There are several regional tournaments scheduled for the 25-26 season. 3 organizations (DUPR, NCPA and APP) offer Regionals and Nationals for Collegiate Pickleball. This chart is designed to help clubs understand the multiple tournament formats.
| Regional Formats for each Collegiate Tour | |||
| DUPR | NCPA | APP | |
| Websites | DUPR Collegiate Pickleball | NCPA College Tour | APP U.S. Collegiate Championships |
| Name | SUPER REGIONALS | REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS | REGIONAL QUALIFIERS |
| Rating System | DUPR | NCPA | |
| Official Ball | Vulcan V-Pro Flight | Joola | OWL CK-40 |
| Eligibility Rules | Must be enrolled with a minimum of 9 credits and must have a DUPR account. | Currently enrolled with minimum 6 credits. Must have NCPA Profile set up. Players that have medaled in a pro tournament are ineligible to compete. | Undergraduates – Must be enrolled with minimum of 1/2 full -time enrollment status in an undergraduate program. Graduates – Must have 6 credit hours. Must have USA Pickleball Challenger membership. |
| Live Streams | DUPR YouTube Channel | PickleTV | APPTV – YouTube |
| TEAM FORMAT | |||
| DUPR | NCPA | APP | |
| # of Players on Team | Min 4, Max 6 (2-3 men, 2-3 women) | **Div 1 Only** – 2 men, 2 women (Div 1 represents best players at highest levels) | Min 4, Max 6 (2-3 men, 2-3 women) |
| # of Teams Allowed | Some regionals will have limits to # of teams – check each regional description for details. | 3 teams allowed (12 players) | 3 teams allowed (more if there’s availability) |
| Registration Fee | $49.00/Player – register as a team | $50/Player – register as a team | $200/team |
| Scoring | Rally | Standard | Rally |
| Pool Play – First Stage | DUPR uses MLP style format. Rally scoring to 21 points (win by 2). Freeze to win on serve. Women’s Doubles, Men’s Doubles, two Mixed Doubles. A singles tiebreaker DreamBreaker™ will be played to determine the winner of the Match if teams are tied at 2-2 in games. | One game to 11, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles. Games to 11 best 2/3. Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Mixed Doubles. | Round Robin pool play – matches rally scoring to 15, win on serve. Each match consists of 5 games – gender doubles 1, gender doubles 2, mixed doubles 1, mixed doubles 2, single’s tiebreaker if necessary. For singles tiebreaker, the teams will set an order of play for all four players. They will rotate through the order every four points played. Any player listed on the roster can participate in the singles tiebreaker game. |
| Single Elimination – Second Stage | Same as above | All games to 11, best 2/3. | After Pool Play, teams are seeded in a single elimination Playoff and proceed through bracket play. Seeds are determined by total wins and point differential within pool play. Any singles tiebreaker is not included in point differential equation. |
| Referees | Yes | Yes | Yes, USA Pickleball referees for all matches |
| Bids for Nationals | The four teams that make the semifinals will receive a bid for their school. If their school has already received a bid, then the bid will be given to the next highest ranked school. | 64 teams will receive bids. The top 12 teams from each regional will win a bid to Nationals. 4 NCPA wildcards will be awarded to the teams with the best overall record compared to those that did NOT receive a bid. | The winner of each regional qualifier will receive a top seven national seed and have an automatic bye into the 39 team National Championship bracket. They will not have to play pool play for seeding at the National Championships. 11 At Large bids will be determined by the teams pool play record/point differential at the regional qualifier. |
| # of Bids Per School | 1 Bid Per School | 3 Bids Per School | 1 Bid Per School |
| Prize Money Total | $6,000 per Super Regional | $5,000 per Regional Championship | $5,000 per Qualifier |
| Prize Money Breakdown | Winner – $2,500, Second – $1,250, Semifinals loser – $500 (x2), Quarterfinals loser – $150 (x4) | 1st – $2,500, 2nd – $1,500, 3rd – $750, 4th – $250 | 1st – $2,000, 2nd – $1,500, 3rd – $1,000, 4th – $500 |
| INDIVIDUAL FORMAT | |||
| DUPR | NCPA | APP | |
| Brackets Name | Challenger Bracket | D2 (all levels), Challenger Bracket | NA |
| Brackets Included | Any Doubles Pairing | Gender Doubles, Mixed Doubles and Singles | NA |
| Registration Fee | $49/player | $50/player | NA |
| # of players allowed | No limit | No limit | NA |
| Teams – same school? | Yes, pairings from same school | Yes, pairings from same school | NA |
| Format of Play | The Challenger Bracket will consist of a group play stage, and then a single elimination playoff stage for the top teams. | D2 Pool Play – One game to 11: Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles. D2 Pool Play – Games to 11 best 2/3: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles. | NA |
| Prize Money | Challenger winner $250 | NA | NA |
| Bids | There are no bids given out in the Challenger Bracket. | There are no bids given out in the Challenger Bracket. | NA |