The Nebraska Cornhuskers bowling team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Conference USA. The program was founded as a club team in 1983 and became a varsity sport in 1997.

Nebraska is the most successful collegiate program in bowling history, winning eleven national championships and qualifying for every NCAA championship. Most of this success came under Bill Straub, who founded the team in 1989 and coached for thirty-six years. The team has been coached by longtime assistant Paul Klempa since Straub's retirement in 2019.

History

Nebraska's bowling program began in 1983 under head coach Bill Straub, who led the team to Women's International Bowling Congress-sanctioned national titles in 1991 and 1995. Women's bowling became an official varsity sport at NU in 1997, though its two-time club champion men's program did not, and the school granted Jennifer Daugherty the first full scholarship in collegiate bowling history.[2] Nebraska won three more WIBC titles before the NCAA sanctioned its first bowling tournament in 2004. The Cornhuskers won the first two NCAA championships under Straub, who retired in 2019 as a ten-time national champion and was elected to the United States Bowling Congress Collegiate Hall of Fame in 2025.[3] The program has never been ranked lower than seventh.

In 2019, Straub retired and longtime assistant Paul Klempa was named head coach.[4] Klempa led NU to its eleventh national title in 2021.

Conference affiliations

Coaches

Coaching history

No. Coach Tenure
1 Bill Straub1990–2019
2 Paul Klempa2019–present

Coaching staff

Name Position First year Alma mater
Paul KlempaHead coach2019Nebraska
Julia BondAssistant coach2021Nebraska

Championships and awards

Team national championships

  • WIBC: 1991, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001
  • NCAA: 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2021

Individual awards

  • National bowler of the year: Kim Berke (1992), Diandra Hyman (2000), Shannon Pluhowsky (2001, 2004, 2005), Lindsay Baker (2006), Amanda Burgoyne (2007), Cassandra Leuthold (2010), Lizabeth Kuhlkin (2015), Raquel Orozco (2020), Crystal Elliot (2021), Jillian Martin (2025)
  • NCAA championship most outstanding bowler: Shannon Pluhowsky (2004), Amanda Burgoyne (2005), Cassandra Leuthold (2009), Lizabeth Kuhlkin (2013), Julia Bond (2015), Crystal Elliott (2021)
  • National coach of the year: Bill Straub (2005, 2013, 2017)

NCAA champions

  • Amanda Burgoyne – 2005
  • Julia Bond – 2016
  • Kelly Belzeski – 2017

First-team All-Americans

Twenty Nebraska bowlers have combined for thirty-nine first-team All-America honors, in addition to sixteen second-team and thirteen third-team selections. The National Tenpin Coaches Association replaced the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association as the primary selector of All-America teams in 2004.

  • Kim Berke – 1991
  • Carrie Machuga – 1993
  • Andrea Rigby – 1995
  • Jennifer Daugherty – 1996, 1997, 1998
  • Brenda Norman – 1996
  • Brenda Edwards – 1997
  • Diandra Hyman – 2000, 2001
  • Shannon Pluhowsky – 2001, 2002, 2005
  • Kari Schwager – 2002
  • Amanda Burgoyne – 2005, 2006, 2007
  • Lindsay Baker – 2005, 2006
  • Cassandra Leuthold – 2008, 2009, 2010
  • Kayla Johnson – 2012
  • Lizabeth Kuhlkin – 2013, 2014, 2015
  • Julia Bond – 2016, 2017, 2018
  • Raquel Orozco – 2018, 2019, 2020
  • Meghan Straub – 2019
  • Crystal Elliot – 2021, 2023
  • Jillian Martin – 2023, 2024, 2025
  • Kayla Verstraete – 2025

Seasons

National champion
Year[a] Coach Postseason
Independent (1997–2025)
1997–98Bill StraubWIBC 4th
1998–99WIBC champion
1999–00WIBC 3rd
2000–01WIBC champion
2001–02WIBC 9th
2002–03WIBC 7th
2003–04NCAA champion
2004–05NCAA champion
2005–06NCAA 3rd
2006–07NCAA T–3rd
2007–08NCAA T–7th
2008–09NCAA champion
2009–10NCAA runner-up
2010–11NCAA T–3rd
2011–12NCAA 3rd
2012–13NCAA champion
2013–14NCAA runner-up
2014–15NCAA champion
2015–16NCAA runner-up
2016–17NCAA runner-up
2017–18NCAA 4th
2018–19NCAA T–3rd
2019–20Paul KlempaCanceled[b]
2020–21NCAA champion
2021–22NCAA T–5th
2022–23NCAA 3rd
2023–24NCAA regional
2024–25NCAA 3rd
Conference USA (2025–present)
2025–26Paul Klempa

[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Results unavailable prior to Nebraska's establishment of bowling as a varsity sport.
  2. ↑ Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

References

  1. ↑ "The Power of Color" (PDF). Nebraska Athletics Brand Guide. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. ↑ "At Nebraska, Daugherty becomes first kingping". The Washington Post. November 18, 1997. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  3. ↑ Dillon Adams (January 23, 2025). "Former Nebraska bowling coach Bill Straub named to 2025 Collegiate Hall of Fame class". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  4. ↑ Martin Herz (August 28, 2019). "Straub retires after 36 years at Husker bowling helm". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "2024–24 Bowling Media Guide" (PDF). Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Cornhuskers_bowling