PEP RALLIES are in full swing as member schools of the country’s two premier collegiate sports leagues — the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) — officially send off their student-athletes.
Pep rallies are vibrant, high-energy community celebrations designed to fuel school spirit and rally support for the teams and their athletes.
The UAAP is an athletic association composed of eight Metro Manila universities: University of the Philippines (UP), Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU), National University (NU), University of the East (UE), and University of Santo Tomas (UST).
The NCAA, meanwhile, is composed of Arellano University (AU), Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (CSB), Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC), José Rizal University (JRU), Lyceum of the Philippines University, Mapúa University, San Beda University, San Sebastian College–Recoletos, and University of Perpetual Help System DALTA.
Established in 1924, the NCAA is the oldest collegiate athletic association in the country. Its original members were AdMU, De La Salle College, FEU, NU, San Beda, University of Manila, UP, and UST.
The UAAP was formed in 1938 when FEU, NU, UP, and UST left the NCAA and became the original members of the new association. Adamson and UE joined in 1952, followed by AdMU in 1978 and DLSU in 1986.
UAAP schools compete in 28 events across 15 sports as they vie for the overall championship title.
First-semester sports, which run from August to December, include athletics, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, cheerdance, chess, esports, football, judo, swimming, table tennis, and taekwondo.
Second-semester sports, held from January to May, include baseball, fencing, softball, street dance, tennis, volleyball, and 3×3 basketball.
NCAA schools, meanwhile, compete in 14 sports: basketball, soccer, poomsae, swimming, taekwondo, track and field, chess, tennis (lawn and soft), table tennis, badminton, volleyball, and beach volleyball.
Each UAAP school has its own moniker: the Soaring Falcons for Adamson, Blue Eagles for Ateneo, Green Archers for DLSU, Tamaraws for FEU, Bulldogs for NU, Red Warriors for UE, Fighting Maroons for UP, and Growling Tigers for UST.
The theme for UAAP Season 89, hosted by FEU, is “For Everyone,” while NCAA Season 102, hosted by San Beda University, carries the theme “Strive. Believe. Unite.”
UP has hosted the UAAP 13 times: Seasons 13 (1949–50), 16 (1953–54), 20 (1957–58), 26 (1963–64), 31 (1968–69), 36 (1973–74), 42 (1979–80), 46 (1983–84), 54 (1991–92), 62 (1999–2000), 71 (2008–09), 78 (2015–16), and 87 (2024–25).
In Season 1 (1938–39), UP bagged three championship titles — baseball, volleyball, and athletics.
UP has been overall champion five times: Seasons 40 (1977–78), 41 (1978–79), 43 (1980–81), 45 (1982–83), and 60 (1997–98).
In badminton, UP has won 15 championships — 10 in the women’s division and five in the men’s — the highest number of titles among UAAP schools.
In baseball, UP has won 11 championships, the first in Season 1 (1938–39) and the most recent in Season 68 (2005–06).
In basketball, UP has 12 titles: four in men’s, seven in women’s, and one in boys’. The men’s team won championships in Seasons 2 (1939), 49 (1986–87), 84 (2022), and 87 (2024).
In cheerdance, UP ranks second with eight titles, behind NU with nine.
In chess, UP has been champion three times — once in the men’s division and twice in the women’s.
In fencing, UP has won six championships — once in the men’s division and five times in the women’s.
In football, UP has won 21 championships — 20 in the men’s division and one in the women’s. Its latest title came in men’s football in Season 88 (2025–26).
In judo, UP has won 17 championships — five in the men’s division and 12 in the women’s.
In softball, UP has four titles.
In street dance, UP ranks first with five titles, won in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2025, and 2026.
In swimming, UP has amassed 41 titles, making it the “winningest” team in the event: 17 in the men’s collegiate division, 22 in the women’s collegiate division, and two in the girls’ high school division.
In table tennis, UP has eight titles — two in the men’s division and six in the women’s.
In taekwondo, UP has two titles — one in the women’s division and one in poomsae.
In tennis, UP has won six championships in the men’s division.
In track and field, UP has been champion 25 times — 21 at the collegiate level and four at the high school level.
In volleyball, UP has 12 titles — four in the men’s division and eight in the women’s. Its last championship came in the women’s division in Season 45 (1982–83).
For Season 88, the UP Fighting Maroons’ podium finishes included gold medals in women’s swimming and men’s football. UP earned silver in women’s fencing, judo, lawn tennis, and softball, as well as men’s badminton, basketball, judo, and lawn tennis. Bronze medals came from men’s athletics and fencing, along with women’s badminton.
One campus anecdote has it that UP’s varsity teams were once known as the UP Parrots. The moniker was eventually replaced by one that revived the old “Maroons” name, dating back to around the 1920s, with the adjective “Fighting” added to reflect the spirit and sportsmanship expected of UP varsity teams during competition.
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“Peyups” is the moniker of the University of the Philippines.
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Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com or call 0908-8665786./PN
