As the 2022 semester kicks off, one thing can be said for certain about the college dodgeball atmosphere: we are amidst an entirely new league. After practices came to an abrupt end two years ago, college dodgeball returned last fall, and with it came an exciting season of close matches, upsets, rookies, and of course, dodgettes (Shout-out to Akron University’s female players for coining the new term).
This article continues to highlight dodgettes across the league: December 2021 graduates, pre-COVID veterans, and new recruits. Stay tuned to hear how they made their name in the league and what they are looking forward to this year; in other words, dodgettes navigating a new league.
We expected a weekend full of quality dodgeball as Akron hosted their 5th annual iteration of The War. What we witnessed, however, was frankly a lot of lopsided matches. Certain teams we anticipated to have great performances came in as advertised. Others left a lot to be desired, and will hope to bounce back strong if they play again before Nationals, or else they will be chewing on those hard truths about the way their team played for the next 5 weeks.
With that being said, there is a lot to unwrap, and a lot to be said about what we saw from each team, whether they performed well, poorly, or somewhere in between. Let’s go team by team and evaluate what we saw.
With the 2022 semester in full swing, one thing can be said for certain about the college dodgeball atmosphere: we are amidst an entirely new league. After practices came to an abrupt end almost two years ago, college dodgeball returned last fall, and with it came an exciting season of close matches, upsets, rookies, and of course, dodgettes (Shout-out to Akron University’s female players for coining the new term).
This article continues to highlight dodgettes across the league: December 2021 graduates, pre-COVID veterans, and new recruits. Stay tuned to hear how they made their name in the league and what they are looking forward to this year; in other words, dodgettes navigating a new league.
The second annual John Betters’ Bobcat Bonanza showed us where a lot of teams stand at this point in the season. With most teams having played a match throughout the league as of the conclusion of this weekend, I think we are finally starting to get a good picture for how each team compares to one another. While there are still a lot of lingering questions (IE – how does the majority of the East Coast stand up to the rest of the league? What does Michigan State look like? Is Towson still truly a top team in the NCDA? Are Grand Valley and Cincinnati actually that good?), we did get some real answers this weekend. Yes, Grand Valley is still a force to be reckoned with. Yes, Cincinnati is a legitimate title contender despite the loss to the aforementioned Lakers. Yes, the league is in overall good health with impressively large rookie classes for a lot of teams who hadn’t played prior to this weekend such as Ohio and Saginaw Valley.
What hasn’t been answered, however, is what each team thought about their own individual performances on the weekend. The participating Captains and Presidents minced no words when it comes to how they felt about their teams’ performances this past weekend. Here’s what they had to say:
With the return of dodgeball comes the return of what I can only assume will become a time honored tradition for Ohio University, and that is hosting the annual John Betters’ Bobcat Bonanza in the fall semester. Not only will this year’s iteration feature eight talented dodgeball teams, but we will also witness the retirement of the great John Betters’ jersey as well as the ceremonial first throw – a welcomed new addition to the tournament.
Silliness aside, Ohio University will be host to some of the hardest hitting, most impactful matchups the NCDA has to offer since before the pandemic started in March of 2020. The teams in attendance will be Bowling Green State University, the University of Cincinnati, Grand Valley State University, James Madison University, Miami University, hosts Ohio University, [the] Ohio State University, and Saginaw Valley State University.
There are a lot of intriguing storylines to consider and questions that need answers as we head into Saturday’s tournament. To shine some light on some of those, we’ve asked the leaders of each team to provide some insight into who some players to look out for are, what they think about their respective matchups, and what they need to do to have a successful day Saturday. Without further adieu, here is what each team had to say:
The teams that will be attending are: BGSU, Miami, Cleveland State, and of course Akron. The Pink Out is typically Akron’s fall tournament in October to raise awareness for breast cancer by wearing pink with their uniform whether its socks, headbands, wrist bands, or even shoes. Although this is the significance behind the naming of the tournament, It has evolved to be more about raising awareness for any cause instead of just breast cancer: NCDA players can represent something greater than dodgeball.
