Southland Bowling League
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The Southland Bowling League (SBL) was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) bowling-only conference. The SBL was founded in 2015 for schools that sponsor women's bowling teams, but did not have bowling sponsored by their primary conferences. The SBL champion received an automatic bid to the NCAA Bowling Championship since the NCAA first awarded such bids in 2018. While the conference operated independently, administrative services were provided by the Southland Conference.[1][2] The SBL merged into Conference USA (CUSA) after the 2022–23 season, with CUSA inheriting the SBL's automatic championship berth.[3]
| |
| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 |
| Folded | 2023 |
| Sports fielded | |
| Division | National Collegiate |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Headquarters | Frisco, Texas |
| Website | Southland Bowling |
The SBL received at least three bids to the NCAA Championship in each season of its existence. Following the inaugural SBL Championship, four league teams (Arkansas State, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, and Vanderbilt) received at-large bids to the 2015 NCAA Championships, filling half of the eight available spots.[4][5] The same four teams would receive at-large bids to the 2016 NCAA Bowling Championships[6] and 2017 NCAA Bowling Championships.[7] In 2018, the first year for automatic bids to the NCAA Championship and also the first year for a 10-team championship event, Vanderbilt earned the automatic bid and Arkansas State and Sam Houston received at-large bids. In 2019, Sam Houston State earned the automatic bid, while Arkansas State, Stephen F. Austin, and Vanderbilt received at-large bids.[8] In 2021, Vanderbilt earned the automatic bid, while Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston, and Youngstown State received at-large bids.[9] In 2022, six of the eight members made the NCAA Bowling Championships field with Vanderbilt earning the automatic bid, while Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, and Youngstown State all receiving at-large bids.[10] In the league's final season in 2023, the same six members from 2022 made the NCAA Bowling Championships field, with Arkansas State earning the automatic bid.[11]
In July 2021, it was announced that Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin left the Southland for the Western Athletic Conference. After the two schools announced they would join the WAC in fall 2022, they were expelled by the Southland Conference and joined the WAC a year ahead of the originally planned schedule.[12][13] Despite leaving the Southland Conference in all other sports, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin remained in the SBL and both participated in the 2022 and 2023 SBL Championships.
Final members
All of the SBL's final members now compete in CUSA bowling except Stephen F. Austin, which dropped bowling after the 2024–25 season.
On August 7, 2018, the SBL and Youngstown State University announced that Youngstown State's bowling program was joining the league for competition beginning in the 2018–2019 season. Youngstown State replaced Monmouth, who accepted an invitation to join the MEAC.[14]
- Notes
Previous members
| School | Location | Founded | Type | Approximate Enrollment |
Nickname | Joined | Left | Primary conference during SBL membership |
Current bowling conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monmouth University | West Long Branch, NJ | 1933 | Private | 6,200 | Hawks | 2015 | 2018 | Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference[a] | Northeast Conference[b] |
- Monmouth joined the Colonial Athletic Association, now known as the Coastal Athletic Association, in 2022. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference would change its name to Metro Conference in July 2026.
- While media still use the "Northeast Conference" name, the conference's official name has been NEC since October 2025.
