The season kicked off with the Buckeye Opener and this weekend the Central Region is kicking off its season with a double header between the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP) and the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL). The double headers between UWP and UNL have become a tradition over the last several years and always brings about a good battle. Last year, UNL was able to win both games with scores of 7-1 and 4-3. Can you UNL repeat again what they did last season and come out on top in both games? Let’s take a look below on what the captains from both teams think heading into this weekend!
The 2023-2024 season is underway and this is a great opportunity to breakdown the central region and what to expect. The Central region consists of: University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL), University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP), Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW), University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign (UIUC), and University of Wisconsin Stout (Stout). Let’s take a look below at the region.
As a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we would like to invite all of our organizational members to look at our Fiscal Year 2022 finances to see the year that the NCDA had. Our fiscal year rans from 7/1/2022 to 6/30/2023.
Each year the Platteville Dodgeball Club puts on the Tim Ebert Memorial Scholarship Tournament, and this year we are teaming up with the National Dodgeball Association (NDA) to run the event. The tournament will be held on Saturday, August 12th, the link to the event page can be found here (NDA-Platteville). Tim Ebert was a player at the University of Wisconsin Platteville who was respected by his teammates as a captain and friend. Tim could always be counted on, always there to help, and was always making a difference. The funds raised go towards a scholarship in his name offered by the Platteville Dodgeball Club.
Saturday August 5th will mark the NDA’s first women’s only tournament being held at Owens Community College near Toledo, Ohio. The NDA is committed to growing the sport and highlighting the women in our league on a new stage. This tournament will feature the no-sting ball type and will be played in a 6v6 format. For the first event, there will be the following three teams in attendance: Cleveland Comets, Midwestern Mercenaries, and Midwestern Martians. Let’s take a look at each team below.
The 2022-2023 season comes to an end and it is time to recognize the individuals that put in the work to make it onto The Central All-Region team. The Central Region consists of the following teams: University of Nebraska Lincoln, University of Kentucky, University of Northern Georgia, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Wisconsin Platteville. This list consists of the top 12 players in the conference, voted on by their peers. A special thanks to the players that helped with this. Let’s take a look at the results and individuals below!
Miami Madness took place on April 1st at Miami University. The day was filled with intense competition, showcasing the skills and sportsmanship of the participating teams: Ohio University, Miami University, Ohio State University, and the University of Illinois Urban-Champaign (UIUC). The following are the results and a rundown from Kevin Skiba (UC) who was there to see all the teams in action.
The college dodgeball championship is right around the corner and the excitement heading into nationals is growing. Nationals will have some of the best games of the year, which means there is a good chance that we see overtime matches. Overtime matches usually constant of a team’s six best players on the court and they can be on the court for many different reasons. Below let’s take a look at some of the top players from the central region that I think you might want to consider having in your overtime six.
The following was written by content writer Matt Gonzalez (UNL). Throughout the history of the NCDA, there have been a variety of methods used to determine who the best team in the league is. The league has come a long way from the power rankings of its early years to the current hybrid system of the Gonzalez and Champ systems. One thing has remained constant though, there have always been critiques of the rankings systems. What if there was a simpler solution? What if there was a way to track an undisputed best team at any given time?
Thus, the concept of the College Dodgeball Championship Belt is born. A lineal championship belt, one that only exchanges hands when one person wins a head-to-head matchup, is used in sports like boxing and mixed martial arts. What would the history of the NCDA look like if this is how the top ranked team was determined?
The annual Zanderthon Throw-Down took place on February 25th at the University of Wisconsin Platteville. It was an event between current members and some familiar faces from the alumni. Even though it was just Platteville and its alumni, it made for a fun and exciting day of competitive dodgeball. Let’s take a look below at the results on the day.
It is another weekend of dodgeball and Platteville is hosting the the 7th annual Zanderthon Throw-Down on February 25th. Although, this time around it will just be the current players vs the alumni, we are still expecting to see some exciting matchups and some entertaining dodgeball. The day will start out with a full NCDA match between the current team and alumni followed by mixing up teams to compete in a 6v6 round robin tournament that will end with the top two teams in the championship match! Let’s take a look at each of the teams below and the schedule for the day.
On February 4th, Grand Valley State University held the Grand Valley Gauntlet IX. The teams in attendance were Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The day gave us a glimpse into what we can look forward to from these teams this semester. Below are the results for the day and a breakdown for each team.
On February 4th, Grand Valley State Univeristy will be hosting the Grand Valley Gauntlet IX. The following teams in atttendance will be: Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Michigan State University (MSU), and University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP). Below is the schedule for the day and a breakdown of each of the teams.
On December 10th and 11th of 2022, NCDA alumni players Joeseph Walsh and Kris Haas hosted the Northern Invasion at Cleveland State University. Joe and Kris are currently part of the Spartans USA Dodgeball Team and this team participates competitively in the USA Dodgeball premier circuit league. For this tournament format, the USA Dodgeball ruleset was used. This is a different format on smaller courts that have other ball types besides 8.5 rubber (foam, no-sting, and cloth). It was an event put on to provide an opportunity to play some more dodgeball before the end of the year and for NCDA players to experience a different format and meet former NCDA players and players outside the league.
Windy City Corruption
The weekend consisted of four divisions: No-sting, 8.5 open, cloth, and 8.5 pinch. No-sting and 8.5 open were played on Saturday and cloth and 8.5 pinch were played on Sunday. There were 12 teams for the no-sting, 10 teams for cloth, 8 teams for open 8.5, and 7 teams for pinch. On the weekend, there were roughly 95 participants: a total of 38 current NCDA players, 31 NCDA alumni players, and 26 Non-NCDA players (a total of 13 NCDA teams were represented). 29 out of the 38 current NCDA players played in all 4 divisions, and 16 of the 31 NCDA alumni players played in all 4 divisions. The winners of each division are as follows: open 8.5 and cloth DMV Grizzles, no-sting Windy City Corruption, and 8.5 pinch the Spartans. Let’s hear some of the thoughts on the event below.
Since September 2019, the NCDA has been recognizing rookie players that make a statement on the court through their skills, leadership, and ability to mobilize a team. For the first time in NCDA history, there is a Women’s league and with comes another opportunity to recognize the women in the league for their accomplishments and stellar play. Our Women’s Rookie of the Month goes to Abby Emery of the University of Akron. She has improved considerably as the season has gone on and will continue to be an asset for her team going forward. Ethan Lehmkuhl (Ohio State) took some time to interview this exceptionally talented player. Take a look at the interview below:
