QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University athletic department announced Thursday (June 6) the addition of men's and women's bowling programs that will begin competition in the 2020-21 academic year. 
 
The department will begin a coaching search for men's and women's bowling in the coming weeks with the aim of having the coach in place to recruit and build the foundation of the program by early July of this year. This will bring the Hawks total athletic programs offered to 23.
 
"We are pleased to announce the addition of men's and women's bowling to our athletic offerings at QU," said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Marty Bell. "Based on the popularity of the sport in our region and the growth of the sport nationally, we felt this was an opportune time to successfully begin both programs. Similar to the approach we utilized for our lacrosse programs, we plan to bring on our head coach, who will lead both programs, during the 2019-20 academic year in order to recruit and build both teams. We feel that men's and women's bowling will complement the university's growth initiatives and push QU into new markets to recruit, ultimately enhancing all university recruitment efforts. This brings another competitive sport to the Quincy community that our Hawk fans can get behind and support, while also bringing new revenues to our business community through visiting teams traveling to compete in Quincy."
 
The Intercollegiate Team Championships, first contested in 1975, is the pinnacle event of the college bowling season. The ITC brings together the top 16 men's and top 16 women's teams in the country to compete for national titles. QU bowling is no stranger to competing for national titles. The last time Quincy University had a bowling program was back in its NAIA days, which was highlighted by the 1966 team who finished as the runner-up in the national championship that year. 
 
For a school to participate in the ITC, it must compete in certified college tournaments and conferences throughout the season. By either winning a conference or being one of the top-ranked teams in the country, schools advance to post season sectional qualifying events. The top four men's teams and top four women's teams from each sectional tournament earn berths into the ITC. 
 
The NCAA sponsors women's bowling and is one of the few sports that combines all three levels of the NCAA. As of 2018, 83 schools from across the country sponsored women's bowling with 35 of those teams coming from the Division II level. Women's bowling is considered a winter sport by the NCAA with the National Championship occurring in April. The National Championship consists of 12 teams with four of those teams being selected as at-large bids.
 
The National Tournament will be held at AMF Pro Lanes in Kansas City, Missouri in 2021, Quincy's first year of competition.