Updated Bracket
 
HARAHAN, La. – Thursday brought a full day of action at the 2026 Conference USA Bowling Championships in Harahan, Louisiana as two rounds of competition resulted in four teams being sent home.
 
The morning kicked off with two exciting matches, both being forced to the best-of-seven third game. In match seven, No. 3 Arkansas State opened game one traditional play with a win over No. 7 Youngstown State. The Penguins played a dominant game two to even the score, but ultimately the Red Wolves were able to hold them off and secure the 2-1 win.
 
Match eight came down to the wire as No. 4 Nebraska and No. 5 LA Tech bowled to the best-of-seven where they tied again at 3.5 apiece. The two teams played a modified baker round to determine the winner. On a clutch spare, Nebraska’s Jillian Martin earned the victory for the Husker’s, moving them to the quarterfinals.
 
Youngstown State and LA Tech moved to the contender’s bracket where the teams played No. 11 Tulane and No. 12 Valparaiso, respectively. The Bulldogs bounced back in round three, sweeping Valparaiso 2-0.
 
The remaining three matches in the third round played to the best-of-seven tiebreaker game. In match 11, No. 8 Sam Houston came back from a 0-1 deficit to beat No. 10 Wright State 3-1.
 
Matches 10 and 12 brought upsets, as No. 9 Sacred Heart defeated No. 6 Wichita State and No. 11 Tulane took down Youngstown State. The Pioneers are set to take on LA Tech in round four. The Green Wave will face off against Sam Houston.
 
Action will pick back up Friday morning at 9 a.m. CT.
 
Round Two
Match Seven – No. 5 LA Tech 1 (1000-1080-3.5), No. 4 Nebraska 2 (1006-994-4.5)
Match Eight – No. 3 Arkansas State 2 (996-910-4), No. 7 Youngstown State 1 (956-994-3)
Match Nine – No. 12 Valparaiso 0 (921-906), No. 5 LA Tech 2 (973-1014)
Match 10 – No. 9 Sacred Heart 2 (1025-868-4), No. 6 Wichita State 1 (960-962-3)
Match 11 – No. 8 Sam Houston 2 (917-1123-4), No. 10 Wright State 1 (1037-944-0)
Match 12 – No. 11 Tulane 2 (844-1042-4), No. 7 Youngstown State 1 (949-898-3)
 
Championship Format
The Conference USA Championship is determined by the mega-match format. A mega-match encompasses three different rounds or points, and a team must get to two points to win the match.

The first round is the traditional format. Each team in the match has five players bowl a full game, and each individual's total score is added together for the team total. Whichever team has the highest score from all five individual games wins the point and leads the mega-match 1-0.

The second round of the mega-match is the Baker total pinfall portion, which consists of five games. The winner is determined by adding the pinfall of all five games together. In the Baker format, lineups are comprised of five bowlers with each being responsible for two frames in each game. The leadoff player bowls in frames one and six. The second person in the lineup bowls in frames two and seven, etc. If the team that wins the traditional round also wins the Baker pinfall round, they win the match 2-0. If the team that lost the traditional round wins the Baker point, the mega-match is tied 1-1 and goes to a best-of-seven Baker match play format.

In the best-of-seven tiebreaker format, instead of adding five games together to determine a total, all that matters is the score each game. Winning 300-175 of 176-175 has the same weight. The first team to four games wins the point and wins the mega-match 2-1.

How To Keep Up
The tournament bracket, results and TV links can be found on our Championship Central page. Each round of the tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+. Admission to the championship is free.