The 2025 Collegiate National Championship (CNC) Tournament is taking place this weekend at the Life Time Peach Tree Corners, just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
The facility is known as one of the largest and nicest pickleball facilities in the country. With over $30,000 in scholarship money on the line, the play is going to be electric.
How it works
In February 2025, the Collegiate Pickleball Tour was announced:
Erik Tice
This is a partnership between Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) and the United Pickleball Association (UPA). DUPR had been running a collegiate tour for years, but the UPA came in to partner and help offer more scholarship money and run more events.
The CNC is the biggest event of the Collegiate Tour season. Teams had to qualify at regionals and super regionals for one of the bids.
The Collegiate Tour plays matches to 21, rally scoring, win by two.
1st Team Bracket
The 1st Team Bracket consists of the top 64 schools in the country. Each school could earn one bid to this bracket by finishing well in the qualifying regionals.
Schedule of Play
- Friday, April 11th - Group Play
- Saturday, April 12th - Bracket Play from Rd of 64 through Rd of 16
- Sunday, April 13th - Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Championship
Here is a breakdown of the top 10 teams, in terms of DUPR rating.
Dangerous teams outside the top 10: The Ohio State University (19.72), University of Florida (19.534), USC (19.401), Grand Canyon University (19.274), and UNC Chapel Hill (19.233).
Utah Tech is the reigning national champion from the fall of 2024, so these teams are looking to take them down.
Thomas Shields
Scholarship money in the 1st Team Bracket:
1st - $15,000
2nd - $5,000
3rd & 4th - $2,500
5th - 8th - $1,250
Two spots on the line in the MLP Mid-Season Tournament
In addition to the prize money, there are two spots on the line at the Major League Pickleball (MLP) Mid-Season Tournament. The top two teams from this tournament will be invited to play in the Challenger Level Mid-Season Tournament, playing against the pros.
While the prize money is awesome, many of these college players would love the opportunities to test themselves against the best of the best.
2nd Team Bracket
In addition to the 1st Team Bracket, there are also a 2nd Team Bracket and Challenger Bracket at the event.
The 2nd team Bracket is meant for two different kinds of teams. First, a school that did not earn a bid to the 1st Team Bracket during qualifying, could enter this bracket. Also, a school that earned two bids to this event during qualifying could enter their second team into this bracket.
The vast majority of these 2nd Team Bracket entrants are the second team from schools that have thriving pickleball clubs. Of note, The University of Florida second team has a DUPR of 19.325, which would put them in the top 15 of first team entrants. They will be big favorites in the 2nd Team Bracket.
Scholarship money in the 2nd Team Bracket:
1st - $3,000
2nd - $1,000
3rd & 4th - $500
Challenger Bracket
The Challenger Bracket is divided into women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles. This is for players who are not competing in the 1st or 2nd Team Brackets. Many players are playing in both gender doubles and mixed doubles.
Scholarship money in the Challenger Bracket:
$1000 - School that brings the most players to the tournament
$1000 - School that brings the best performing challenger teams (min. 3 teams)
$500 - For the winner of each challenger bracket
