Ultima

The Loyola Ultima is an annual tournament held in mid- to late-October at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois.

In the Days of Team Illinois

Colonel David Riley, the head coach at Loyola, started the tournament as a early-in-the-year way of discovering potential candidates for Team Illinois, especially so that he could recommend to coaches that certain outstanding players be nominated in the event that they might not be nominated otherwise. Until 2008, when the IHSSBCA ceased sponsorship of Team Illinois, the round format was based on the format of the Panasonic Academic Challenge.

Each team played three rounds, with each room having either three or four teams. Each round consisted of two periods of twenty tossup questions, and a third period of twenty-five tossup questions. After each period there was a written, themed team handout worth a total of 10, 20, and 30 points, respectively. The tossups were worth five points each in the first period, ten points each in the second, and fifteen points each in the third. There were no rebounds, and any incorrect answer results in a deduction of the full value of the question.

After each round, teams were reshuffled based on their score, with the top teams meeting in the final round to determine place.

Questions were strictly academic in nature. There were no questions on sports, pop culture, or notorious IHSA topics like agriculture, drivers ed, industrial arts, or agriculture.

Post-Team Illinois

When in 2008 the IHSSBCA decided to stop sponsoring a team for the PAC beginning in 2009, Riley announced that Ultima would continue in mACF style, with the 2009 incarnation being a mirror of the Dunbar Academic Fall Tournament.

Qualification

Riley devised a points system which he uses in determining the teams that will be issued invitations to the tournament. Points are awarded based on how well a school's varsity and frosh-soph team did the previous season. Riley then invites the top twelve schools (with the noted exception that Loyola Academy is automatically invited every year), and moves down the list as teams reject their invitations. With strong demand to get in, Riley rarely has had to go past 15 on his list of invitees to fill the twelve team field. Thus, an argument can be made that, in any given year, the Ultima boasts the strongest field of Illinois teams. It is unknown whether the point system will remain in place after the end of PAC format's use.

Criticisms

The general criticisms that apply to the PAC can be applied here for the tournaments held in 2008 and earlier. Notably, with 3-4 teams competing at once, it is more likely that a weak team can influence the outcome by buzzing in (even if they are incorrect), and stealing the opportunity to answer questions from a team in contention to win.

Another criticism prior to 2009 was the inclusion of Rileyisms, questions that deal with arcane, bizarre, or truly obscure material for any high school player, but which David Riley, defender of medieval Hungarian lore and proto-classical music, thinks is "common knowledge". It can be assumed that each tournament will have at least one music theory question that no one can answer, causing Col. Riley to criticize everyone present for their inability.

While not true for all teams, a further criticism has been the Colonel's insistence on moderating all rounds for his own team, possibly giving Loyola an advantage.

Results

Number	Date	Champion	Runner-Up	Third Place	Fourth Place
I	10/1998	Loyola Academy
II	10/1999	Loyola Academy
III	10/24/2000	Loyola Academy	New Trier	St. Ignatius	Stevenson1
IV	10/20/2001	Latin School	Stevenson	St. Ignatius
V	10/19/2002	New Trier	Loyola A	St. Ignatius	Fremd "A"
VI	10/18/2003	Loyola Academy	Auburn	Latin School	New Trier
VII	10/16/2004	New Trier	Stevenson	Auburn	Fremd
VIII	10/22/20052	Auburn	Fremd	New Trier	Loyola Academy
IX	10/21/2006	Maine South	Bloomington	Maine East	St. Ignatius
X	10/20/2007	Auburn	Stevenson	Loyola	IMSA

Notes

1. Both Stevenson and St. Ignatius were tied for third place.
2. Winnebago was the consolation champion.