Pickleball Became the Hottest Campus Craze: Minnesota State University students held a campus pickleball tournament as part of the Human Performance 435 class. The event, hosted this spring, aimed to teach students how to plan sports events while engaging the MSU community through a growing and accessible sport.
Course Combines Sports Planning With Real Experience
The course, Human Performance 435: Planning Sports Facilities, gives students hands-on experience in organizing events. Each group plans and hosts a sports activity for classmates and faculty. One student group chose to run a pickleball tournament.
“From the setup to tear down to behind the scenes to running all the bells and whistles, everything has turned smoothly, and my group has chosen to do a Pickleball Tournament. We thought it was just a fun way to get students and faculty involved here on campus in a fun, active way. Pickleball is a very popular sport. That’s starting to really evolve. It’s become one of the biggest sports out there recently.” – (Grant Nagel)
Social Media Strategy Boosts Turnout
Students used Instagram to promote the tournament. They faced challenges taking over last year’s account but managed to rebrand it successfully with the new handle: @mnsupaddleclassic.
Because of the success of their rebranding on their Instagram account and hard work in the classroom, the tournament had a total of 32 teams in attendance.
“I don’t know what they had last year, but I don’t think it was close to 32. It was kind of the big number we were shooting for ultimately; we kind of just want to make it engaging and make it fun for everyone.” – (Nagel)
The Event Encouraged Fun and Friendship
The event focused on creating a positive and welcoming experience. Organizers wanted people to connect, have fun, and try a sport that was new to many of them.
“This year alone, it’s gotten so big, and so many people want to try it. We have people that signed up saying that they have no experience and some saying that they have all the experience. It’s really cool to have people that have just started, and people that have been playing for a while and want to just keep playing.” – (Nagel)
“Most students put they’re closer to beginner than expert, so I would say don’t be afraid to give it a shot. It’s so addicting. It’s weird to call a sport addicting, but I think that’s one of the only sports, besides Tennis, that I have called addicting before. So just give it a shot; you might just fall in love with it.” – (Nagel)
Sports Project Leaves Lasting Impact
The pickleball tournament helped students develop new skills in event planning, teamwork, and communication. With growing participation and excitement, pickleball continues to surge in popularity at MSU. This event may lead to future tournaments and student-led sports initiatives on campus.
News in Brief: Pickleball Became the Hottest Campus Craze
MSU students hosted a pickleball tournament through a sports class project. The event had 32 teams and aimed to promote fun and connection on campus. Students used Instagram to boost turnout and encourage new players to join. The tournament offered hands-on experience in sports planning and event management.
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