Pickleball Continues to Fly High on Campus

Photo via udclubpickleball Instagram

Kara Roberts | Contributing Writer

Pickleball has been taking over the world rapidly. The sport has been around for over 50 years, but during the Covid 19 pandemic it started to become very popular. Participation surged 20 percent in 2020 alone because it offered a way to social distance while still having fun and being active with others. Ever since the pandemic, pickleball has become a household name and known sport.

You may have first thought of pickleball as being a sport ages 50+ would play, but it is very popular for college students as well. At the University of Dayton, intramural pickleball and club pickleball are offered. For intramurals you have the options to play coed doubles, men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, and women’s doubles. This allows over 200 students to get to play pickleball every intramural round. Anyone can join the club pickleball team.

Senior marketing major Rachel Yeager, who plays intramural pickleball, said, “I started playing intramural pickleball because I really like pickleball but it’s hard to get a fun competitive game organized, but intramural makes it easy.”

Sarah Khalil, a senior health sciences major, plays intramural doubles. Her favorite part about playing is, “Getting to play with someone and working together to win points.”

Ben English, a senior mechanical engineering major, plays intramural doubles at UD but also grew up playing the sport. 

“Growing up, my Mom’s side of the family always played pickleball. So anytime I visited my Oma and Opa during the summer, my cousins and I would usually play a few games,” said English.

James Tong, Class of ’25, helped start UD Club Pickleball. Tong and his friends saw a need for a club and took action. 

“If I’m being honest, my friend just asked me and a few others to help start up a club. It started out mainly with club tennis people since we all knew the basics, but we all saw how much the sport was growing and thought it’d be a good idea to start the club. What really made me realize that there was a need for this though was a project for professor Frazier [Smith]. 

“I had to do an article about pickleball and saw that two touring pros actually played tennis at UD but turned pro in pickleball. I was lucky enough to work with the team they were on for a bit, and the amount of encouragement they provided and their enthusiasm about us starting a club was something that sort of drove us as a first-year club at the time,” said Tong.

This idea ended up being very successful. Tong said. 

“I saw success from starting the club. Again, the enthusiasm that I got about helping start a club from pros was incredible, but we also saw a decent turnout and interest from not just UD students, but from other schools and brands too.”

Sean Vitales, a senior media production major, is on the UD Club Pickleball team and one of its executive members.

“Something that makes it special is how much time our club spends off campus. In the wintertime we’ve gone and played at a bunch of different facilities around Dayton. It’s been super fun to see what the city has to offer for pickleball since it’s growing and expanding so rapidly,” Vitales said.

Between playing intramural pickleball and the option to join UD Club Pickleball, anyone can easily get their pickleball fix while being a student at UD. The sport has clearly found a strong and growing community, bringing students together through both friendly matches and competitive play. 

Whether it’s the accessibility of intramurals or the expanding opportunities through club involvement, pickleball offers something for everyone, regardless of skill level or experience. As its popularity continues to climb nationwide, one thing is certain: pickleball is no longer just a passing trend, but a lasting part of campus culture and a sport that will keep connecting people for years to come.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Kara Roberts is enrolled in the Flyer News Practicum, where students are exposed to experiential learning in the media arts by producing articles, photos, graphics, podcasts and more for FlyerNews.com, the independent student newspaper website. The Practicum, a part of the Department of Communication curriculum, is offered fall and spring.