2005 Men's Bowling National Champions
In 2005, the Lions men’s bowling team won their first national championship at the Intercollegiate Bowling Championships in Rockford, Illinois. Throughout the regular season the Lions had a very successful season but the story was all about their run in the 2005 championship tournament. The week didn’t start off so great, the Lions qualified 14th out of 16 teams and were matched up against No. 3 seed Wichita State, a bowling power house. The Lions would upset the Shockers, 4-3. After a four games to one win over No. 6 Nebraska the Lions moved onto No. 2 seeded Morehead State. The Lions would beat Morehead State 4-2 but in the next round the Lions were forced to face Morehead State again. This time the Lions fell to the Eagles 4-1. For the third time in the tournament the Lions would once again match-up against Morehead State. The rubber match would go the Lions way and would advanced to the finals with a crushing 4-0 win over the Eagles. In the championship match against the eighth seeded Fresno State Bulldogs, the Lions won the first game 189-185 and in the final match of the championship the Lions crushed the Bulldogs 218-176. The national championship was the first for the bowling program in only their second appearance at nationals.
