KANSAS — The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is proud to announce a change in the format of its Men's and Women's Bowling Championships, as well as a new championship site for the next three seasons.
The conference is moving away from a single-day, single-elimination format, to a two-stage, two-site championship.
In the new format, the top eight teams on both the men's and women's sides, determined by NAIA RPI, will qualify for their respective conference championships. NAIA RPI is also used to determine championship seeding. Once the championship fields and seeding are determined, the top seeds in each quarterfinal matchup will host their quarterfinal at their home bowling alley. These matches will be single elimination, and the winner of each matchup will advance to the championship final site.
Quarterfinal matchups will take place on either the Tuesday/Wednesday or Wednesday/Thursday of championship week (times and days determined by competing institutions). The men's and women's quarterfinal matches will be done on separate days, to ensure head coaches can fully focus on each team as they compete.
The four quarterfinal winners on each side will advance to the final site, where the remainder of the championship will shift to a double-elimination format. The Winner’s Bracket matches at the final site will utilize the mega match format, while the final site loser’s bracket matches will utilize the best 4-out-of-7 baker games format. The championship match will be a single mega-match, and if an "if necessary" needs to take place, that match will utilize the best 4-out-of-7 Baker games format.
The proposed schedule for the two-day final site portion of the championship is as follows:
- Day 1
- First Round begins at 8 AM
- Second Round at 12 PM
- Loser's Bracket matches beginning at approx. 4pm
- Day 2
- Championship Match to begin at 8am, with "if necessary" match around noon or immediately following championship match.
The conference has also secured a new host site for its bowling championships.
Starlite Lanes in McPherson, Kan. has been selected as the host site, with McPherson College acting as the host institution, for the 2027, 2028, and 2029 KCAC Men's and Women's Bowling Championships.
Starlite Lanes is a 16-lane bowling center with experience hosting high-end bowling tournaments including professional bowling regional events every season as part of the Professional Bowling Association Southwest Regional Tour. All 16 lanes are equipped with Brunswick synthetic lanes that were installed in October 2023, Brunswick A2 pinsetters, and automatic scoring.
The 2027 KCAC Men's and Women's Bowling Championships will take place Feb. 27-28, 2027.
"We're excited not only to bring this championship to a premier host at McPherson for the next three years but also proud of our forward thinking, newly adopted approach for this championship," Brandon Buchanan, KCAC Commissioner, stated. "Allowing host sites to host first-round matchups showcases many different programs and bowling facilities across the conference footprint. Then, to bring the final fours from both the Women's & Men's sides to one location to truly shine a light on our premier bowling conference programs, as they deserve. We thank McPherson College for hosting this championship, and our bowling programs across the KCAC for investing in our vision to continue growing our Bowling championships as a conference."
ABOUT THE KANSAS COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and sponsors 29 varsity sports. Founded in 1890, the KCAC is the second oldest intercollegiate athletic conference in the country. As the conference home to 14 member institutions, the KCAC emphasizes commitment, cooperation, high achievement, and working towards a common goal in the act of competition. To keep up with the latest conference news, follow the KCAC on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram using the handle @kcacsports.
—KCAC—