Far Eastern University versus Ateneo de Manila University on June 11 at the Araneta Coliseum. Click for more photos.
On July 10, the Araneta Coliseum opened its doors to the 73rd season of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Get in the game with the fun facts we collected about the collegiate athletic tournament.
1. It started out as an experiment.
The University of the Philippines Athletic Department, which spawned the 86-year-old National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), pioneered experimental games with the NCAA's "Big 3" in 1930. The Big 3--UP, National University (NU), and University of Santo Tomas (UST)--plus Far Eastern University (FEU) eventually seceded from the NCAA and formed the UAAP.
2. Everyone takes turns.
There are eight participating schools: UP, NU, UST, FEU, Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), and University of the East (UE). They're supposed to take turns in hosting the UAAP. But the schools have taken to switching their hosting stints. School anniversaries are the usual culprits. For instance, it was supposed to be NU's turn this year, but DLSU requested that they be the host this year since they're also celebrating their centennial.
3. It's controversial.
The UAAP's strongest teams in terms of crowd draw due to their long-standing rivalry, DLSU and ADMU, entered the league last. DLSU was the last to join because they lacked the vote of one school for their application approval. (A unanimous vote was the rule up until 1986.) No, it wasn't because of their archrival ADMU--the growls allegedly came from Espana. UST allegedly voted against DLSU because of an '80s rumble between the Archers and the Letran Knights, also a Dominican school like UST.
The 73rd UAAP Season opens
