Black College Knocks Down the National Powerhouse in Collegiate Bowling

The black colleges usually operate on the fringe of big-time collegiate sports. This is because the black colleges tend to have much smaller student bodies than the athletic powerhouses. The black colleges also have far less money to use for athletic scholarships, travel budgets, and sports training equipment.

But this year, a black college produced a remarkable effort that resulted in the opportunity to play for a national championship.

Going into the NCAA women’s bowling tournament this month in Houston, the University of Nebraska was rated No. 1 in the nation and the favorite to win its third straight title.

But in the semifinals of the tournament, the women’s team from Alabama A&M University, the historically black educational institution in Normal, Alabama, shocked the University of Nebraska by defeating the Cornhuskers 4-2.

The Bulldogs from Alabama A&M went on to the finals but dropped the championship match to Fairleigh Dickinson University of New Jersey.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.