Bowling has strong competition at the college level, particularly in Divisions I and II, where some of the top talent has a chance to earn substantial scholarship dollars. While collegiate bowling in the NCAA is only open to women, there are scholarships for male bowlers as well.
If you are looking to play at the college level, some of the top schools include Wichita State University, University of Nebraska, New Jersey City University, and Vanderbilt University. These schools’ bowling programs award scholarships based on talent. As bowling has become more high-visibility and more popular among student athletes, the level of competition has increased for school-funded scholarships. Much of the funding is controlled by organizations like the NCAA, which also means there is a great amount of emphasis placed on not only talent but academic records, as those awarded scholarships must meet certain GPA requirements.
Bowling is an official NCAA sport for women and is an equivalency sport for NCAA scholarship purposes, so partial scholarships can be awarded to meet the limit per school. For example, an NCAA I school can award 10 women each a 1/2 scholarship and not exceed the limit of 5 per team. Both Men’s & Women’s bowling are official NAIA sports.
The NCAA is the largest athletic association in the U.S. If you are good enough to bowl for a Division I or Division II school, you may be eligible for some scholarship dollars. There are 43 member schools that offer Div 1 or Div 2 Women’s Bowling and only 2 schools that offer scholarship bowling for Men.
A typical collegiate bowler carries an average of 165+ throughout the competition year. Collegiate coaches also want to see your field average and average differential in order to compare you against the rest of your competitors.
Bowling at the college level is an emerging sport, so there are many coaches who are eager to find qualified recruits. However, NCAA Bowling only offers scholarships for women, not men. But, there are tons of available bowling teams to be a part of; you just have to know how to find the right one.
Don’t have an iPhone?
While we work on our Android app, you can still work with the ASM Sports team of dedicated recruiters. Click here to request a consultation.
