MLP / DUPR Announce Official Launch of Collegiate and Junior Pickleball Verticals
MLP / DUPR Announces Official Launch of Collegiate and Junior
Pickleball Verticals to Create Unified Pathway in the Sport
Major League Pickleball (MLP by Margaritaville) and DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating), the leading pickleball ratings organization, today announced the official launch of collegiate and junior verticals under the Major League Pickleball and DUPR umbrella.
This initiative will allow MLP / DUPR to align with key partners in both the collegiate and youth sports spaces to launch an organized competition model that provides endless opportunities to participate in pickleball. MLP and DUPR are combining efforts to build and connect these pathways to lead to the professional platform, by utilizing MLP’s structure, format, rules, and governance, alongside DUPR’s ratings for seeding and selection.
These efforts were recently launched as MLP / DUPR owned and operated the first ever individual National Championship for Collegiate Club Pickleball – with over 20 schools participating – last month in Fort Worth, Texas. The DUPR Club Team National Championships are scheduled to take place in November in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.
“Part of our long term strategic view has been to integrate junior and college pickleball into our existing ratings and competition structure,” said Steve Kuhn, Major League Pickleball and DUPR Founder. “We are excited to announce our commitment to these two new verticals, our first step towards connecting the entire pickleball pathway under one organization.”
About DUPR
DUPR is the gold standard in Pickleball ratings and event management, and is the official ratings system for MLP and PPA. In November of 2022, DUPR successfully launched a collegiate Pickleball national championship in which 16 co-ed teams participated using the same unique team format used in MLP.
For more information on DUPR, visit the official website and follow DUPR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
About Major League Pickleball (MLP by Margaritaville)
Major League Pickleball (MLP) is the premier team-based professional pickleball league and the standard-bearer for the fastest-growing sport in the United States. Founded by Steve Kuhn in 2021, MLP has since expanded from eight to 24 teams and is committed to growing the sport's role in society and impacting every facet of pickleball’s business.
MLP features nearly 100 of the best athletes in the sport spread across 24 teams in a unique co-ed format, iconic team owners, the introduction of promotion and relegation to American pro sports, an innovative draft format, easy to understand scoring, groundbreaking broadcast quality, and the largest payouts in prize money across all of pro pickleball.
In December 2022, MLP named its first-ever title sponsor, Margaritaville, branding the league MLP by Margaritaville. A global lifestyle brand inspired by Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville, has served more than 20 million travelers and consumers every year to change their latitude and attitude with Margaritaville. For more information, visit www.margaritaville.com.
For more information on Major League Pickleball, visit the official website and follow MLP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Media Contact:
Jay Moskowitz, jay@majorleaguepickleball.net