NCPA To Have College Division At NPPL San Diego

When you browse the lists of registered teams for the coming NPPL eventin San Diego, you might be surprised to see team names like ArizonaState and U. Cal filling out the ranks along with the usual suspects such as Dynasty, Bad Company and Arsenal.  For the second time this year, the National Collegiate Paintball Association (NCPA) and the NPPL have teamed up to create a standalone collegiate division, open to all college athletes across the country.

In both 2004 and earlier in the year NPPL hosted similar divisions at
the Huntington Beach Tournament that showcased some of college
paintball's top teams.  In 2004 Louisiana State University took the win
over reigning champion Illinois and this past season Arizona State
bested USC.

Both the NPPL and NCPA realize the potential benefits of jointly run
tournaments.  NCPA League President Chris Raehl stated, "There are
several positive things that come from hosting NCPA Tournaments jointly
with NPPL.  It gives our teams a chance to experience high profile
venues and promote their sponsors on the national level.  It also gives
spectators and fellow 'ballers something fun and exciting to watch as
they can root for their home team, or alma mater."

Chuck Hendsch,President of NPPL Inc. said "The NPPL is proud to have the college teams play at our event in San Diego. As the sport of Paintball continues to grow it is only natural for Colleges and High Schools to get involvedand compete. We hope that the college teams enjoy their experience atthe San Diego NPPL Super 7 World Series and eventually make the NPPLevents a regular place to compete in the future. "

NCPA League play is scheduled for Sunday September 18th, 2005 and finalswill take place on the NPPL Showcase field.  To sign up for the event,or for more information on the NCPA in general, please visit
www.college-paintball.com or email Chris Raehl at ncpa@college-paintball.com

When asked if this event signaled a change in the relationship he has with the PSP, Chris Raehl said "The NCPA always strives to find opportunities to champion
college paintball and the sport in general through partnerships
with others in the paintball industry.  The NCPA and the NPPL
have long enjoyed a productive relationship, and the NCPA
college division at the NPPL San Diego tournament is the latest
product of that existing partnership.  NPPL San Diego will
actually be the third NPPL event the NCPA has appeared at,
having also been at the past two NPPL Huntington Beach
tournaments.  Our teams have always had a great time at the NPPL
events, but due to the different season schedules (NCPA runs
September to April) and geography (the NCPA has traditionally
been strongest in the Midwest and Northeast), we've
unfortunately had limited opportunities where NPPL events
occured during the NCPA season and in a location where enough
teams could travel to the event to make it practical.  With the
4th NPPL event now scheduled after the NCPA season start in
September and a growing number of NCPA teams on the left coast,
we were very pleased to be able to add NPPL San Diego to the
NCPA's event calendar this year, and hope to continue offering
an NCPA college division at as many NPPL events in the future as
possible.

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