WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State Athletics announced plans to add women's bowling as a NCAA Division I sport competing in 2024-25. Women's bowling will become the 16^th sport at Wichita State, launching July 1, 2024. Current women's bowling coach Holly Harris will serve as the program's first NCAA Division I women's head coach.
 
"The historical success of women's bowling at Wichita State University is unparalleled nationally," Saal said. "Five decades of tremendous alumni and coaches' contributions, this program is equipped to launch as an immediate competitor in NCAA post-season competition. Over the next year we will work diligently on all elements of the transition to an NCAA program, most importantly aligning championship-level resources to meet championship expectations."
 
The Wichita State women's bowling program has a storied history which includes 10 Intercollegiate Team Championships (1975, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2021) and five Intercollegiate Singles Champions (2006, 2007, 2009, 2017, 2023).
 
The team won the national collegiate team championship in 1975, which was the first ever held, and won three of the first four. The Shockers have only missed advancing to the national championship tournament one time since 1975. The tournament typically includes the top-16 teams in the country.
 
The Shockers have finished in the top-four at the national tournament 35 times out of the 47 trips to the collegiate nationals. Five former Shockers have gone on to win a national title on the Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour. Currently eight Shocker alums are full-time on the tour with many others competing on a part-time basis.
 
Since the 2000-01 season, 56 women have made a combined 136 NCBCA Scholar-Athlete teams, 30 have made a combined 65 NCBCA All-America teams, seven have combined to earn nine MVP awards or Player of the Year honors and 33 have been selected to national teams.

Since the Collegiate National Team Championships started in 1975, 62 women have been part of a national championship, 10 have been a part of two national championships and one (Karma Wagner-Mason) has been part of three national championships. Wagner-Mason is the only woman in college bowling history to accomplish this feat.

Holly Harris will continue as head coach of the program as she transitions it into NCAA Division I. She has served as head coach of the club program since June of 2019 and has led the team to a national championship in 2021, a runner-up appearance in 2022 and a third-place finish in 2023. She is a four-time National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association Coach of the Year finalist and has had five players earn All-America honors a total of eight times.

"I'm incredibly grateful to President Muma and Director of Athletics Kevin Saal for the opportunity to lead the women as they move to the NCAA Division I level," Harris said. "Our program is thrilled to combine our championship caliber team with the many opportunities that an NCAA Division I experience can provide for our student-athletes. This is a historic move for the program and I'm honored to be a part of it. Go Shockers!"

Coach Harris has coached one Rookie of the Year (2022), one Player of the Year (2021) and 25 NCBCA Scholar-Athlete Award winners.

Before becoming head coach, Harris served as assistant coach of the program from August of 2016-June of 2019 and helped lead the team to a third-place finish at the 2017 National Tournament and a ninth-place finish in 2018.

Harris also competed for the Shockers as a four-year member of the bowling team from 2010-14. She competed three times at collegiate national championships and finished in the final four two times. She was a two-time NCBCA All-American, two-time member of Junior Team USA, a 2014 Team USA member and earned four gold medals at the 2012 Tournament of Americas.

The NCAA Bowling Championship is a sanctioned women's championship in college athletics and features teams from Division I, Division II and Division III competing together. The championship was first held in April 2004.
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.

The Rhatigan Student Center will serve as the home venue for the program. The Wichita State men's bowling program will remain a sport supported by the Rhatigan Student Center as the NCAA doesn't sponsor men's bowling.
 
On Friday, October 20, Wichita State will host an event to celebrate the accomplishments of the program and the movement into NCAA Division I. It will start at 5 p.m. at the Shocker Sports Grill and Lanes inside the Rhatigan Student Center. More details on the event will be released this fall. Click here to RSVP.

Basics of NCAA Bowling
• Became NCAA emerging sport in 1994
• Became NCAA championship sport in 2004
• Season runs October through the end of March
• NCAA Championship held in April
            • National Collegiate – combined Division I, II, III (41 D1, 38 D2, 23 D3)
• 5 equivalency scholarships
• Typical roster of 10-15
 
Background on High School Bowling
• Popularity is on the rise both locally, regionally and nationally
• National Federation of State High School Associations
            • Bowling sponsored in 28 states, 28,000 participants, 2,925 teams across the country
• Currently in Kansas
            • 92 schools within Kansas State High School Athletic Association that sponsor girls bowling (35 Class 6A, 57 Class 5A-1A)
            • KSHSAA offers two championships (6A, 5A-1A)