Michigan State will travel to Depaul to play in the 2013 Chicago Dodgeball Open in early January this season. It will be the third straight year that State has participated in the tournament, and they have had great success there. They previously won the tournament in the early years of the NCDA, and in the past two seasons in the CDO the Spartans are 6-2. In 2011 they beat Moody Bible, Western Illinois, and Depaul, and narrowly lost 2-1 to eventual National Champion Central Michigan. The following season they beat Western Illinois 4-2, Nebraska 14-0, and Moody 5-0 before losing to Grand Valley 4-1. The CDO is a highlight of the season for many of the Spartans, as they get to travel to Chicago and make a weekend out of the tournament.

As of now there are 6 teams headed to the CDO, including co-host schools Depaul and Moody Bible. Michigan State will also be joined by Big Ten foe Nebraska, in-state rival Grand Valley, and emerging power James Madison. The Spartans have had much success against Depaul and Moody, and they thoroughly enjoy playing them. The same can’t be said for their match-ups with Grand Valley and James Madison. State has never beaten GVSU, and they lost their only match against JMU at Nationals 2012. The Spartans have only faced Nebraska once, but they were able to defeat them handily. All of the other schools participating are schools that Michigan State would like to play, all for different reasons, and it should be a great tournament.