This marks the 6th time that teams will compete at the University of Akron in October for the (formerly) annual Pink Out Tournament, hosted by the Zips. The teams in attendance will be the Redhawks from Miami, The Bowling Green State University Falcons, and The Cleveland State Vikings. The three visiting teams will all be competing in their first matches of the season, with the hosts competing in their second tournament this year. I asked the attending school’s captains what their takes and expectations for their teams are when they compete this weekend, as well as some stand out players to watch out for on their squad.
Listed below is the 2020 All-Region Team for Ohio. This list was voted on by captains within the Ohio Region.
1. Owen Sill – Bowling Green State
This year’s All-Ohio MVP is none other than the man behind the infamous gym hype video, Owen Sill, of the Bowling Green State Falcons. Owen is a tour de force on the dodgeball court and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been on the wrong end of his terrorizing throw. Owen is a larger than life presence on the court and he knows it. He’s in the middle of every big play for the Falcons and when he’s on the court, the mission of the opposing team is to get this man to the outline so they have a chance of victory. As soon as Owen is ever caught back into a game, you can feel the tides changing in favor of Bowling Green. His team and BGSU fans alike cheer out loud when this man enters a game. There hasn’t been many talents like that. Congratulations to Owen on what has been a monumental career. Hopefully we get to see his talents on the court in grad school. Truly a once in a lifetime player.
It has been one heck of a fall semester for the NCDA, thanks in no small part to the Ohio Region. The region has continued to grow and yield better results year after year, and we don’t see that trend dropping off any time soon. Most of the teams who’ve competed have winning records, and also own impressive out of region wins! Honestly, this should come as no surprise. As the region continues to grow, they continue to host the most tournaments, with, on average, the most teams in attendance. In fact, while Ohio as a region has hosted 5 tournaments averaging 14.4 matches, the East Coast Region has only hosted 3 tournaments averaging 5.67 matches, and the Michigan Region has also only hosted 3 tournaments averaging a mere 4.67 matches (doubleheaders, forfeits, and B-team matches were excluded from the tally). So while teams from separate regions are of course attending some of each others’ tournaments, it’s pretty easy to see how the Ohio Region is quickly growing in skill & relevancy.
If we’re being frank, from top to bottom, the Ohio Region might be the best in all of college dodgeball. Don’t believe us? Here are the inter-regional records for each region through the end of the fall semester (not including B-team matches & forfeits):
The following was co-authored by Tom Morand, Adam Pfeifer, Reid Manger, Noah Ourant, and Colby Briceland.
The Ohio made big waves this season and had undoubtedly the best season overall by the ever growing state. Ohio was able to add another team to the mix in the University of Cincinnati, and have several teams in contention for the National title with many teams finishing top 10, not to mention a 5 team overtime tie breaker for the Ohio Dodgeball Cup. The sky is the limit for Ohio, and the following players are largely responsible for how prominent the State has become to College Dodgeball.
Last Saturday, four teams were in action and put evrything out on the court at the Redhawk Rampage II. Miami University (3-0) came out on top, followed by Bowling Green State University (2-1), University of Wisconsin Platteville (1-2) and University of Cincinnati (0-3). The following are the results for the day and the captains’ review of the teams and their performances.
This Saturday, March 9, 2019 at Miami University four teams are coming together for a round robin tournament. The following teams will be in attendance: Miami University, Bowling Green State University (BGSU), University of Cincinnati (UC), and the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP). It is a battle of the Ohio Region and the Midway Conference. Which region will come out on top? Let’s take a look at the schedule:
On December 1 2018, several teams at the December Dodgeball Dash went head to head to show case their stuff. The teams in attendance were: Grand Valley State University, Ball State University, Miami University, University of Cincinnati, and the University of Wisconsin Platteville. Below are the scores of the games for the day. Continue reading “December Dodgeball Dash- Recap”
This Saturday, December 1, 2018, marks one of the last events of 2018 for the NCDA. It will be held at the Jo Ann Gora Student Recreation Center (1700 W Neely Ave, Muncie, IN 47304) at Ball State University. The teams in attendance will be: Michigan State University (MSU), Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Miami Ohio (Miami), University of Cincinnati (UC), Ball State University (BSU), and the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP). The following is the schedule for the weekend. Continue reading “December Dodgeball Dash”
