NCAA bowling championship

The NCAA Bowling Championship is a sanctioned women's championship in college athletics. Unlike many NCAA sports, only one National Collegiate championship is held each season with teams from Division I, Division II, and Division III competing together. Nineteen teams, eleven of them automatic qualifiers and the other eight being at-large selections, are chosen by the NCAA Bowling Committee to compete in the championship. The championship was first held in April 2004.

The most successful team is Nebraska with 6 titles. Youngstown State is the reigning champion, defeating 2024 champion Jacksonville State 4 games to 3 in the 2025 championship held at Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas, NV.

Nebraska is the only program to qualify for all 21 NCAA Bowling Championships since the NCAA started sponsoring bowling in the 2003–04 season.

In July 2025, the Division II Management Council recommended that the division's executive board sponsor legislation that would establish a separate D-II bowling championship. This legislation is expected to be considered by the D-II membership at the 2026 NCAA convention. The Division II Championships Committee had started a feasibility study for a D-II bowling championship after the 2023–24 school year, at which time 38 D-II members sponsored the sport. Under current Division II rules, 35 members must sponsor a sport before a separate D-II championship can be established. Should the final legislation be approved in 2026, the first D-II bowling championship would take place in April 2028; current NCAA rules require that once a division-specific championship is approved for a sport that uses the National Collegiate format, two National Collegiate championships must be held before the division championship can start.

Format

The collegiate bowling season runs from late October through the end of March, and the National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship is held in April.

Through 2017

The format for the championships from 2004 to 2017 began with qualifying rounds in which each team bowled one five-person regular team game against each of the other seven teams participating in the championship.

Teams would then be seeded for bracket play based on their qualifying rounds win–loss record and then competed in best-of-seven-games Baker matches in a double elimination tournament. In the Baker format, each of the five team members, in order, bowls one frame until a complete (10-frame) game is bowled. A Baker match tied 3½ games to 3½ games after seven games is decided by a tiebreaker, using the Modified Baker format, which takes the scoring from only frames 6 thru 10.

2018 and 2019

In previous years, all eight participants received at-large bids. In 2018 the NCAA Women's Bowling Committee selected a field of ten participants. Six teams are automatic qualifiers from the conferences that have been granted an automatic bid, and the other four receive at-large bids. At that time, the six conferences that fulfilled the criteria to be granted an automatic qualifier were the Division I Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Northeast Conference, Southland Bowling League, and Southwestern Athletic Conference, plus the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and East Coast Conference. The ten participants were ranked and seeded based on the criteria used by the selection committee. The top six seeds automatically entered the championship bracket. The four lowest-seeded teams played in on-campus opening round matches to determine the two participants advancing to the eight-team championship bracket. To minimize travel costs, the matchups were determined by geographical proximity rather than seedings.

In 2019, the championship field expanded from 10 to 12 teams, coinciding with two new conferences fulfilling the criteria for automatic qualification—the Division II Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and the Division III Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. Accordingly, eight conference champions received automatic bids, and the NCAA Women's Bowling Committee selected four at-large teams to fill out the 12-team field. The top four teams were seeded into the Championship bracket, while the eight remaining teams competed in four play-in matches. The winners of these matches were seeded into the eight-team championship bracket.

Qualifying rounds were eliminated in favor of a seeded double-elimination bracket. Each match within the bracket consisted of best-of-three matches using specified formats (five-person regular team matches, Baker total pinfall, and Baker match play).

The championship finals were a best-of-seven match using Baker match play rules. The tiebreaker rule used through 2017 will still apply to Baker match play in the new format.

From 2020

The championship was scheduled to expand to 16 teams in 2020. The number of automatic bids was reduced by one after the MIAA bowling league disbanded at the end of the 2018–19 season. Although five schools that had participated in the final season of MIAA bowling became part of the new bowling league of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), those schools were not in the same bowling league for a sufficient time to allow the GLVC to inherit the MIAA's automatic bid.

The 2020 tournament was intended to be the first to feature regional play. The field was to be split into four regions, each with four teams competing at predetermined sites; each of the top four seeds as chosen by the NCAA selection committee would be placed in a separate regional. Each regional was to be played as a double-elimination tournament, with the format identical to that introduced for the championship event in 2019. All regional matches, except for what the NCAA calls "if necessary regional finals", are best-of-three matches bowled in the following order: five-person team, Baker total pinfall, Baker best-of-seven match play. Any "if necessary regional final" will be Baker best-of-seven. Regional winners will advance to the championship event, which will also be double-elimination. All matches will be bowled under the standard format for regionals (best-of-three matches using specified formats in a specific order) except the championship final, which will be Baker best-of-seven.

