila University)
 * Softball (November - UST Grounds, University of Santo Tomas)
 * Tennis (November - Rizal Memorial Tennis Center)
 * Track and field (November - Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium)
 * Volleyball (December - Blue Eagle Gym, Ateneo de Manila University and The Arena in San Juan)
 * Chess (January - Tan Yan Kee Student Center, University of the East)
 * Fencing (February - Blue Eagle Gym, Ateneo de Manila University)

Ateneo–La Salle rivalry
The rivalry between Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University has resulted in sold-out games that attract several public figures in attendance, including politicians, movie stars, and foreign diplomats.

UP–UST cheerdance rivalry
The cheerdance rivalry between University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas has been one of the most talked about rivalries in UAAP history. Since the inception of the cheerdance, UP and UST have had the best winning records, and one is usually just a runner up to the other. Both schools' pep squads are famous for their stunts and high-energy performances.

La Salle–UST rivalry
Both were known for their numerous basketball championship matches in the 1990s, with UST winning four straight titles at the expense of the Green Archers. In 1999, La Salle defeated the Growling Tigers to win the basketball crown. Their basketball rivalry diminished in latter years due to UST's decline but became a celebrated rivalry in women's volleyball, as the Lady Archers and the Tigresses met three times in the championship of the Shakey's V-League tournament with UST having 5 championships and La Salle having 3 under their belt. The rivalry was carried over to the UAAP.

FEU–UE rivalry
The rivalry between Far Eastern University and University of the East started in the 1950s. Tagged as the "Battle of the East", these two schools, along with UST, have the winningest basketball squads in the league (FEU having won 19 basketball championships while UE having won 18 titles).

UAAP Championships

 * Overall
 * Badminton
 * Baseball
 * Basketball


 * Beach volleyball
 * Chess
 * Football
 * Fencing


 * Judo
 * Softball
 * Swimming
 * Table tennis


 * Taekwondo
 * Tennis
 * Track and Field
 * Volleyball


 * Cheerdance (Exhibition only)
 * Street dance (Exhibition only)

Team Support Sites

 * Fabilioh.com Ateneo UAAP Events Photo Gallery
 * ProudToBeAdamsonian – Adamson University Soaring Falcons Support Site
 * GoAteneo.com – Ateneo Blue Eagles Official Athletics Office Site
 * Go Archers – De La Salle Green Archers Support Site
 * Archer Pride – De La Salle Green Archers Support Site
 * Tamaraw Bayan – Far Eastern University Tamaraws Support Site
 * UE Red Tribe – Official UE Red Tribe Organization Forum
 * UPFightingMaroons.com – University of the Philippines Support Site
 * OneForUST – University of Santo Tomas Support Site
 * UAAP Retweet! – UAAP Retweet! fans and supporters of University Athletic Association of the Philippines

University Athletic Association of the Philippines University Athletic Association of the Philippines