The stage is set for the largest collegiate pickleball event in history as teams from across the nation gather in Dallas for the 2024 DUPR College National Pickleball Championship. With 64 schools competing and $27,500 in scholarship prize money up for grabs, this year’s championship is a testament to the explosive growth of college pickleball and its bright future.
More Colleges Than Ever Before
College pickleball has surged in popularity over the past few years. This year’s nationals sees an increase from 36 schools to 64 from last year, with an additional 216 players competing in this year’s challenger brackets alone!
Why You Should be Excited about College Pickleball
Collegiate pickleball is more than just a fast-growing trend—it’s becoming a powerhouse in the sport. Since DUPR hosted the first Intercollegiate National Championships in November 2022, the sport has surged in popularity among college students. With regional and national tournaments popping up across the country, college athletes now have
School’s will send their best team made up of 2-3 men and 2-3 women to represent their college or university in the team bracket. However, participation isn’t limited to these teams. DUPR is also hosting other players to play in a men’s doubles, mixed doubles or women’s doubles “challenger bracket.”
The competition for the team bracket kicks off on Friday, November 1, with three rounds of group play that will determine seeding for the 64-team March Madness styles single-elimination bracket on Saturday and Sunday.
The tournament will follow Major League Pickleball’s format. When school’s faces off, they will play women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and two mixed doubles matches. If the score is tied 2-2, then they will face off in an exciting singles Dreambreaker™
With excitement building and historic stakes on the line, this championship promises to be a milestone event in the rise of collegiate pickleball.
New All-America Regional Teams
This year’s championship also offers a new honor for top-performing individuals: All-America recognition. For the first time, the tournament will name All-America 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams, each composed of four men and four women divided by region—East and West—using the Mississippi River as a boundary
This historic addition provides elite college players with a level of recognition previously unavailable, further elevating the national championship's profile.
The lead-up to nationals has been a long time coming. DUPR hosted 9 super regional events over the past two semesters, where top finishers at each event earned bids for their school to play at nationals.
FAU Captures DUPR Super Regional in Florida
Florida Atlantic University dominated DUPR’s first super regional of the semester, clinching first place without dropping a match and securing a bid to the Collegiate Nationals in Dallas this November.
These regional tournaments provided players with a taste of high-stakes pickleball and set the stage for the intense national-level competition that awaits. The bid-based system furthers the legitimacy of pickleball as a collegiate sport.
Schools to watch out for
University of Virginia — Team DUPR: 19.681
Last year’s defending national champions return three players from the team that beat UNC- Chapel Hill in a dreambreaker in last year’s final.
They also captured a super regional victory in Virginia Beach earlier this year. UVA is definitely a team to watch out for.
University of North Carolina — Team DUPR: 20.067
Last year’s national runner up sees themself in a similar position to UVA. Selkirk and MLP signed pro Collin Schick will not be with UNC at nationals this year. However, they still return multiple players from last year’s team.
Utah Tech — Team DUPR: 21.271
Utah Tech captured not one, but two super regionals this fall. After winning in Nevada & Arizona, Utah Tech is poised to make a deep run at this year’s nationals.
University of Texas — Team DUPR: 18.964
UT boasts the #1 ranked player in the country, Jack Munro. Munro currently plays for the Chicago Slice in Major League Pickleball’s challenger division. Munro won two individual national championships this past summer, and will look to add a team championship to his resume.
How to Watch DUPR Collegiate Nationals
DUPR Nationals will take place in Dallas, Texas but you can catch the action streamed on the DUPR YouTube channel on Friday Nov 1st at 6pm CT through Sunday Nov 3rd.
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