On March 12, 2020, the NCAA announced that the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 tournament featured six automatic berths (CIAA had its championship cancelled due to COVID-19) and ten at-large selections. This was the first tournament to feature regional play. Both regional and championship rounds were all played at one site. The 2022 tournament saw the number of automatic bids increase by two, to eight, with the GLVC champion receiving an automatic bid for its champion and the CIAA champion returning after a one-year absence. There were eight at-large selections. For the first time, regional competition took place at four predetermined regional sites - Erie, PA, Rochester, NY, Lansing, MI, and Arlington, TX, with the regional winners advancing to the championship round. The 2023 tournament saw the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin gain an automatic bid, bringing the total number of automatic bids to nine. Eight at-large selections and four predetermined regional sites carried over from the 2022 tournament. The 2024 tournament saw the bowling alliance between Conference Carolinas and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference gain an automatic bid, bringing the total number of automatic bids to ten. Eight at-large selections and four predetermined regional sites carried over from the 2023 tournament. The 2025 tournament saw the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference gain an automatic bid, bringing the total number of automatic bids to eleven. Eight at-large selections and four predetermined regional sites carried over from the 2024 tournament.

Champions

All schools are listed with their current athletic brand names, which do not always match those used by a school in the relevant season.

style=Template:CollegePrimaryStyle colspan=9|NCAA National Collegiate Bowling Championship
Year	Site		Championship
			Winner	Score	Runner-up	Individual Games	Most Valuable Bowler	Ref
2004 Details	Emerald Bowl Houston, Texas		Nebraska	4–2	Central Missouri	170–131, 160–208, 185–190, 239–150, 219–197, 215–173	Shannon Pluhowsky, Nebraska
2005 Details	Wekiva Lanes Orlando, Florida		Nebraska	4–2	Central Missouri	220–210, 247–266, 148–192, 205–190, 190–172, 235–184	Amanda Burgoyne, Nebraska
2006 Details	Emerald Bowl Houston, Texas		Fairleigh Dickinson	4–1	Alabama A&M	209–165, 148–184, 172–165, 200–179, 196–165	Lisa Friscioni, Fairleigh Dickinson
2007 Details	Wekiva Lanes Apopka, Florida		Vanderbilt	4–3	Maryland Eastern Shore	167–164, 242–166, 154–202, 148–170, 224–180, 178–235, 198–150	Josie Earnest, Vanderbilt
2008 Details	Thunder Alley Omaha, Nebraska		Maryland Eastern Shore	4–2	Arkansas State	179–223, 200–181, 180–182, 217–164, 175–152, 174–170	Jessica Worsley, Maryland Eastern Shore
2009 Details	Super Bowl Lanes Canton, Michigan		Nebraska	4–1	Central Missouri	200–185, 149–198, 201–168, 201–177, 190–135	Cassandra Leuthold, Nebraska
2010 Details	Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes North Brunswick, New Jersey		Fairleigh Dickinson	4–3	Nebraska	209–167, 202–222, 203–213, 229–192, 201–222, 230–190, 208–174	Danielle McEwan, Fairleigh Dickinson
2011 Details	Skore Lanes Taylor, Michigan		Maryland Eastern Shore	4–2	Vanderbilt	215–197, 164–193, 201–248, 234–204, 235–166, 192–181	Kristina Frahm, Maryland Eastern Shore
2012 Details	Freeway Lanes Wickliffe, Ohio		Maryland Eastern Shore	4–2	Fairleigh Dickinson	222–204, 236–215, 167–249, 208–168, 170–223, 203–176	T'nia Falbo, Maryland Eastern Shore
2013 Details	Super Bowl Lanes Canton, Michigan		Nebraska	4½–2½	Vanderbilt	211–199, 186–197, 156–169, 190–190, 196–189, 202–182, 246–200	Liz Kuhlkin, Nebraska
2014	Game of Wickliffe Wickliffe, Ohio		Sam Houston	4–2	Nebraska	181–166, 182–187, 193–190, 189–197, 205–191, 195–165	Kimi Davidson, Sam Houston
2015	Tropicana Lanes Richmond Heights, Missouri		Nebraska	4–2	Stephen F. Austin	237–232, 178–253, 201–171, 179–188, 205–201, 195–154	Julia Bond, Nebraska
2016	Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes North Brunswick, New Jersey		Stephen F. Austin	4–3	Nebraska	193–205, 238–198, 265–242, 164–227, 196–187, 160–237, 247–192	Kiara Grant, Stephen F. Austin
2017	Raising Cane's River Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana		McKendree	4–0	Nebraska	182–169, 244–192, 224–212, 240–223	Breanna Clemmer, McKendree
2018 Details	Tropicana Lanes Richmond Heights, Missouri		Vanderbilt	4–3	McKendree	224–204, 174–233, 182–193, 233–204, 203–255, 208–205, 220–191	Emily Rigney & Katie Stark, Vanderbilt
2019 Details	RollHouse Wickliffe Wickliffe, Ohio		Stephen F. Austin	4–1	Vanderbilt	167–183, 222–166, 203–175, 224–190, 213–202	Paige Beeney, Stephen F. Austin
2020	Thunderbowl Lanes Allen Park, Michigan		Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Details	AMF Pro Lanes North Kansas City, Missouri		Nebraska	4–1	Arkansas State	217–224, 235–194, 201–190, 179–162, 198–170	Crystal Elliott, Nebraska
2022 Details	Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl Columbus, Ohio		McKendree	4–0	Stephen F. Austin	201–188, 200–188, 186–182, 215–189	Hope Gramly, McKendree
2023 Details	South Point Hotel Enterprise, Nevada		Vanderbilt	4–3	Arkansas State	156–191, 171–189, 215–198, 159–196, 205–156, 193–187, 193–160	Jennifer Loredo, Vanderbilt
2024	Thunderbowl Lanes Allen Park, Michigan		Jacksonville State	4–3	Arkansas State	239–194, 204–211, 244–207, 183–221, 205–255, 237–190, 255–192	Rebecca Hagerman, Jacksonville State
2025	Suncoast Bowling Center Las Vegas, Nevada		Youngstown State	4–3	Jacksonville State	204–199, 248–210, 206–258, 244–226, 200–223, 214–232, 228–203	Jade Cote, Youngstown State
2026	RollHouse Wickliffe Wickliffe, Ohio
2027	AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2028	Royal Scot Golf & Bowl Lansing, Michigan