SBL Championship
| Year | Venue Location |
Champion | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Seventh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015[15] | Del-Mar Lanes Houston, TX |
Vanderbilt | Arkansas State | Valparaiso | Sam Houston State | Monmouth Stephen F. Austin |
Louisiana Tech Tulane |
| 2016[16] | AMF All Star Lanes Kenner, LA |
Arkansas State | Sam Houston State | Vanderbilt | Stephen F. Austin | Monmouth Tulane |
Louisiana Tech Valparaiso |
| 2017[17] | Hijinx Lanes Jonesboro, AR |
Vanderbilt | Arkansas State | Stephen F. Austin | Tulane | Monmouth Sam Houston State |
Louisiana Tech Valparaiso |
| 2018[18] | USA Bowl Dallas Dallas, TX |
Arkansas State | Stephen F. Austin | Vanderbilt | Monmouth | Louisiana Tech Sam Houston State |
Tulane Valparaiso |
| 2019[19] | USA Bowl Dallas Dallas, TX |
Sam Houston State | Vanderbilt | Stephen F. Austin | Arkansas State | Louisiana Tech Tulane |
Valparaiso Youngstown State |
| 2021[20] | Colonial Bowling Lanes Harahan, LA |
Vanderbilt | Louisiana Tech | Sam Houston State | Arkansas State | Stephen F. Austin Youngstown State |
Tulane Valparaiso |
| 2022[21] | Colonial Bowling Lanes Harahan, LA |
Vanderbilt | Youngstown State | Louisiana Tech | Arkansas State | Sam Houston Tulane |
Stephen F. Austin Valparaiso |
| 2023[22] | Rowlett Bowlarama Rowlett, TX |
Arkansas State | Sam Houston | Louisiana Tech | Youngstown State | Vanderbilt Stephen F. Austin |
Tulane Valparaiso |
All-Tournament Teams
| Year | Most Valuable Bowler | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2015[23] | Nicole Mosesso (Vanderbilt) |
Sarah Lokker (Arkansas State) • Sadie Jasinski (Valparaiso) • Stephanie Schwartz (Stephen F. Austin) • Torrie Decker (Valparaiso) • Giselle Poss (Vanderbilt) |
| 2016[24] | Jordan Richard (Arkansas State) |
Stephanie Zavala (Sam Houston State) • Brooke Wood (Arkansas State) • Jadee Scott-Jones (Arkansas State) • Carrie Hopkinson (Sam Houston State) • Katelyn Reth (Monmouth) |
| 2017[25] | Katie Stark (Vanderbilt) |
Maria Bulanova (Vanderbilt) • Jordan Richard (Arkansas State) • Stephanie Schwartz (Stephen F. Austin) • Janine Kuwahara (Sam Houston State) • Tiera Gulum (Tulane) |
| 2018[26] | Jordan Richard (Arkansas State) |
Leah Glazer (Arkansas State) • Stephanie Schwartz (Stephen F. Austin) • Dakota Faichnie (Stephen F. Austin) • Kristin Quah (Vanderbilt) • Jackie Evans (Monmouth) |
| 2019[27] | Bea Hernandez (Sam Houston State) |
Madysen Keller (Sam Houston State) • Maria Bulanova (Vanderbilt) • Samantha Gainor (Vanderbilt) • Sarah Gill (Stephen F. Austin) • Denishya Waller (Arkansas State) |
| 2021[28] | Mabel Cummins (Vanderbilt) |
Angelica Anthony (Vanderbilt) • Allie Leiendecker (Louisiana Tech) • Danielle Jedlicki (Louisiana Tech) • Denise Blankenzee (Sam Houston State) • Carlene Beyer (Stephen F. Austin) |
| 2022[29] | Mabel Cummins (Vanderbilt) |
Amanda Naujakoas (Vanderbilt) • Emma Dockery (Youngstown State) • Emma Wrenn (Youngstown State) • Allie Leiendecker (Louisiana Tech) • Brooklyn Buchanan (Arkansas State) |
| 2023[30] | Maggie Thoma (Arkansas State) |
Faith Welch (Arkansas State) • Elise Chambers (Sam Houston) • Denise Blankenzee (Sam Houston) • Megan Grams (Youngstown State) • Lindsay Manning (Louisiana Tech) |
NCAA Bowling Championship participation
Source:[31]
| Teams | Appearances | Years | Best Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas State | 15 |
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 | Runner-up 2008, 2021, 2023 |
| Louisiana Tech | 3 |
2021, 2022, 2023 | Regional Finalist 2022 |
| Sam Houston | 11 |
2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 | Champion 2014 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 6 |
2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 | Champion 2016, 2019 |
| Valparaiso | 1 |
2012 | Tied 5th 2012 |
| Vanderbilt | 17 |
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 | Champion 2007, 2018, 2023 |
| Youngstown State | 3 |
2021, 2022, 2023 | 4th 2021 |
Bold: Champion
Italics: Runner-Up