CLINTON, Iowa - Ashford University will add men's and women's bowling as intercollegiate sports for the fall of 2010, the AU athletic department announced earlier this week. Brian Swanson, current Saints' baseball assistant coach and intramurals director, has been appointed head coach of both teams.
The
addition of bowling gives Ashford a total of 15 sports and it becomes the
fourth school within the Midwest Collegiate Conference to offer the sport, joining
"We're excited to bring bowling to Ashford University," AU Athletics Director Meg Schebler said. "The sport has grown tremendously in the Midwest at the high school level. Iowa and Illinois both have state championship bowling as do other surrounding states."
Swanson and AU regional admissions representative Ann Dinh are traveling to Indianapolis, Ind., this weekend for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Junior Gold Championships to begin the recruiting process. Talent from all over the country will be competing for $100,000 of scholarship money, and a spot on the Junior USA Team is at stake.
For Swanson, the bowling assignment marks his first appointment as head coach. The Aniwa, Wis., native recently completed his second year with Ashford as a graduate assistant coach.
"It's a great opportunity for Ashford University and with the talent surrounding the Clinton area, this will be a great sport to start building at the collegiate level," Swanson said. "Personally, it's also a great opportunity for me, and it will be a challenge. With all the talent in the surrounding Clinton and Camanche area, we have to make sure we can get local kids here as a foundation."
Scholarships for both sports are available and Swanson is targeting a minimum of eight men and eight women on his roster for 2010. He is expecting anywhere from 8-12 events to be on the schedule for the first year, which spans from October to March.
For additional information regarding the bowling program, contact Athletics Director Meg Schebler (meg.schebler@ashford.edu) or bowling Head Coach Brian Swanson (brian.swanson@ashford.edu).
A prospective bowling student-athlete questionnaire is also available to complete at www.ashfordathletics.com.
