The wait is finally over. College dodgeball is back, and the Michigan region is ready to get things rolling.
A new season means new teams, new faces, new rivalries, and another year of chaos on the court. The offseason is officially behind us, the balls are back in the gyms, and it’s time to find out who came ready to compete.
Another dodgeball season has come and gone in the Michigan region. While some new stars entered the scene and exciting storylines emerged, the bigger picture remained largely unchanged: Michigan State University continues to sit atop the totem pole in Michigan, and the entire country for that matter.
2025-26: Spartans Reign Supreme
PC: Ryan Nowak
The Spartans snagged their third national title in four years this April, with a dominant undefeated season. This came after winning yet another Michigan Dodgeball Cup, and for good measure, claiming the top two spots on the 2026 All-American Team (Matt Barriball and Alex Edson).
The Spartans had a strong regular season, with a 4-0 record vs. GVSU, and 2 wins against another title contender in Kent State. Beyond those matches, MSU was rarely tested, making the inevitable matchup vs. Ohio State even more highly anticipated than a normal 1 v 2 matchup might be. Good news for dodgeball fans: we got that matchup twice at Nationals (Day 1 for seeding and Day 2 in the title game). Good news for those in East Lansing: they won both contests convincingly.
On Sunday, November 23rd in Kalamazoo, Michigan, seven teams arrived at Western Michigan University for the fourth Dr. Peter Broe Classic. The teams in attendance were: University of Akron (Akron), Cleveland State University (CSU), Central Michigan University (CMU), Western Michigan University (WMU), Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP). Below are the results and thoughts from captains and coaches on the day.
This Sunday in Kalamazoo, Western Michigan will host the fourth Dr. Peter Broe Classic. In attendance will be a mix of title contenders, up-and-coming clubs, and out of region teams. The day will include some intriguing matchups and opportunities for various teams to head into Thanksgiving with some serious momentum. The tournament will be broadcast live the the NCDA Dodgeball YouTube Channel. Here is the schedule of games for the event:
Below is a breakdown of each participating team, followed by some marquee matchups to watch.
For this preview, it’s just going to be me sharing my predictions for the Grand Valley Gauntlet, so if you don’t care what I have to say, this is your queue to leave. With that being said, this should be a great tournament all around, as it features 3 of the top 5 teams in the current standings (GVSU, MSU, UC).
Michigan State holds up three fingers after capturing their third-consecutive Michigan Dodgeball Cup title. PC: Kris Haas
EAST LANSING, MI – Michigan State University was victorious on Saturday at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup (MDC), earning their third consecutive title at the annual event. The Spartans rolled through their early opponents, beating Central Michigan (6-0 win), Western Michigan (6-0 win), and Saginaw Valley State (6-0 win), before a clash with Grand Valley State (3-2 win).
With the 4-0 record on the day, MSU moved to 17-2 on the season, and 5-2 against Top-10 opponents. The Spartans maintained control of the Michigan Region, winning their third-straight MDC Title as mentioned above, and they firmly positioned themselves as serious National Title contenders. All-in-all, a solid weekend for those in East Lansing.
For the other schools in attendance at MDC, it was a bit more of a mixed bag. Central Michigan (0-4 at MDC) wasn’t able to secure a victory at the event, but had some bright spots, including a near comeback against WMU. While we’re on WMU, the Broncos didn’t have their best day, losing a close match to SVSU and finishing 1-3 overall. Saginaw Valley State picked up the key win over Western to stay at the 3-spot in the region, but otherwise had a subpar day, unable to truly hang with the ‘Big Two’ in Michigan. Lastly, Grand Valley State failed to hang on to a halftime lead against MSU for a third straight season, extending their title-less MDC streak to 3 seasons (the previous record was… 1). Let’s dive into each of these teams before getting back to the Spartans, and a big picture view after the 2024 Michigan Dodgeball Cup:
This week the five college dodgeball teams from Michigan will make their annual descent on East Lansing, Michigan, and compete for the Michigan Dodgeball Cup. This tournament has a long, storied tradition in the league and usually serves as a good barometer as to who are contenders and pretenders as the league inches closer to April. Historically, the team that wins the Michigan Dodgeball Cup has found itself in the driver’s seat of the National Title race.
With all that said, this year is looking to once again be a two-horse race at the top. Michigan State University is looking to defend not only their MDC Title but also their National Title, while Grand Valley State University is looking to play spoiler and bring both trophies back to Allendale. You don’t often hear the Lakers labeled as potential spoilers, but this is the first time in recent memory that neither one of the trophies (MDC, National Championship) are in the possession of the 11-time National Champions.
We’ve wrapped up our final tournament of the semester. With 9 teams, the Dr. Peter Broe Classic II ended up being one of the biggest tournaments of the year so far. We’ll go over all the scores and stories of the day, as we get ready for the second semester on the road to Nationals.
Happy Holidays everyone, are you listening…? Dodgeball is back as the NCDA heads up to Kalamazoo, Michigan for the 2nd Annual Dr. Peter Broe Classic on Sunday, December 3rd. This tournament will be very busy as there will once again be 9 schools attending, who are all looking for an extra present this holiday season as the semester will wrap up following this event. This tournament will see schools from Michigan, Ohio, & Wisconsin face off against each other and as per usual, we have a preview for each team attending.
By Mitchell Porter (Kent), Owen Israels (GVSU Alum), Erik Zander (UWP alum), and Ethan Lehmkuhl (OSU)
The 2023-2024 season is underway and this is a great opportunity to break down the Michigan region and what to expect. The Michigan region consists of Michigan State University (MSU), Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Western Michigan University (WMU), Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), and Central Michigan University. Let’s take a look below at the region.
EAST LANSING, MI – Michigan State University’s dodgeball club capped off a challenging and emotional week with a Michigan Dodgeball Cup (MDC) on Saturday at IM West. The Spartans (12-0) defeated Grand Valley State (13-6) to win their second consecutive MDC and remain the #1 team in the country. Also in attendance were Western Michigan (finished 2-2 on the day), Saginaw Valley State (1-3), and Central Michigan (0-4).
Below is a recap of each team and the main storylines surrounding them at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup and heading towards the end of the season.
As time grows closer to the Michigan Dodgeball Cup and Nationals, let’s take a step back and look at all the Michigan Region schools and their seasons so far. The following teams are: Michigan State Univeristy, Grand Valley State Univeristy, Saginaw Valley State Univeristy, Western Michigan University, and Central Michigan University. We asked respondents from each school these questions about how they felt their season has gone and general knowledge about their clubs.
1. Who is your OT6? (please include if they are a captain, rookie, etc. 2. Anything notable go well for you at these tournaments? Anything you need to improve on? 3. Any changes for your team heading into the spring semester? 4. Which tournament are you most excited for this spring? 5. What team would you most like to play? 6. Do you have any rising players on your team you’d like to give a shoutout? 7. How will your team do this spring? 8. Please list 3 players you think should be on AA and womens AA (not including your team) 9. Please list 1 rookie youve been impressed by (not including your team) 10. Please give us your thoughts on 1 team ranked above you and 1 team ranked below you.