In the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s one of the highest rated Saturday afternoon sports programs was the Professional Bowlers Tour. As the lead-in to ABC’s Wide World of Sports, the country was introduced to bowlers like Jim Stefanich, Dick Weber, Earl Anthony, Mark Ross and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. Chris Schenkle and Nelson Burton, Jr. arrived in our living rooms to broadcast the matches with so much ease, humor and professionalism. We had dominant veterans (Weber and Anthony) and hot-headed youngsters (Ross and Williams) that drove fans to their television sets from 1 to 3:30 every Saturday.
Patrick Dombrowski showing off his green jacket for his first bowling major. Courtesy of Gene Kanak.
The Professional Bowlers Association and the tour itself have gone through myriad changes since the late 1980’s, even a lawsuit that almost destroyed professional bowling. But it lives today on the CW network and if you aren’t watching, you are missing out on the best of sports! And Ohio bowlers have risen to the top!
High School Bowling in Ohio
Ohio has recognized bowling as a varsity sport since 2007. This past season high school boys teams crossed the Ohio High School’s threshold for three divisions, 451, with 459 schools participating in bowling. The girls number is also impressive at 401, 50 shy of the mark.
Nationally the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) stated that 61,291 students participated in bowling in the 2024-25 school year. Thus, bowling IS one of the fastest growing sports over that time. In Ohio, specifically, it’s one of the largest in the country in terms of participants and interest from colleges. Jenny Martin-Clake, the executive director for the Ohio Bowling Center Association, shared her thoughts to bowlingindustry.com.
“High school bowling is now a real college pipeline. We have had college coaches at our state finals, a lot of active recruiting [is] going on. At our all-star tournament in southwest Ohio, a lot of coaches come to watch the kids they are hoping to bring onto their teams.”
According to Martin-Clarke, the only true issue facing the sport is space problems.
“Bowling has gone crazy here in Ohio. But if every school in a given area who had interest wanted to launch a team, there just would not be enough lanes to support it. Even now, it is hard to find centers with enough room for everyone to practice, train, and compete.”
One current pro bowler was on those 2009/2010 Kenton Ridge HS bowling teams that captured back-to-back titles. Who? See below.
College Bowling
Michigan and Ohio have begun to lure potential bowlers to their colleges and universities via scholarships. How much? To give some perspective on collegiate interest, over $2 million dollars in scholarships were given to high school bowlers in Rockford, Illinois.
In fact, the 2025 NCAA Bowling champions lie here in the Buckeye State! Youngstown State, take a bow! Want to watch the final game from 2025? Here you go!
The entire list of Ohio schools offering bowling in Division 1, 2 or 3 include the following:
Youngstown State (D1)
Wright State (D1)
Wittenberg University (D3)
University of Northwestern Ohio (D2)
Lourdes University (D2)
Walsh University (D2)
University of Rio Grande (D1)
Shawnee State University (D1)
Muskingum University (D3)
Ursuline College (D2)
Mount Vernon Nazarene University (D1)
Many other Ohio schools offer bowling at the club level.
Ohioans in the Pros!
Graham Fach is a Canadian but calls Urbana, Ohio his home. At the Pete Weber Missouri Classic in February, Fach grabbed his first title and the $30,000 first place prize. He was on a two week tear as he also battled for 3rd place at the PBA Players Championship the week prior to his victory. He is currently ranked 4th in the PBA.
Fach after winning Pete Weber Classic. Courtesy of PBA.com
Patrick Dombrowski, the former accountant, won his first major on March 1st. At the US Open presented by Go Bowling, the Parma native won $100,000 for his first victory of the year. This is just his second full year on the tour. His #3 ranking this year also includes points earned for an 11th place (Pete Weber Classic) and 23rd place (Groupon PBA Illinois Classic).
Chris Via is also having a solid start to his 2026 season. Currently ranked 16th, he finished 3rd at the US Open. The Springfield native looks to grab another title this year. Chris was the 2025 recipent of the Tony Reyes Community Award granted by the PBA for his service to the Bowlers to Veterans Link and his donation of his prize money won for rolling two 300’s in a tournament to the Striking Against Breast Cancer organization who was funding the doubles event. I’m sure his commitment to service is from his time as a Kenton Ridge HS student! (See above!!)
Chris Via, courtesy of nextlevelbowling.com
All three men are currently participating in the USBC Masters, a unique major in that it’s a double elimination tournament. We will keep you updated as the days continue.
HBO Max
The docuseries, Born To Bowl, is currently in its second week on HBO Max. Executive producer Ben Stiller and filmmakers James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte followed five pro bowlers during the 2025 season as they battled for honors and fans in the five-part series. IMDB reviews have given the show an 8.1 out of 10.
Kyle Troup, Anthony Simonsen, EJ Tackett, Cameron Crowe and Jason Belmonte are chronicled with humor, intensity and frustration. You can see a new episode every Monday night from 9 to 9:28 pm, EST.
Bowling is currently undergoing an immense rise in popularity. And perhaps as more centers open in Ohio bowling might become one of the largest student participation sports with possibilites for future schooling and some cash on the side!
Where do you bowl? Please share with us in the comments or on social media.
Recent Comments