Nebraska women’s bowling set to join Conference USA in upcoming season

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Nebraska Athletic Department on Monday announced that its women’s bowling team will join a new conference.

The Husker women’s bowling team will join Conference USA as an affiliate member starting in the 2025-26 season.

Nebraska is one of three members joining the conference as an affiliate member this year, along with Wright State and Sacred Heart.

The 12-team bowling conference also includes Arkansas State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston, Tulane, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt, Wichita State and Youngstown State.

“We are excited to have Nebraska Bowling join Conference USA as an affiliate member,” Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen said in a press release. “The move aligns with our department’s philosophy of putting our programs in the best position to compete for success at the national level. In two seasons, CUSA has become the premier conference in college bowling, and the additions of Nebraska, along with Sacred Heart and Wright State, only make it stronger. This will provide our student-athletes with a championship-level event prior to the NCAA Championships. We have a long history of success in bowling, and I know Coach Klempa and his team are looking forward to the opportunity to compete for conference championships for the first time in program history.”

Head coach Paul Klempa voiced his excitement about the challenging opportunity ahead.

“We are honored to be afforded the opportunity to join Conference USA as an affiliate member,” Klempa said in the release. “This bowling conference is unequivocally the strongest group of teams in the country, and we are excited to be included in what will be fierce competition each season. CUSA includes a large portion of the top-10 teams in the country and is a natural fit for Nebraska to be among them in conference competition. The opportunity to join CUSA allows us to compete in late March, right before the NCAA postseason begins, and that will help our team be competitively sharp for the NCAA Championship.  I would like to thank Athletic Director Troy Dannen and our administration for their help in getting Nebraska Bowling included in the most prestigious bowling conference in the country.”

The Husker bowling team has been independent since the program elevated to varsity status in 1997-98.

CUSA features strong bowling talent, with two of its teams winning the last two NCAA championships (Youngstown State in 2025 and Jacksonville State in 2024).

The conference also had seven of the eight national semifinalists in 2025. The only team outside of CUSA to make the semifinals was the Huskers.

The schools now competing in CUSA have accounted for 12 of the 21 NCAA titles, including four of the last five.

Nebraska has won eight national championships, including six NCAA titles since women’s bowling became an NCAA championship sport in 2004.

The Huskers have finished first or second 10 times in the NCAA championships and are the only program to compete in every NCAA championship.

Nebraska has had nine bowlers combine for 12 National Bowler of the Year honors since 2000, most recently Jillian Martin in 2025, while 34 bowlers have combined to earn 74 All-America awards since 1998.

Under Klempa, Nebraska has a trio of top-three NCAA finishes over the past five seasons, including the program’s sixth NCAA title in 2021.