THIEL JOINS AMCC AS AFFILIATE MEMBER IN WOMEN'S BOWLING

Thiel College will join the AMCC as an affiliate member in the sport of women's bowling, effective for the 2016-17 season.
 
The Tomcats added bowling as a club sport in 2014-15, with the 2015-16 season being their first as at the varsity level, finishing 9-24 overall.

"We are very thankful to become affiliate members of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in women’s bowling," noted Amy Schafer, Thiel Director of Athletics. "Not only does this conference provide a home for our women’s bowling team, but the league shares our commitment to provide intercollegiate athletic programs that advance educational experiences."

Thiel will become the sixth member of the league in women's bowling. Full-time AMCC members that sponsor the sport include Medaille College (Buffalo, NY), Mount Aloysius College (Cresson, PA), Penn State Altoona (Altoona, PA) and University of Pittsburgh at Bradford (Bradford, PA) , as well as New Jersey City University (Jersey City, NJ), who joined as an affiliate member in 2015-16. 
  
AMCC member Hilbert College (Hamburg, NY) will add bowling as a club sport for the 2016-17 academic year and expects the team to move to varsity status for the 2017-18 season.

"Women's bowling continues to grow at the national level and we are proud that the AMCC is leading the way in NCAA Division III," said AMCC Commissioner Donna Ledwin.  The AMCC is currently the only Division III conference in the country that sponsors women's bowling as a championship sport.  She noted that the conference is in discussion with other institutions in the midwest about the possibility of establishing a Division III only season-ending tournament in addition to the association-wide national championship.