As fate would have it, the one sport that black colleges are nationally dominant in is played in the same places in which we meet for Friday night get-togethers and casual dates. And since women’s bowling isn’t widely televised, or accompanied by a marching band and prominent alumni stories, we’ll probably miss out on one of the greatest stretches of achievement for black colleges in the last 50 years.
Would you believe that six black colleges are were ranked in the preseason top 25 nationally in women’s bowling? No, isn’t wasn’t good enough for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to take a national championship in 2008, the Fighting Hawks had to bring some attention to other HBCU women’s bowling programs.
And the NCTA is taking notice in a big way.
Six teams – UMES, Delaware State, Alabama A&M, Southern, Morgan State and Jackson State – were listed in the top 25 nationally. The Fighting Hawks are currently at number two in the country, and Norfolk State, Texas Southern, Hampton and Elizabeth City State are just on the outside of the rankings, ready to move in where other teams may falter.
And that doesn’t include programs like Florida A&M and Fayetteville State, which have moved up in the most recent standings.
To put it in relative terms, what the ACC and Big East are to basketball and the SEC and Big 12 are to football, the MEAC and SWAC are to bowling.
And no one will ever know, because the member schools and conferences haven’t leveraged this perspective for media and alumni to take and run with. If college presidents, athletic directors and SIDs are clever enough to drive football as a money-making vehicle, why are they not insightful enough to drive women’s bowling as a community building vehicle?
The ladies of these powerhouse programs don’t practice in on-campus lanes, or train outside of the places where the live, study and win. They are in your local Bowl America or AMF Bowling center, perfecting their world-class talent. Accessibility plus fame should equal media attention and fan engagement.
And can you imagine the social ramifications that black colleges could have on the sport of bowling? Everybody loves to bowl as a recreational outlet, but how many professional minority bowlers do you know? These women aren’t far off from that, and chronicling their present success may lead to the future swoon of corporate and private donations to match such a feel-good story.
Hey, it worked for the Ten Bears, didn’t it?
Everybody’s lane is not the same when it comes to collegiate athletics. Women’s bowling a revenue generator and I understand that. But since these programs are among the best in the nation, you would think black college athletic departments would be all over trying to figure out ways to strike the interest of fans and potential sponsors.
