Kent State Dodgeball Club

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The club is known for the pioneering of the Dodgeball Renaissance, playing in multiple tournaments in different states, hosting the first ever intercollegiate dodgeball match against the Ohio State UniversityFact|date=June 2007, and being featured in multiple media outlets, including The Today Show.

History

The club was founded by KSU students Olsen Ebright and Nick Fantozzi in the fall semester of 2002, meeting on Friday afternoons with 10-15 students, each brining their own 8.5-inch rubber playground ball. At first, the games had more spectators than players, building a campus-wide buzz. By the end of the fall semester, 50-60 students were arriving every Friday.

, an unofficial motto arose: "The first rule of Dodgeball Club is you do not talk about the Dodgeball Club."

On March 10, 2003, Kent State hosted the nation's first intercollegiate dodgeball match, against the Ohio State University. The match, touted as The Battle For Ohio Dodgeball Supremacy, ended with OSU 16, KSU 14. This marked one of the sport's first and most heated rivalries.

In the fall of 2003, various sports clubs reserved the multi-purpose gym, leaving the dodgeballers to play on basketball courts. After having multiple balls thrown into the climbing wall area of the fitness center, the group was banned from using basketball courts. At this point, all players agreed legitimacy was the only way to keep the club alive.

In January 2004, the club filed with the Kent State Department of Recreational Services to become a competitive sports club. Unlike student organization status, sports clubs are able to receive school funding, reserve campus facilities, use the school's name and logo for intercollegiate competition and use the school's insurance policy during trips.

As people started to graduate and move on the dodgeball club started to do the same. In 2005-2006 the dodgeball club seemed to have reached its peak. Friday dodgeball games were packed having anywere from 15-30 people on a team. Then things started to slow down. In the following years to come, 2007 there were still plenty of people to play a couple games but nothing compared to the previous years. Something needed to be done.

Durring the 2007-2008 dodgeball year, the club was taken over by Matt Veith and Carl Veith. Knowing that restructuring was in order, the club set out to establish a concrete program with plenty of tournament play and interest in the club. During this time, a group of KSU dodgeball players entered into a NDL (National Dodgeball League) tournament in Dublin Ohio. Their team name was the "Ant Hill Mob". They entered into this tournament for the first time and as underdogs. The winner of the tournament however, was awarded a seed in the National Championships held in Las Vegas. Straight from the NDL website [http://www.nationaldodgeball.com/tour/Recaps-2007/Recap-Dublin-OH.html] this is how it played out.

""'The Midwest was well represented in Dublin Ohio. Teams from Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Pennsylvania, to name a few, showed up to vie for the title of NDL champion.

Right from the start it was anyone's tourney. Demolition was looking to prove their NDL victory earlier this year in Virginia was no fluke. The Legends and Destroyers two good teams but both had rough starts. And Erie Beach trash taking on their third tour stop and still looking for an elusive victory ran just ahead of the pack.

In their first NDL event ever Ant Hill Mob The Chuckers, Cincy, and Legion proved they were no push-over's. The Legion, especially, made an impact on the tournament with their spirited play. But of all the new comers, it was Ant hill Mob that appeared to be the team to beat.

In the middle rounds Erie Beach looked tough but was eventually ousted by Demolition. The Destroyers made a Heroic effort to climb through the loser's bracket after an injury forced them to play one man down. But the newcomers, Ant Hill Mob, proved too tough for the wounded Destroyers and their hopes of a Cinderella ending were put to bed.

As the others fell by the wayside, it all came down to the rookie team The Ant Hill Mob and the seasoned veterans from Demolition. In the end experience proved to be the difference as Demolition took home their second NDL Victory and all the bragging rights that went with it.

Thank you to all teams that participated! We hope you can all join us elsewhere on tour, Aug. 8-10th in Las Vegas for the 2008 Dodgeball World Championship, and in Dublin again next year!""'Even though they took second, the team was given the chance to go to Vagas for half the price but the team could not make it. However, 2008-2009 year there are sights set for Vagas.

In the spring of 2008 Carl Veith took charge of the tournament path and set up the very first "Smash and Bash" at Kent State University. This was the first ever dodgeball tournament hosted at Kent State University. Some teams that showed up were Malone College (who sent 3 teams), there was Youngstown State University and there were several KSU teams other than the KSU dodgeball club. In this event the Kent State Dodgeball showed their talent as they went undefeated throughout tournament play. Malone proving versatile held off a very strong YSU team to fight for first place but fell short in the finals. Players were awarded medals for first, second and third place and everyone was given a t-shirt for signing up as well.

Notable Wins

February 22, 2004 -- Kent wins first place at an International Dodge Ball Federation tournament held in Buffalo, New York, taking home the Golden Shovel trophy.

May 8, 2004 -- Because Kent won the February tournament, they were eligible to compete in the New York Dodgeball State Championship tournament, which they won, marking the first time an out-of-state team won the title.

April, 2008 -- Kent State wins the first annual "Smash and Bash" tournament at Kent State University

Media Attention

As one of the first collegiate teams in the nation, the club has been featured in the Daily Kent Stater, Cleveland Scene, Seattle Times, TIME magazine, The Daily Texan, and NBC's The Today Show.

External links

* [http://www.kent.edu Kent State University]
* [http://www.dodge-ball.com/ International Dodgeball Federation]