APP & DUPR, Big Ten Battling: College Pickleball in Midwest

As pickleball explodes in popularity across the country, the sport is gaining a proportionate foothold on college campuses across the U.S. As the third installment of a five-part series, with this entry theTUNDRA explores the state of collegiate pickleball at schools throughout the Midwest. Read our entry on the West here and our overview of the game at a national level here.

Collegiate Pickleball Clubs: The Background

Collegiate pickleball is made up of student-run clubs. Club members and leadership – not the school’s athletic department – organize practices, matches and events. Most clubs organize matches within the squad as well as matches against other teams – usually just a handful of their top players compete in these.

As for the sport’s organization on a larger scale, ratings system DUPR has emerged as the main player. The organization hosted 12 regional tournaments in 2023 and is slated to host 16 regionals, in addition to eight “super regionals” in 2024. DUPR also hosts the Collegiate National Championships every November.

As the sport grows, established organizations like USA Pickleball and APP are getting into the collegiate game. APP recently hosted their own collegiate championship tournament. Meanwhile, the upstart National Collegiate Pickleball Association (NCPA), features prominently as well, with plans to host four regional tournaments and a national championship tournament in 2024.

The Teams: Midwest Region

The Midwest is the only region without a team in DUPR’s top 10 college pickleball rankings. Its highest-ranked team, Indiana University, comes in at No. 14.

The Hoosiers are one of the fastest-rising teams in the sport, considering the Bloomington, IN school didn’t have a squad until late 2023. Founded by college Junior Sam Hutner and Hoosier alumnus Timber Tucker, the Hoosiers made their competitive debut in late September at DUPR’s Michigan Regional. But the brand-new squad wasn’t treating this as a chance to ease-in to competition — the Hoosiers took the coveted first place trophy. That win punched their ticket to nationals and rocketed them up to the No. 9 spot in DUPR’s rankings. But the team couldn’t make it out of the group stage at nationals.

Coming in one spot below Indiana, the University of Michigan can add pickleball to the list of nationally ranked teams at one of the best sports schools in the country. Like their traditional Big Ten Rivals, the Wolverines were bounced in the group stage at nationals. They did, however, secure gold at DUPR’s Minnesota Regional in early April; the team was forced to vacate the title, however, after Connor Stallions was seen in the stands at the event (not really).

THE Ohio State University is home to THE No. 20 ranked pickleball team in THE country (we’ll stop before THE joke gets old). The Buckeyes made it out of the group stage at nationals, but were swept by the University of Florida in the first knockout round. At least they made it farther than Michigan.

No. 26 Miami University in Oxford, OH (not to be confused with the University of Miami in Miami, FL), is the only other Midwestern school to crack the top 30. The RedHawks made it to nationals, before bowing out in the group stage. The club began in early 2021, and has grown to include nearly 400 members.

The University of Iowa also made it to nationals, but didn’t manage to win a single game in the group stage. Even after their postseason disappointment, however, the Hawkeyes are ranked No. 31 in the country.

The Tournaments

This is where it gets interesting. For a region largely missing from the top of the rankings, the Midwest has a strong presence in the tournament circuit.

In 2023, DUPR held three events in the region. The Minnesota Regional in Lakeville, MN, just outside of the Twin Cities, crowned Michigan as champs in early April. Two months later, Maryland won the Ohio Regional in Mason, OH. The Michigan Regional was the second to last regional tournament on DUPR’s schedule, running from late September to early October, with Indiana taking gold in Rochester Hills, MI.

In 2024, the DUPR circuit is expanding. The season will kick off with the Illinois Super Regional, slated for the first week of February in Chicago. That’s the only super regional scheduled to be in the Midwest, but the organization will also hold 16 regional tournaments on college campuses. The locations of these haven’t been announced yet but it’s a safe bet that at least a few will be held in the region.

With DUPR already well established in the Midwest, the APP Tour announced its first-ever U.S. Collegiate Championships in Westfield, IN. The tournament, which took place on January 3rd and 4th, brought together the best collegiate teams in the country as they competed for a $50,000 prize. 26 teams made to trip to Indiana, with Utah Tech claiming gold. Taking place the first week of January, it was also the first event of the APP’s 2024 season, putting it in even more of a spotlight 2024 season, putting it in even more of a spotlight.

Is a Turf War Brewing?

APP is the first pro tour to dip its feet in the collegiate circuit. It remains to be seen if this is a one-off, or the start of a new collegiate pickleball circuit. But if comments by the league are any indication, the latter scenario seems more likely. APP founder Ken Herrmann said in a statement released by the APP
that the organization has big plans for the collegiate circuit in 2024.

“This event is a special one,” Herrmann said. it's the first of its kind to feature college-level pickleball teams battling it out for gold and it kicks off our long-term efforts in the collegiate space. You will see exponential growth in college pickleball in 2024, with new events by the APP, and at colleges and universities across the country.”

The APP is based in Chicago, so if it opts to expand its collegiate circuit, it will have a big impact on college pickleball in the Midwest. Keep an eye out not only for more tournaments in the region but also for the organization to invest in the collegiate sport — leading to more teams and better infrastructure at colleges across the Midwest. Fingers-crossed a Midwest college cracks the Top Ten by that time.

The Stars

Similarly, with a lack of a team at the top of the rankings, the Midwest is falling short of a nationally dominant superstar. At the DUPR Individual National Championships, not a single athlete from the Midwest reached the podium. The region didn’t produce a single semifinalist either. Ohio State and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater were the only two schools to send athletes to the tournament.

But that’s not to say the region doesn’t have its standouts. Indiana’s run to nationals was fueled by Carter Wittendorf, who’s already ranked nationally in the sport as just a sophomore.

Wittendorf’s teammate, Mehvish Safdar, took bronze in both women’s singles and doubles at the APP Collegiate Championships.

Over at Ohio State, meanwhile, Anna Lenhart took second in women’s singles at the APP event.

Moving Forward

The main issue to watch going forward is whether the APP continues to build on the success of its inaugural college tournament, and adds more events in the region; If so, APP can establish itself as the main player in the area, surpassing DUPR. However, the battle might be short-lived. Herrmann told Indianapolis’s WRTV he thinks pickleball could become an NCAA sport relatively soon.

"The NCAA doesn’t recognize pickleball yet as a scholarship sport, but all of the colleges have started clubs,” Herrmann said. “Hopefully this shows the NCAA maybe they should consider pickleball as an official sport.”

The other battle to watch is between Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan. Will Indiana build on its fast rise last season to become the best team in the region? Will Ohio State build on its tournament run? Will any of the three be able to compete with the best teams in the nation? 2024 should give us some clarity on those questions.

Despite the question marks one thing is for sure: there are times when building the airplane while you fly it is pretty fun – this is one of those times, so let’s enjoy the ride.