OTTAWA, Kan. – Ottawa University has announced it will add men's and women's bowling, one of the fastest growing sports in the country, to its lineup of varsity intercollegiate teams. The addition of bowling brings the number of intercollegiate teams offered at Ottawa University to 23. In addition, the Braves also announced the hiring of Geoff Poston as the head men's and women's bowling coach. 

"Collegiate bowling has been on our radar for a number of years," said OU Director of Athletics Arabie Conner. "As we've researched the sport and watched the growth of NAIA collegiate bowling programs, we believe it's an opportune time to add the programs to our sport offerings.  This is a time of tremendous growth at Ottawa University and we continue to strive to provide additional collegiate participation opportunities for quality student-athletes while contributing to the overall diversity of our student body.  The number of high school programs in the region to recruit from is substantial and we're excited to announce the launch of these programs at OU." 

Bowling became an emerging sport in the NAIA in 2010. Once the NAIA reaches 50 or more institutions declaring participation, bowling will then reach NAIA championship sport status. According to NAIA.org there are currently 41 schools participating in men's bowling and women's bowling.

"We are very fortunate to have hired a local and a very talented bowling coach to start-up and lead our bowling teams," Conner added. "Coach Poston made an immediate connection with our administration and staff while going through the interview process and all who met him were impressed by the high level of energy and passion he brings to the sport and to our campus.  His competitive bowling success as both a player and coach speak for themselves while his interpersonal skills and student-athlete relatability will help launch our recruiting efforts quickly."

Not only is bowling an emerging sport in the NAIA, but 80 schools in the state of Kansas sponsor bowling.  According to the 2014-15 National Federation of State High Schools' Participation survey, over 55,000 high school student-athletes participate in bowling and more than 5,000 schools offer boys and girls bowling.

All NAIA bowling programs are members of the USBC Collegiate. More than 3,500 student-athletes in 200 college and university intercollegiate bowling teams compete in over 80 United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Collegiate certified tournaments each year. The USBC cites 19 states that sponsor high school bowling at the varsity level, with an additional 30 states sponsoring it at the club level. 

The home for the Braves men's and women's bowling teams will be Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence, Kan. Royal Crest Lanes is a state of the art facility that offers 40 lanes and several competitive teams in the area also use Royal Crest Lanes as their practice facility. "We are very fortunate to have secured Royal Crest Lanes as the home practice facility for the teams," said Conner. " Larry Burton, co-owner of Royal Crest has been tremendous to work with and has been very supportive of our efforts to grow the sport of bowling in the area.  We are happy to partner with such a great facility to work together to provide opportunities for high school bowlers to continue to compete in their favorite sport at the collegiate level."

"To be able to have the opportunity to coach at the collegiate level has always been a dream of mine," said Poston. "I was impressed with everything about Ottawa University. The commitment the University showed towards bowling made this a perfect fit. I look forward to building these teams with good quality student-athletes. I am excited to get started!" 

Poston has been involved in bowling for more than 30 years and coaching for more than 15 years. He has also spent time on the PBA Regional Tour, winning the Gardner Master's Floor Covering Championship in 1999. From 2013 to 2015, he was President of the Kansas Bowling Coaches Association.

Before coming to Ottawa University, Poston was the head men's and women's bowling coach at Topeka Seaman High School (2009-2016). While at Seaman, he coached the varsity and junior varsity teams, which consisted of 26 to 30 men and women. Poston scheduled fundraisers, handled the teams scheduling and organized practices. He helped lead the men's team to a record of 350-72 and the women's team to a record of 276-108 during his tenure. The men's team has had five Kansas State Tournament appearances and three top three team finishes. The women's team has two regional championship runner-up finishes and a 2011 Kansas State Championship.

Poston was named the 2012 Centennial League Coach of the Year, the 2011 Kansas State Coach of the Year, the 2011 5A-1A Coach of the Year, the 2011 Topeka Seaman High School Coach of the Year, and the 2010 Centennial League Coach of the Year.

Prior to that, Poston was the head men's and women's bowling coach at Topeka West High School from 2005 to 2009. He started the program at TWHS, leading the Charger men's team to a record of 132-49. The Chargers qualified twice for the Kansas State Tournament, finishing second in 2007. Under Poston's leadership, the women's team finished with a record of 153-34 which included two regional championships and three top three team finishes at the Kansas State Tournament.

Ottawa University joins Kansas College Athletic Conference (KCAC) member Kansas Wesleyan University as the only two athletic programs in the conference that sponsors men's and women's bowling. The intercollegiate bowling season runs from October through February followed by postseason competition. More information on collegiate bowling can be found on the USBC website at www.bowl.com. Poston will begin official coaching duties on January 1.

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