MADISON, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Ultimate Frisbee club team, the Hodags, capped of its season by winning a second-straight national title at the Ultimate Players Association College Championships.

AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Hodags Ultimate Frisbee 2007 National Championships Recap (Web Exclusive) | SLIDESHOW: Hodags Ultimate Frisbee 2007 National Championships (Vol. 1) | SLIDESHOW: Hodags Ultimate Frisbee 2007 National Championships (Vol. 2)

The tournament, which features the best open and women's college teams in the nation, was held from May 16-18 in Boulder, Colo.

On the first day of the tournament, the Hodags went 3-0, defeating Stanford, Pittsburgh and Arizona. Wisconsin had a bye in the first round Saturday, and then the Hodags defeated Harvard 15-8 to advance to the Saturday evening semifinals.

In the semifinals, Wisconsin fell behind early to Colorado, last year's No. 2 team, before taking an 8-7 lead at halftime. The Hodags continued on to win, advancing to the finals against Florida.

On May 18, the Hodags squared off against Florida, the team that beat them in the 2006 finals. In the end, the Hodags defeated Florida 15-9 to claim back-to-back national championships.

The Hodags are named after a mythical beast in the northern Wisconsin woods.

And as the UW-Madison team basks in its victory at nationals, the local Ultimate Frisbee scene continues to grow with the Madison Ultimate Frisbee Association gearing up for its summer league.

MUFA had a record season last summer, and it appears likely that participation in the league will continue to grow.

"(The 2007) summer league was the most popular of all time," said MUFA board member Kris Stepenuck in 2007, as the season wrapped up.

She noted that there were nearly 1,800 players and 88 teams last summer, a 30 percent increase in players from the 2006 summer league season.

Stepenuck said it's clear the Madison league has really taken off since its beginning in 1993 -- with 15 teams.

MUFA has co-ed leagues year-round, but Stepenuck said the summer league is the most popular. She said MUFA added two more sub-league divisions in 2007 to meet the demand and to "allow players more options for level of play."

For those unfamiliar with the game, the Ultimate Players Association explains that it combines the "non-stop movement and athletic endurance of soccer with the aerial passing skills of football."

"A game of Ultimate is played by two seven-player squads with a high-tech plastic disc on a field similar to football. The object of the game is to score by catching a pass in the opponent’s end zone. A player must stop running while in possession of the disc, but may pivot and pass to any of the other receivers on the field," according to the UPA. For more about the game and its rules, visit this Web site.

Stepenuck said one reason for the league's growing popularity is that more area high schools are fielding teams.

"The largest age-range growth has been in under-20 group," Stepenuck said. "(The MUFA community is) pretty laid back. For 20- to 30-somethings, it's 'the place to be' and a fun thing to be involved in."

Stepenuck said the league appeals to people because it offers a mix of physical exercise with a fun "social aspect," noting that after each game, teams can get two free pitchers of beer at the Great Dane, a league sponsor.

Bill Santner, of Madison, who has played in the league for eight years, echoed the social draw of playing summer league.

"My favorite part of it is that it's a good chance to hang out with friends. It's not expensive, and it's a lot of fun to go to the Great Dane after games and hang out with everyone," he said. "I'm really looking forward to it this year."

Santner said that, each year, there are people on his team that have never played and who are learning the game. He said the option to play in various competitive and recreational divisions helps new players pick up the game and have fun, while allowing games at the higher levels to be very competitive.

"The different (league) levels are nice because it lets people who are new to the game play against other new players, so one team doesn't run circles around people who are learning and want to have fun," Santner said.

More information about MUFA Summer League 2008 and team registration can be found at this Web site.

Although the deadline for creating and registering teams for the summer league was May 15, additional players can still join teams up to June 30 -- but those players won't get a shirt and a disc.

CBS College Sports, formerly CSTV, will again cover and broadcast the finals of the UPA College Championships. To watch the video of the entire 2007 Ultimate Players Association College Championship Game between Wisconsin and Colorado, click on this link.