Ronnie Eason
Founders Era 1978-1984
Primary Team: Ether Bunnies
Career Highlights
- Played in first College Nationals
- Key organizer for multiple Centex tournaments held at the UT Intramural Fields
- Running too close to himself
- Texas Ultimate Frisbee Hall of Fame Induction 2026
Ronnie Eason throws a low backhand against tight defense.
Eason skys for the catch and begins looking downfield before hitting the ground.
The Legend of Ronnie Eason
Ronnie started playing various frisbee sports (ie. disc golf, freestyle, and frisbee football) with his old high school friends in the suburbs of Houston around 1977. He moved to Austin in the Fall of 1979 and began to play ultimate in 1980, playing with the UT Frisbee/Lone Star Frisbee Ultimate teams before forming the Ether Bunnies with Larry “Buck” Baldauf, Mike Long, Karim Aziz and other friends from the ultimate community during the summer of 1981.
Becoming part of the Bunnies was transformative and for the next six or eight years virtually all traveling he did was to ultimate tournaments.
Becoming part of the Bunnies was transformative and for the next six or eight years virtually all traveling he did was to ultimate tournaments.
“There are still cities that I have been to where I can remember nothing about them other than the fields and maybe the Saturday night party. The team became my extended family. I played for the Ether Bunnies until their untimely demise in 1986”, Ronnie mused.
Afterwards he played with the Austin combo team Splat, that went to club nationals in San Diego in 1988. Ronnie also played at the inaugural College Nationals Championship in 1984 with the UT Bonghorns, and numerous post-Bunny teams including Yocon Ron and the Yohimbe Warriors, Chingao and Masters national teams. He was known for a good backhand, sartorial excellence, hand blocks, push passes and tricky cutting; once in a game an opponent called a pick on him when there were no other players nearby. The defender said I had “run too close to myself”. And in fairness, I had run right next to myself.
While playing for the Ether Bunnies he inherited the position from a roommate as the liaison with the University Rec Sports division and helped maintain access to the beloved Intramural Fields (no dogs, no alcohol) for the entire Austin frisbee community. The Intramural Fields were one of the best field complexes in Texas at that time. Associated with that role he was the organizer or co-organizer of multiple Centex Tournaments, one of the longest-running ultimate tournaments in Texas. Because the University was very protective of their fields we were not allowed to practice or have tournaments when the fields were too wet.
While playing for the Ether Bunnies he inherited the position from a roommate as the liaison with the University Rec Sports division and helped maintain access to the beloved Intramural Fields (no dogs, no alcohol) for the entire Austin frisbee community. The Intramural Fields were one of the best field complexes in Texas at that time. Associated with that role he was the organizer or co-organizer of multiple Centex Tournaments, one of the longest-running ultimate tournaments in Texas. Because the University was very protective of their fields we were not allowed to practice or have tournaments when the fields were too wet.
Ronnie doin’ some kind of dance thing.
“On one occasion a huge rain event occurred just before one of the Centex tournaments was set to start and we were told we could not use the fields until they were significantly drier. We had to move the tournament with 20+ teams to the nearby National Guard base, Camp Mabry, where we had an informal agreement to use their site as a backup. Whoever agreed to that for the Guard was probably demoted. After a round of games at Camp Mabry the tournament was unceremoniously kicked off the facilities after tracking mud through numerous buildings and making an epic mess of their parade grounds,” Ronnie recalled.
The entire tournament was then sent to a half dozen junior high and high school fields scattered across Austin where they had even less permission than they had at Camp Mabry. Somehow, the entire slate of games were completed and they were able to finish under the lights at the Intramural Fields once the fields dried out.
Also, in the category of other duties as assigned, I was the person circulating through the players on the sidelines at numerous Austin tournaments warning people to hide their beers when the supervisors showed up. At a tournament with 24 teams competing, by the time the Finals came around there were a lot of people drinking beer on the sidelines! It always felt like we were skating on thin ice there. While the field supervisors were really nice to us and turned a blind eye to our excesses, the Rec Sports folks were very rule-oriented and we were lucky to stay in their good graces for as long as we did.
Also, in the category of other duties as assigned, I was the person circulating through the players on the sidelines at numerous Austin tournaments warning people to hide their beers when the supervisors showed up. At a tournament with 24 teams competing, by the time the Finals came around there were a lot of people drinking beer on the sidelines! It always felt like we were skating on thin ice there. While the field supervisors were really nice to us and turned a blind eye to our excesses, the Rec Sports folks were very rule-oriented and we were lucky to stay in their good graces for as long as we did.
Fellow Texas Ultimate Frisbee Hall of Famer, Tim “Limb” Hackney, takes a swipe at Ronnie’s sidearm throw.
Ronnie was loved and respected by his teammates and opponents.
These feelings were well expressed by long-time Ether Bunny, Rick Airey, who said: Ronnie was always a leader and a friend to all who played in those early Bunny years. Never one to get too up or too down on anyone or, visually, on himself. He welcomed most anyone who wanted to play with us, even if they weren’t overly skilled or athletic. Ronnie was one of the reasons Ultimate players wanted to play for the Bunnies – he was the picture of fun Ultimate. Never too serious but always competitive. Ronnie always had a quick wit which kept the rest of us laughing. Once on the sidelines watching a game next to a woman and her large Rottweiler, a player who was commonly known as “not a good person on the field”, walked up. Ronnie and I had been sitting there for a while with no incident. The player stands next to us and the dog started growling. Ronnie’s response was “that dog must be a good judge of character!” Always witty and quick on the draw – that’s Ronnie.
Ronnie was a consummate teammate who would give playing time to lesser players, just in the act of being overly fair. We all had made time and monetary sacrifices, but Ronnie would allow some of the lesser players to take some of his playing time. Just the kind of guy he is…
Yeah, yeah, yeah – everyone knows Ronnie is a great guy. But he was an awesome Ultimate player and feared competitor. Exceptionally hard to cover with those “dog” cuts of his. Other teams would put their best players on Ronnie to cover him. He still got open, over and over. When you are high in the stall count, find Ronnie. He could catch any swill you threw at him. He saved me and everyone on the Bunnies many times. And on defense, he was always good for a hand block, a diving block, or skying his man.
Most of all, Ronnie was and is liked by his teammates and respected by the teams we played against. As they used to say, “Ultimate doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” Ronnie’s high moral character was consistently revealed.
Ronnie was a consummate teammate who would give playing time to lesser players, just in the act of being overly fair. We all had made time and monetary sacrifices, but Ronnie would allow some of the lesser players to take some of his playing time. Just the kind of guy he is…
Yeah, yeah, yeah – everyone knows Ronnie is a great guy. But he was an awesome Ultimate player and feared competitor. Exceptionally hard to cover with those “dog” cuts of his. Other teams would put their best players on Ronnie to cover him. He still got open, over and over. When you are high in the stall count, find Ronnie. He could catch any swill you threw at him. He saved me and everyone on the Bunnies many times. And on defense, he was always good for a hand block, a diving block, or skying his man.
Most of all, Ronnie was and is liked by his teammates and respected by the teams we played against. As they used to say, “Ultimate doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” Ronnie’s high moral character was consistently revealed.