Team titles

Team	#	Years
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	6	2004, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2021
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Maryland Eastern Shore	3	2008, 2011, 2012
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink		2007, 2018, 2023
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Fairleigh Dickinson	2	2006, 2010
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink		2017, 2022
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Stephen F. Austin		2016, 2019
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Jacksonville State	1	2024
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Sam Houston		2014
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Youngstown State		2025

Result by school and year

47 teams have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in at least one year starting with 2004. The results for all years are shown in this table below. Conference affiliations in the table reflect those in place for the 2025–26 school year. The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament:

2004 through 2019

•  CH  National Champion
•  RU  National Runner-up
•  3  3rd Place (2004 through 2006 only.)
•  4  4th Place (2004 through 2006 only.)
•  3ᴛ  Semifinalists (Starting in 2007, there were two 4-team brackets, so two teams tied for 3rd.)
•  5ᴛ  Tied for 5th place
•  7ᴛ  Tied for 7th place
•  P  Lost Play-In Match (2018 through 2019 only.)

2021 through present

•  CH  National Champion
•  RU  National Runner-up
•  3  3rd Place
•  4  4th Place
•  R₂  2nd Place at Regional
•  R₃  3rd Place at Regional
•  R₄  4th Place at Regional
•  •  Lost Play-In Match at Regional

