There's nothing like having some school pride for your alma mater when you get the alumni email that says: "Great news! We’re building pickleball courts on campus!"

It makes me want to go back to college just to join a team. 

Several notable colleges have announced significant investments in constructing pickleball courts on campus. 

The University of Alabama is investing $1.6 million in a project featuring 10 new pickleball courts in a multi-million dollar effort to give students a place to play. 

Texas A&M has 10 permanent pickleball courts on their campus, along with 18 temporary courts to help meet the demand of pickleball playing undergrads. 

The University of Maryland has 16 pickleball courts at their recreational facility. 

The Ohio State University has eight pickleball courts and 16 tennis courts. I can only assume, though, that as time passes, more of those tennis courts will be converted.

Pepperdine recently added eight new pickleball courts to their campus, along with equipment that students can rent for free.

Baylor University is about to cut the ribbon on their newly resurfaced 11 pickleball courts exclusively for their students. 

The University of Georgia, meanwhile, has a whopping 18 pickleball courts on their campus. Go Dawgs.

And the mighty University of Michigan expanded their recreation facility to include 12 indoor pickleball courts with more than 300 people on the waitlist to join the pickleball club. 

In addition to this, hundreds of campuses across the country have at least two to four pickleball courts on campus. If you’re checking out a college, it’s likely to have a few courts because it’s a part of the culture now.

The number of pickleball clubs also continues to skyrocket on college campuses. Though pickleball is not an officially sanctioned NCAA sport just yet, that appears to be drawing closer and closer.

Just seeing the increase in participating schools and players at the DUPR Collegiate National Championships, which is the college pickleball equivalent of the Super Bowl, is nothing short of amazing.

And not only that, they’re fierce competitors too. For example, the winning team at Nationals in 2024 came from Utah Tech, where members of the team, Averee Beck and Liam Duffin, have impressive DUPRs and big aspirations to go pro after graduation. 

College pickleball continues to be unstoppable, with nothing but growth ahead of it. 

Pickleball is popular on college campuses for the same reason we all like it as adults. It’s all about community. For college kids thrust into a whole new environment, the pickleball court is the best place to find your people.

It’s social, it’s active, and so much fun. Even if students don’t have aspirations to follow in the footsteps of Christian Alshon, Ava Ignatowich, and Jack Munro, playing pickleball in college is an excellent way to get connected and find community. 

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