Oct. 24, 2006

Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University Women's Bowling team has made the move to a NCAA sponsored program for the 2006-07 season. Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Robert E. Hartwell named Robert Cincotta to head the newly formed program. "We are excited about the addition of women's bowling," Hartwell said. "It's a great sport for both men and women, although at Adelphi we are using it as a women's sport to increase our sponsorship."

The NCAA has designated women's bowling as an emerging sport. Its popularity is on the rise nationwide due in part to its ability to fulfill gender equity requirements. With flexible cost and ease of access to facilities for practice and competition, women's bowling can add immediate exposure and prestige to any University.

The team is comprised of ten student-athletes. They have a full scheduled and will kick off the season on Saturday, October 28 in Wallington, New Jersey.

"The opportunity to compete with and against some of the finest NCAA bowlers in the country is quite an ambitious goal for the first year", coach Cincotta stated. "We are hoping that our inaugural season will allow us to showcase our hard work and talent. We look forward to an exciting and challenging season."

With the addition of Adelphi, 15 Division II institutions make up the Northeast Region The Panthers, competing as an independent, are the only school located in New York, with Division III New Jersey City University its next closest competitor.

A total of 50 institutions sponsor women's bowling in the NCAA with 27 at the Division I level, 17 at Division II and six in Division III. All three divisions will be governed under Division I rules and will compete for one NCAA title which will take place April 12-14, 2007 in Apopka, Florida. In 2006 Division III Fairleigh Dickinson captured its first national title in its fourth year as a collegiate sport, defeating Alabama A&M, 4-1.

Bowling became the school's 17th intercollegiate sport in 2004. Under the direction of Assistant AD and Head Men's Lacrosse Coach Sandy Kapatos, the Panthers competed in a handful of tournaments that year as a member of College Bowling USA.

The idea to start a women's bowling team actually dates back to 1966 when a call to interested participants was advertised in campus newspaper, The Delphian. It appears there was not enough support at the time. However, from the early 1960's through the 1980's Adelphi fielded a talented men's squad. In 1968 and 1969, Adelphi qualified for back to back national championships, finishing in second place at the 1969 N.A.I.A. National Bowling Championships in Kansas City. The team came within one match of being crowned National Champions.