It’s the round of 64 at the 2024 DUPR Collegiate National Championship. And the pickleball courts at Brookhaven Country Club are full of college pickleball players in matching uniforms and sponsored gear, looking to take home the victory to their Alma mater. 

Colleges across the nation are here. From local Texas schools like University of Texas, Baylor, and Texas A&M, to cross-country travelers like Florida Atlantic University, University of Michigan, Duke, Utah Tech, and many others.

This is the biggest DUPR Collegiate National Championship to date. With a total of 64 schools and 500 players participating in the action. Needless to say – this is a big deal.

Hunter Aiono, the Collegiate Pickleball Director for the PPA Tour, shared his insight on the incredible growth of collegiate pickleball. 

“The very first collegiate national championship was held in 2022 and there were 16 teams. And I think there were only about three players that were above a 5.0. And now, there are some incredibly competitive teams with players who want to go pro and regularly play in pro qualifiers at the PPA,” said Aiono. 

Current pros Jack Munro and Ava Ignatowich are also participating in the championships with their college teams. 

There’s a lot of action packed in one weekend during the MLP Dallas Playoffs and before kick-off of the Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships. But here is how the collegiate action unfolds. 

After group play on Nov. 1 that gets every team seed, today begins the single elimination round of 64 that gets whittled down to the top four teams who will compete tomorrow, Nov. 3, on Championship Sunday. 

“The college format is basically the MLP format. It’s a little bit tweaked but it’s rally scoring. There are seasons throughout the year and during the seasons we have qualifying tournaments called regionals. The top teams of those regionals are held across the country and teams earn bids to be here,” explained Aiono. 

“But for the teams that get eliminated early, we have consolation games and bowl games where the top teams here will earn bids automatically for the next Collegiate National Championship,” added Aiono. 

Tune in to the 2024 DUPR Collegiate National Championships to watch the action on Grandstand Court and Championship Court.

Aiono founded his college’s pickleball club at Utah Tech in 2022 and has seen the competitive collegiate pickleball scene grow as much as the sport itself. 

“Two things are developing in college pickleball. Some colleges are starting to offer scholarships. Utah Tech was the very first school to offer scholarships and they worked through a private donor that worked through the school that offered scholarships for six credits which is enough to play a whole team,” said Aiono. 

“There are other teams like Drury University who have a varsity program and the school pays for their pickleball gear so it falls under their athletic department umbrella,” added Aiono. 

Additionally, there are lots of pickleball brands and companies getting involved specifically with college. Six Zero Pickleball is one of the big sponsors for multiple college teams and they pay for the team’s travel and gear. 

“It’s growing at such a fast rate and it really is like the wild west. But college pickleball is the best and I can’t wait to see where it goes,” said Aiono. 

These current college players are the pros of tomorrow. And with the incredible growth, I think we all need to be paying more attention to college pickleball.