National Collegiate Pickleball Association

Name

National Collegiate Pickleball Association

Legal name

National Collegiate Pickleball Association

Website

https://ncpaofficial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The National Collegiate Pickleball Association (NCPA) is a U.S. non-profit founded in 2023 that governs club collegiate pickleball across 150+ universities and runs NCPA Junior programs for ages 6-17, using a proprietary tournament platform, national broadcasts, and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collegiate and amateur pickleball competition governance

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121), Sports Teams and Clubs (711211)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) (MPAKAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Amateur Sport Governing Bodies & Federations (National/Regional) (MPAKACAD), Sport-Specific Amateur Leagues & Circuits (Non-Professional) (MPAKACAJ)

Keywords

• Collegiate sports governance
• Tournament management services
• Youth pickleball programs
• Amateur athletics organization
• Pickleball competition leagues

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tournament Registration Fees: Tiered registration fees based on division: D1 at $95/player, D2 at $45/bracket, D3 at $35/bracket. Revenue generated from individual tournament entries across regional and national championships.
2. League Registration Fees: $45 per player per bracket for intramural league participation, with prize payouts distributed to top finishers at different levels (Beginner: $1,200 total, Intermediate: $2,400 total, Advanced: $3,600 total per bracket type).
3. Fundraising Tournament Fees: NCPA charges $5 per person for fundraising tournaments. Host clubs set their own bracket fees (minimum $20/player) and retain 100% of those funds.
4. Prize Pool Contributions: Total prize pool of $75,000+ for D1/D2/D3 teams at Nationals ($30,000 total prize + bounties) plus $25,000+ for individual brackets. Regionals offer $2,500 prize pool per division.
5. Junior Program Revenue: Revenue from summer camps (4-6 week programs), after-school programs (4-6 week), and club pickleball seasons (4-month). Coach payouts are deducted from registration fees collected.
6. Sponsorship and Partnership Revenue: Partnership packages with sponsors including Ice Shaker, Schoolyard, Joola, PickleTV, and venue partners. Includes brand visibility, tournament sponsorships, and program partnerships.
7. Donations and Scholarships: Tax-deductible donations supporting junior player scholarships, college program scholarships, and NCPA growth/staffing. 2025 fundraising goal of $100K with $40K already achieved.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The NCPA governs and operates a national club collegiate pickleball competition system in the United States, offering tiered tournaments (Leagues, Conferences, Regionals, Nationals) across Divisions 1, 2, and 3, plus a junior program for ages 6–17. It runs a proprietary tournament software platform for registration, brackets, and rankings, and distributes national events through live broadcasts on Amazon Prime, PickleTV, and YouTube.

Product overview

The NCPA offers a unified platform for collegiate and junior pickleball competition comprising a tournament management software system (tournaments.ncpaofficial.com) for registration, brackets, rankings, and player ratings, supplemented by live event programming including Regional Championships (12 events), a National Collegiate Pickleball Championship, and an NCPA Junior Program (ages 6–17) with coaching, leagues, and national competition. The portfolio includes standardized competition formats (NCPA Team Format D1/D2/D3 and Junior Format), Conference league play across 16 regional conferences, Intramural Leagues, Fundraising Tournaments, and Scholarship/Donation programs. Live streaming via YouTube, PickleTV, and Amazon Prime Video provides broadcast reach to millions of viewers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NCPA Junior: Junior pickleball program for ages 6-17, providing coaching, leagues, tournaments, and pathways to collegiate competition and scholarships.

