DALLAS – Conference USA has added three new affiliate members in bowling ahead of the 2025-26 season – the University of Nebraska, Sacred Heart University and Wright State University. The league’s Board of Directors unanimously affirmed the recommendation to extend invitations for affiliate membership.
“Adding programs of this caliber further elevates the competitive profile of Conference USA Bowling,” CUSA Commissioner
Judy MacLeod said. “With back-to-back national championships, our league has established itself as a premier force in the sport, and the addition of Nebraska, Sacred Heart and Wright State only strengthens that position. We’re excited to work with each of these institutions and look forward to continuing to excel as the nation’s top collegiate bowling conference.”
The addition of Nebraska, Sacred Heart and Wright State increases current league membership to 12 schools for the 2025-26 season, as the Cornhuskers, Pioneers and Raiders join Arkansas State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston, Tulane, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt, Wichita State and Youngstown State as members of CUSA.
Nebraska has enjoyed unparalleled success since becoming a varsity sport during the 1997-98 season. The Huskers have won eight national championships, including six NCAA titles since women’s bowling became an NCAA Championship sport in 2004. The Huskers have finished first or second 10 times in 21 all-time NCAA Championships and are the only program to compete in every NCAA Championship. Nebraska has had nine bowlers combine for 12 National Bowler-of-the-Year honors since 2000, most recently
Jillian Martin in 2025, while 34 bowlers have combined to earn 74 All-America awards since 1998. Under Head Coach
Paul Klempa, Nebraska has a trio of top-three NCAA finishes over the past five seasons, including the program’s sixth NCAA title in 2021.
In 32 years as a program, Sacred Heart has established itself as a national stalwart. The Pioneers won a record six conference championships while competing in the Northeast Conference (NEC) and appeared in the NCAA Tournament nine times. Head Coach
Becky Kregling, who has guided the team since its inception in 1993, has led SHU to 15 USBC National Championship Tournaments, including 10 straight years before the start of the NCAA Tournament. She is also a six-time NEC Coach of the Year and a two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Bowling Conference Coach of the Year.
Wright State has jumped onto the scene in three short years as an NCAA program, finishing the 2024-25 campaign ranked 21st in the National Tenpin Coaches Association’s end of season poll with a final RPI ranking of No. 22. In the classroom, Wright State earned 2025 NTCA All-Academic Scholar Team honors, while nine individuals were named NTCA All-Academic Scholar Athletes for 2024-2025. This past season the Raiders won the Mercyhurst Invitational and finished second at the Columbia 300 Saints Invite while
Mia Sayles rolled the first 300 game in program history in February. Wright State joined the NCAA ranks after more than a decade as a national powerhouse at the club level.
About Conference USA
Conference USA is an NCAA Division I FBS conference championing success in college athletics through dedicated leadership, dynamic partnership, and diverse membership. Founded in 1995 and based in Dallas, CUSA is home to 12 schools: Delaware, FIU, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Missouri State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP, and WKU.