Those pining for the glory days


of team bowling can catch all of the energy-packed action from the ITC on ESPN2, Sunday, May 15 at 2 p.m. Eastern. “There just isn’t anything as excit-


ing as team bowling,” said Fresno State head coach Chris Preble. “And at the collegiate level, the team aspect is even more emphasized because in college these athletes all live together, eat together and see each other every- day off the lanes.” National intercollegiate club bowl-


ing (different from the NCAA pro- grams) is made up of nearly 200 col- leges, currently certified with USBC Collegiate. College programs that compete in USBC certified tourna- ments or conference play amass rank- ing points, with the top squads eligi- ble to compete in the four postseason sectional tournaments. The top 16 men’s and top 16 women’s finishers at the sectionals advanced to the nation- al tournament in Columbus. The 2011 Kerm Helmer Cup,


named for the legendary Erie Com- munity College coach and symbolic of the collegiate title, was hoisted by Fresno State for the first time, while UMES became the first school to win both the Intercollegiate Team Cham- pionships and NCAA Championship title in the same year. “At least we’ve eliminated any


doubt about which women’s program


Making The Jump


Fifteen bowlers currently enjoying exempt status on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour bowled in collegiate programs.


Brad Angelo Erie Community College


Chris Barnes Wichita State University


Nathan Bohr Wichita State University Joe Ciccone


Erie Community College / Arizona State University


Ryan Ciminelli Erie Community College


Michael Fagan St. John’s University Kelly Kulick


Morehead State University


Anthony LaCaze Saginaw Valley State University


Mike Machuga University of Nebraska Scott Norton


California State University-Fullerton


Bill O’Neill Saginaw Valley State University Rhino Page


University of Kansas


Sean Rash Wichita State University


Ronnie Russell Vincennes Univeristy


Lonnie Waliczek Wichita State University


DIDN’T YOU USED TO BE...: Click on the video above to get a glimpse of some great collegiate bowlers who made the transition to the professional game, including Chris Barnes, Bill O’Neill, Rhino Page and Sean Rash.


is the national champion this year,” joked Sharon Brummell, now in her 13th year as head coach at UMES. Occasional confusion in the wom-


en’s game aside, there is no NCAA bowling championship for men, so the USBC Collegiate program serves as a key component in keeping young bowlers motivated and excited about the sport through their college years, and continues to create awareness of the educational opportunities avail- able through the sport. “Of the 192 schools certified with


USBC, more than half now offer financial assistance to student-ath-


17 USBOWLER MAY 2011


letes,” noted Gary Brown, Interna- tional Bowling Campus High School and Collegiate Manager. “We’ve made huge strides in that area over the past decade.” And the results have been aston-


ishing for the sport. The high school game continues to flourish, and the collegiate game keeps churning out incredible talent, many of whom move on to the “next level,” either bowling professionally or interna- tionally as Team USA members… or both. “There’s no doubt that improve- ments in coaching and training have


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