Products and services

• NCPA Tournament Management Platform Comprehensive tournament software platform enabling player registration, bracket management, team rankings, player ratings, match scheduling, and conference/league coordination across collegiate and junior pickleball competitions.
• National Collegiate Pickleball Championship Annual national championship event for collegiate club teams (Divisions 1, 2, and 3) featuring pool play into single elimination brackets, with $75,000+ in prize money and bounties.
• Collegiate Regional Championships 12 regional championship events across the country where teams compete to qualify for Nationals, featuring D1/D2/D3 team format and individual brackets from 3.0–5.0+ skill levels.
• NCPA Junior Program Youth pickleball program for ages 6–17 providing professional coaching (150+ hours/year), structured local leagues, regional and national competition, college recruitment exposure, and pathways to collegiate play.
• NCPA Leagues Intramural pickleball leagues organized by collegiate clubs featuring head-to-head competition with cash and product prizes across beginner (3.0–3.5), intermediate (3.5–4.0), and advanced (4.0+) skill levels.
• NCPA Conferences Regional league play system where schools compete locally within conferences (minimum 4 schools per conference) using a point system (3 points for a win, 1 for a tie), leading to Nationals qualification.
• NCPA Junior Registration Programs Structured youth programs including summer camps (4–6 weeks, ~36 hours coaching), club pickleball (4-month seasons with 6–12 players), and after-school programs (4–6 weeks, ~40 hours coaching).
• NCPA Junior Coaching Program Network of certified, background-checked coaches providing youth pickleball training with tiered payment structure by age group, venue compensation, and equipment discounts.
• NCPA Fundraising Tournaments Collegiate club fundraising tournament program where NCPA handles event operations and software while clubs set bracket fees and retain 100% of proceeds, with NCPA providing paddles for events with 50+ players.
• NCPA Scholarships & Donations Financial support programs including junior player scholarships (ages 6–18), college program scholarships for club operations and travel, and general program funding with tax-deductible donation options.
• NCPA Live Streaming & Broadcast Live broadcast and YouTube streaming of D1 events, including national coverage on PickleTV (Amazon Prime Video) and dedicated YouTube channel for livestreams and recordings.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ student-athletes from 64+ universities competing at National Championship
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Ice ShakercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial apparel partner providing hydration products for college athletes. CEO Chris Gronkowski: 'We're pumped to partner with the NCPA to support collegiate pickleball. College athletes are at the heart of this movement, and our bottles keep them hydrated and performing at their best.'
• SchoolyardcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial App partner for the NCPA, providing mobile platform engagement for collegiate and junior pickleball participants.
• JoolacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial Ball Sponsor for NCPA events, providing premium equipment for collegiate competitions. CEO Richard Lee: 'The collegiate pickleball movement represents the future of our sport, and we're proud to support these talented athletes with our premium equipment.'
• PickleTVcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLive national broadcast partner for National Collegiate Pickleball Championship events, streaming competitions to national audience.
• Amazon PrimecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLive national broadcast partner providing streaming coverage of National Collegiate Pickleball Championship events.
• VorzaniminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner logo displayed on NCPA website, indicating partnership relationship.
• Rally RepublicminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner logo displayed on NCPA website, indicating partnership relationship.
• Tyrol PickleballminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner logo displayed on NCPA website, indicating partnership relationship.
• The Pickleball CupflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPA has partnered with The Pickleball Cup to host the first international club collegiate pickleball championship (Global College Pickleball Cup), estimated to take place in Texas in mid-November 2026. Open to collegiate programs from any country.
• The ArchcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum Club venue partner, hosting National Championship at Arch Pickleball and Badminton in Bridgeton, MO (February 27 - March 1, 2026).
• Pickleball Virginia BeachcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum Club venue partner, one of the premier pickleball destinations in the country. Co-owner Jim Aldrich serves on the NCPA Board of Directors.
• The Hub JacksonvillecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum Club venue partner, serving as regional competition venue for NCPA events.
• A21minorOthersCharity partner receiving 10% of all NCPA proceeds to combat human sex trafficking. Ongoing partnership supporting A21 campaign.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association): The dominant national governing body for collegiate athletics. Comparable as the umbrella governance model for collegiate sport that NCPA explicitly parallels but is independent of — relevant for understanding NCPA's positioning and NCAA's potential role in formalizing pickleball.
• USA Volleyball: National governing body for volleyball with parallel junior-to-collegiate pipelines, sanctioned tournaments, club structures, and national championships. Structurally analogous to NCPA's amateur-sport governance model across age tiers.

Emerging players

• DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating): The most widely adopted pickleball rating platform. Comparable as a pickleball-specific ratings and tournament infrastructure provider that competes with NCPA's proprietary ratings and tournament management software.
• Major League Pickleball (MLP): A team-based professional pickleball league. Comparable as a pickleball-specific league operator pursuing sponsorships and broadcast deals, but with a pro/team format rather than the collegiate-club model NCPA serves.
• Minor League Pickleball: A team-based amateur/recreational pickleball league with franchised regional teams. Comparable as a pickleball circuit organizer using regionalized league play, but skewed toward adult amateur club teams rather than collegiate institutions.

Others

• Selkirk Sport: A leading pickleball equipment and apparel brand. Comparable as a pickleball-industry incumbent whose sponsorship relationships and brand presence overlap with NCPA's sponsorship ecosystem (alongside Joola, Ice Shaker).
• US Lacrosse: National governing body for lacrosse with a comparable junior-collegiate organizational structure, sanctioned tournament circuits, and member-club network. Useful as a structural analog for non-NCAA amateur sport federation models.

Direct peers

• Professional Pickleball Association (PPA Tour): The leading professional pickleball tour in the US, organizing sanctioned tournament circuits for elite players. Comparable as a pickleball-specific governing/operator organization that builds competitive structures, ratings, and broadcast partnerships.
• Association of Pickleball Players (APP Tour): A competing professional pickleball tour with a distinct circuit and player ranking system. Comparable to NCPA in operating a sanctioned competitive tour, managing player ratings, and pursuing broadcast distribution.
• USA Pickleball: The recognized national governing body for pickleball in the United States. Directly comparable as the umbrella federation that sanctions rules, tournaments, and ratings nationwide, overlapping with NCPA's role for the collegiate and junior segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ncpapickleball

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Collegiate Pickleball Association