Bowling Scholarships: Score Some College Cash

Before 2004, competitive college bowling was available at the club level only. In 2004 the NCAA added it to the roster of Women’s athletics as an equivalency sport. It has since been included in discussions about “emerging sports.” As emerging sports for women go, college bowling was a success.

How Bowling racks up among the 3 collegiate associations:

  • At the NCAA level, bowling is a Women’s sport.
  • The NAIA doesn’t sponsor it.
  • The NJCAA sponsors schools for both Men’s and Women’s Bowling.

At both Division I and Division II NCAA schools, coaches are allowed 5 full scholarships for their women bowlers. Some may opt to split those into many more partial scholarships. That strategy gives them leverage to attract even more skilled athletes and build depth into their team. At some schools full scholarships, partial scholarships, and even scholarships that cover textbooks are commonplace.

Division III Women’s bowling does not endorse athletic scholarships. But the competition may nevertheless be quite fierce. And while schools are restricted from offering money for bowling, they can always lure academically and athletically talented students with academic scholarships for which they qualify, as well as financial need-based grants.

What the very best collegiate bowling teams are looking for in their top athlete bowlers includes:

Ball skills, lane control, and the ability to be a supporting member of a competitive team. It’s about much more than knocking the pins over.

NJCAA Bowling Scholarships

At the junior college and community college level, aka JUCO, student bowlers will discover surprisingly competitive sport. Twenty-five women’s and 22 men’s bowling teams sponsor scholarship play. These are spread across a few dozen schools. Many of these scholarships may be full, partial or given to students to offset related tuition costs, like textbooks.

When it comes to searching out bowling scholarships chances are likely that you will have to make a much more concerted effort to contact coaches.

Other Sources for Bowling Scholarships

Are there other organizations that award bowling scholarships?

State and regional bowling associations often make it part of their mission to offer some scholarship reward. Keep in mind that most of these awards are modest.

Examples:

  • The Greater Detroit Old Timers Bowling Association Scholarship is awarded to a local male student pursuing college and active in a local bowling league. Awards are $500.
  • The Pennsylvania State Bowling Association awards an annual $500 scholarship. Eligible students must be active in a state bowling league and intending to enroll in a college or university degree program. Minimum GPA is 2.0. Awards are renewable.

Check with your state or local bowling league and ask for information on any available student scholarships.