Noah Suemnick established the National Collegiate Pickleball Association (NCPA) in January 2023, spurred on by his experiences creating the pickleball club at Point Loma Nazarene University in 2021.
Recognizing a need for structured involvement across colleges nationwide, the initiative swiftly expanded from a few San Diego-based colleges to encompass over 50 universities. These institutions now engage in NCPA events held right across the country.
Fostering The Growth Of Collegiate Pickleball
The primary objective of the NCPA revolves around supporting the growth of pickleball within college settings and building community cohesion. It emphasizes the provision of organizational frameworks, particularly within collegiate circles, and takes pride in its commitment to giving back to the community.
One of the NCPA’s key initiatives involves conducting alum fundraisers across the nation in partnership with multiple colleges. These professionally sanctioned events are open to all and contribute a portion of the generated revenue from registration fees back to the participating colleges.
High-Quality Competitive Environments
By engaging in these tournaments, players not only get to play in high-quality, competitive environments but also contribute to supporting the upcoming generation poised to advance pickleball even further.
These college and community tournaments are specifically aimed at raising money for participating colleges’ travel expenses to the National Championship.
In these tournaments, players are guaranteed a minimum of four games per bracket and can engage in up to three brackets, with each fundraiser offering a $5,000 payout.
NCPA Events
The NCPA held two events last year. The first was The California Alumni Fundraiser at The Hub, 9545 Campo Road, Spring Valley, CA 91977 in November. Click here to see the results.
Then, earlier this month, The Texas A&M at 746 Penberthy Blvd, College Station, TX 77840 hosted the NCPA Texas Alumni Fundraiser. You can see the see the results here.
There are two tournaments planned for next year. First up is the NCPA Alabama Alumni Fundraiser to be held at the Opelika Sportsplex, 1001 SportsPlex Pkwy, Opelika, AL 36801, on a weekend with a date to be announced very soon.
Secondly, the NCPA Florida Alumni Fundraiser will be held at Pictona, 1060 Ridgewood Ave, Holly Hill, FL 32117. The event will take place over a weekend on a date to be advised – click here to keep up to date with any developments.
Registration for each tournament is $45 per bracket; college athletes: $45 total. The prize pool is $5,000.
2024 NCPA National Collegiate Pickleball Championship
The climax of the NCPA agenda is the National Collegiate Pickleball Championship, which this year sees over 50 colleges from across the nation competing in San Diego over the weekend of March 15th to 17th.
The Hub at 9545 Campo Road, Spring Valley, CA 91977 will host the event, which is broken down as follows:
- D1 Brackets: Gender doubles, mixed doubles, gender singles, final four.
- D2 Brackets: Gender doubles, mixed doubles
The prize pool will be $25,000.
