Inside the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association

The National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s Mission

“The purpose for which the Organization is organized is to act as the premier governing body that fosters an educational, athletic, and recreational atmosphere for collegiate-level competition in the sport of Dodgeball by involving its members in the organizing, promoting, and hosting of events and help in the growth and development of dodgeball.”

About The National Collegiate Dodgeball Association

The National Collegiate Dodgeball Association (NCDA) is a non-profit organization that strives to grow the sport of dodgeball at the collegiate level. The NCDA’s board of directors facilitate connections between college teams across the country to offer new tournament opportunities and grow their clubs. “We are really the route to help college clubs discover what else is out there in our sport. We help create content for clubs, do film sessions, stream games, and promote tournaments to encourage teams from across the country to come out to play each other,” Erik Zander, Treasurer at the NCDA shares.

The NCDA is expanding nationally. Currently, the organization has a presence in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, Kentucky, Georgia, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. This year, the NCDA hopes to expand to the East Coast and South region. “We actively contact universities to start new clubs on campuses. This year, we are hoping to add 2-3 new teams,” Zander adds.

The Game

For the basic events, two teams play a full hour match with 25-minute halves. The objective is to get everyone on the other side of the court out, which earns your team a point. At the end of the match time, the team with the most points wins. The NCDA’s league uses 8.5-inch rubber dodgeballs and plays on a full basketball court with 12 players on each side of the court at one time.

The NCDA has its own points ranking system that influences team rankings leading up to the annual Nationals Tournament. “We have an exchange system for points. Based on the quality of your opponent, if you win or lose, you exchange points throughout the season. When we get to Nationals, we have pool play that leads to standings for an elimination bracket,” Zander notes.

Events

The NCDA helps manage and promote events throughout the year, including several regional and larger tournaments. The BEAST Tournament is held each year at James Madison University and is the largest NCDA tournament on the East Coast. Ohio State University is also hosting the annual Ohio Dodgeball Cup this year. The Michigan Dodgeball Cup, the longest-standing tournament in the league besides Nationals, is hosted by Michigan State University annually. For a full list of events, click here!

The season starts mid-August and continues until the Nationals Tournament in April. This year’s Nationals Tournament will be held from April 15-16, 2023 at Ohio University.

What Does the NCDA Need from Hosts?

For most NCDA tournaments, 3-4 courts would be ideal. Score boards are a necessity, and dividers are key to contain the dodgeballs between courts. Fan seating is also a nice to have for these high-energy events. “The national location varies depending on which schools put in a bid to host. Since that is the biggest event of the year, we typically need 6 courts for that,” Zander notes. “Additionally, we are looking to involve alumni players in more events. Colleges are tough to reserve when the students aren’t involved, so outside venues are ideal for those events,” he adds. This past summer, the NCDA held a leadership conference where alumni played against current players, and the group hopes to continue those types of opportunities going forward.

Seeking Sponsorships

The NCDA is actively looking for sponsors for their events, especially for the Nationals Tournament. At the Nationals Tournament, the NCDA is looking for organizations to sponsor the all-star game, women’s match, and alumni game. Additionally, the organization is searching for sponsors for each court to help stream all games that weekend. “We have many other opportunities for sponsors that we are open to as well,” Zander adds. Any interested sponsors are encouraged to reach out & contact the organization via Playeasy here or email eboard@ncdadodgeball.com directly.

Growing the Sport & Getting Involved

This year, the NCDA is working to add a women’s division for the first time. Currently, it is a co-ed sport, and the goal is to have both men’s and women’s divisions thriving alongside one another. “The idea came up this summer from a few women on the board who would like to see more involvement. We are very excited to get the women’s league started. Last year, we had 40+ women participate, so we really want to make it so they have their own league, possibly starting at 6v6 and someday becoming 12v12. Our hope is to have separate clubs. It would be awesome if we could have both men’s and women’s events going on at the same time. We want to set the women’s league up so they can sustain themselves and recruit as well,” Zander says.

Thanks to its robust social media presence, the NCDA continues to reach new colleges. “A lot of the new teams that have been messaging us have been reaching out on Instagram and Facebook. When we are first contacted, we ask a variety of questions to gauge their interest and needs. The hardest thing is starting a club on campus takes time – there’s a constitution you have to make, you have to do recruiting, etc. We are always there to help get clubs get going, so we often assist with the work just to get started,” Zander shares.