Nebraska Will Host 2008 NCAA Championships

The NCAA Women's Bowling Committee announced today the selection of the <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>University of Nebraska to serve as host for the 2008 NCAA Women's Bowling Championships at Thunder Alley in Omaha, Neb. The fifth-annual competition is scheduled for April 10-12. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

The 2008 Championships, featuring eight of the nation's top bowling teams competing in a double-elimination format, will mark the first time NU has hosted the bowling championships.

"The NCAA Women's Bowling Committee is excited with Thunder Alley in Omaha, Nebraska, as the host for the 2008 National Championship," said Brian Reese, Director of Sport Operations at Vanderbilt and chair of the NCAA Women's Bowling Committee. "Thunder Alley is a brand new, state-of-the-art bowling center which will be appealing to a large crowd and for our network partner ESPN. We are expecting a great championship event in April."

Head coach Bill Straub echoed Reese's sentiments while expressing excitement for the event.

"My hopes are that the NCAA sporting world will see that Nebraska hosting a championship in bowling will be of the same quality similar to volleyball and baseball," Straub said. "We are thrilled to be included in the NCAA Championships, and I am convinced the event will be at the top level."

College bowling has experienced rapid growth in recent seasons, with participation doubling to a total of 51 schools in the last three years. In 2002, the NCAA announced that bowling would become an NCAA-sponsored sport, and legislation was approved on April 24, 2003, allowing for the first NCAA Championship in the spring of 2004.

Since the NCAA Championship was initiated, the Nebraska bowling team made history in 2004 and 2005 by capturing back-to-back national titles in the first two seasons of the sport's NCAA status. NU also earned trips to the national championships in 2006 and 2007, as Fairleigh Dickinson captured the 2006 title and Vanderbilt took home the 2007 crown.

Detroit will be the site for the 2009 NCAA Championships on April 9-11. The University of Detroit Mercy and the Detroit Metro Sports Commission will serve as the co-hosts.