Pickleball grew nearly 40 percent between 2019 and 2021, making it America’s fastest-growing sport. The game’s players are leading the charge, looking wherever they can to add more opportunities to play. Robert Morris University is such a place, and the Director of Campus Recreation, who oversees all club sports, Armand Buzzelli, found that out firsthand when a small group of students asked to meet with him about pickleball.
“We had a group of students that wanted to start a pickleball club, and we met with them, they worked hard and marketed the idea, and we ended up with 25–30 players in our Rec Center,” he said.
The pickleball club was born and grew fast. The Rec Center gymnasium quickly transformed, with taped lines on the floor creating 3 official courts and the sound of whooshing nets were replaced with echoes of knocking pickleballs.
“At first, we focused on doubles, rotating teams in and out, separating teams and eventually individuals into playing ability to match them up,” Buzzelli said.
Where there are pickleball players, there will be more opportunities sought. The students once again approached Buzzelli.
“They wanted to branch out further and find other colleges to play against. It was difficult, but we found Penn State, West Virginia, Miami (Ohio), and Ohio State all had clubs where travel would be feasible,” he said.
The Robert Morris Club now plays against these other colleges. They travel with their best doubles teams, as well as singles. The traveling decisions are based on the best player matchups.
“It depends on the schools we play against, but we typically travel with 12-14 players. We are one of the bigger clubs,” Buzzelli said.
All types of students have come forward to play. Robert Morris does not have a tennis team, but many athletes have found this to be a good recreational and competitive outlet. Others utilize the club to escape the classroom vigor and have a study break. No matter what the reason, the results are common, pickleball is a hit.
Buzzelli has seen many advances, and he is eager for future enhancements.
“One thing we are doing is using the DUPR system to help the students determine their playing ability. It is expensive and often not possible for college kids to individually travel to USAPA sanctioned tournaments. This system allows them to get a rating,” Buzzelli said.
DUPR, which rhymes with super, stands for Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating and was developed in 2021 with the goal of becoming the most accurate, global rating system in pickleball. Unlike the rating system of USA Pickleball, the National Governing Body for the sport of pickleball in the U.S., DUPR offers the ability to collect results of all matches to determine a player’s rating, rather than only sanctioned tournament events.
The students have improved their games in a short amount of time, and their ratings change very quickly. With Robert Morris being located in Pittsburgh, home of GAMMA Pickleball, the club has access to local pros for instruction and also has a pickleball pro Dr. Mike Silvio as a faculty advisor on campus.
Just as pickleball is growing and changing on a regular basis, the collegiate scene is also pushing new, exciting ideas.
“Many of the colleges are meeting virtually, and there is talk about leagues and organizing,” Buzzelli said.
The number of college pickleball clubs is growing rapidly. The students are enjoying what many older players have known for years. Pickleball is easy to learn, it’s social, it’s fun, and it’s a great feeling to win.
“I played basketball in college, and now in my early 40’s, I like pickleball much better. I am a 3.5 player, mostly recreational. I play mostly with the students right here,” Buzzelli said.