School	Conference	#	8	4	RU	CH	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	21	22	23	24	25
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	CUSA	21	21	18	10	6																		2		2
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	CUSA	19	19	11	6	3																	2			2	2
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Maryland Eastern Shore	MEAC	14	13	7	4	3																				3
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Stephen F. Austin	defunct	7	7	4	4	2																			2		2
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Fairleigh Dickinson	NEC	15	13	9	3	2																	3				3
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	GLVC	7	7	6	3	2
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Jacksonville State	CUSA	2	2	2	2	1
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Sam Houston	CUSA	13	11	5	1	1																	2	4	2		3
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Youngstown State	CUSA	5	4	3	1	1																		3	2
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Arkansas State	CUSA	17	16	6	4	-																		2			3
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Central Missouri	GLVC	13	13	3	3	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Alabama A&M	SWAC	1	1	1	1	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	AMCC	7	7	4	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	Independent	3	3	2	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	MEAC	7	5	1	-	-																	2	3	2	3	2
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Delaware State	MEAC	3	2	1	-	-																	3
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	defunct	2	2	1	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	CUSA	1	1	1	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Sacred Heart	CUSA	9	7	-	-	-																	2	4	3
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Louisiana Tech	CUSA	5	2	-	-	-																	4	2	3	2	3
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	defunct	2	2	-	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Fayetteville State	CIAA	4	1	-	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Duquesne	NEC	3	1	-	-	-																	3		3	2
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Maryville (MO)	GLVC	3	1	-	-	-																			3	3	2
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Kutztown	ECC	2	1	-	-	-																					4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Mount St. Mary's	Independent	2	1	-	-	-																	4	2
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	SWAC	1	1	-	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Winston-Salem State	defunct	1	1	-	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	CUSA	1	1	-	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	defunct	1	1	-	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Saint Francis (PA)	defunct	1	1	-	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	defunct	4	-	-	-	-																	3	3	4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	SWAC	4	-	-	-	-																	4		4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	CIAA	3	-	-	-	-																		4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	SWAC	2	-	-	-	-																		4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Mercyhurst	ECC	2	-	-	-	-																			4	4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Belmont Abbey	Carolinas	2	-	-	-	-																				4	4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Marian (WI)	CCIW	2	-	-	-	-																				4	4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Texas Southern	SWAC	1	-	-	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Caldwell	CACC	1	-	-	-	-
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Roberts Wesleyan	ECC	1	-	-	-	-																	4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Wilmington (DE)	CACC	1	-	-	-	-																		3
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Carthage	CCIW	1	-	-	-	-																			4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	NEC	1	-	-	-	-																				3
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | William Smith	AMCC	1	-	-	-	-																				4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink	CACC	1	-	-	-	-																					4
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Saint Vincent	AMCC	1	-	-	-	-

NCAA programs

A total of 98 teamsTemplate:Efn are competing in the 2024–25 season:

• 39 from Division I
• 36 from Division II
• 23 from Division III

Conferences

• Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (9 D-III schools)
• Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (6 D-II schools)
  • The CACC started sponsoring bowling in 2022–23. The CACC received its first automatic bid to the Championship in 2024–25.
• Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (8 D-II schools)
• College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (8 D-III schools)
  • The CCIW effectively absorbed the Central Intercollegiate Bowling Conference, a D-III league that had received official NCAA recognition in 2019–20. Four of the six CIBC members were already full CCIW members. CCIW received its first automatic bid to the Championship in 2022–23.
• Conference Carolinas and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (7 D-II schools)
  • The two D-II leagues announced that they would conduct a joint bowling championship effective in 2021–22. The alliance received its first automatic bid to the Championship in 2023–24.
• Conference USA (12 D-I schools)
  • The Southland Bowling League merged into CUSA after the 2022–23 season. Of the eight final SBL members, two were full CUSA members, namely Louisiana Tech, which has been a full CUSA member since 2013, and Sam Houston, which became a full member in July 2023. The other six SBL members became CUSA associates. These schools were joined by Jacksonville State, which also became a full member in July 2023 and added bowling at that time. CUSA inherited the SBL's automatic bid. In 2024–25, CUSA added affiliate Wichita State, which elevated its club team to full varsity status at that time. After that season, Stephen F. Austin dropped bowling, while CUSA added Nebraska, Sacred Heart, and Wright State as new associates.
• East Coast Conference (9 D-II and 1 D-I schools)
• Great Lakes Valley Conference (7 D-II schools)Template:Refn
• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (9 D-I schools)
• Northeast Conference (8 D-I schools)
• Southwestern Athletic Conference (9 D-I schools)

See also

• List of NCAA Women's Bowling Baker 300 Games
• List of NCAA women's bowling programs
• NAIA Women's Bowling Championship
• NAIA Men's Bowling Championship

External links

• National Tenpin Coaches Association
• NCAA bowling
• NCAA Women's Bowling Championship Tournament Records
• U.S. Bowling Congress intercollegiate champions