Ranked by participation
Top colleges for Bowling scholarships
The 50 U.S. colleges with the largest bowling programs by athlete participation — each shown with its school-level athletic-aid context.
Quick answer
Among schools that sponsor bowling, Vanderbilt University in Tennessee tops our list — a NCAA Division I-FBS program with one of the largest athletic-aid budgets and 11 bowling athletes. We rank scholarship-awarding schools (NCAA Division I/II & NAIA — Division III awards no athletic aid) by division tier, then by the school’s overall athletic-aid scale, then by bowling roster size — because EADA reports athletic aid only school-wide (men’s/women’s totals), never per sport.
About these aid figures
The athletic-aid columns below are school-level totals (all sports combined, split men’s/women’s) straight from EADA. They are not the amount awarded to bowling athletes specifically — EADA does not publish per-sport aid. Use them only as a signal of how much a school invests in athletics overall.
| # | School | Division | Bowling athletes | Men’s aid school-wide, all sports | Women’s aid school-wide, all sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Nashville, TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 11 | $12,975,789 | $8,521,844 |
| 2 |  New Orleans, LA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 9 | $11,564,470 | $7,807,326 |
| 3 |  Lincoln, NE | NCAA Division I-FBS | 12 | $7,103,791 | $5,591,586 |
| 4 |  Birmingham, AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 12 | $4,603,918 | $3,593,526 |
| 5 |  Jonesboro, AR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 11 | $4,634,965 | $2,730,017 |
| 6 |  Jacksonville, AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 8 | $4,778,692 | $2,493,056 |
| 7 |  Huntsville, TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 10 | $3,830,678 | $2,217,110 |
| 8 |  Ruston, LA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 8 | $3,415,527 | $2,367,492 |
| 9 |  Brookville, NY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 10 | $10,169,698 | $8,044,977 |
| 10 |  North Andover, MA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 9 | $9,697,148 | $7,495,356 |
| 11 |  West Long Branch, NJ | NCAA Division I-FCS | 10 | $9,039,278 | $6,976,461 |
| 12 |  Fairfield, CT | NCAA Division I-FCS | 17 | $7,791,350 | $7,887,879 |
| 13 |  Smithfield, RI | NCAA Division I-FCS | 11 | $7,751,188 | $4,833,830 |
| 14 |  Staten Island, NY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 7 | $7,042,166 | $5,251,886 |
| 15 |  Erie, PA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 11 | $6,299,277 | $4,573,510 |
| 16 |  Pittsburgh, PA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 8 | $5,248,226 | $5,617,684 |
| 17 |  Washington, DC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 7 | $5,187,982 | $4,640,477 |
| 18 |  Baltimore, MD | NCAA Division I-FCS | 7 | $4,230,944 | $2,867,828 |
| 19 |  Nacogdoches, TX | NCAA Division I-FCS | 11 | $3,643,959 | $2,289,175 |
| 20 |  Youngstown, OH | NCAA Division I-FCS | 9 | $3,172,250 | $2,733,092 |
| 21 |  Dover, DE | NCAA Division I-FCS | 10 | $2,967,808 | $2,810,410 |
| 22 |  Norfolk, VA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 6 | $3,383,178 | $1,673,725 |
| 23 |  Normal, AL | NCAA Division I-FCS | 9 | $2,655,847 | $1,895,018 |
| 24 |  Valparaiso, IN | NCAA Division I-FCS | 13 | $1,524,460 | $2,924,931 |
| 25 |  Tallahassee, FL | NCAA Division I-FCS | 9 | $2,493,705 | $1,606,888 |
| 26 |  Grambling, LA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 7 | $2,385,514 | $1,564,583 |
| 27 |  Houston, TX | NCAA Division I-FCS | 7 | $2,220,304 | $1,614,375 |
| 28 |  Baton Rouge, LA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 8 | $2,159,496 | $1,436,660 |
| 29 |  Jackson, MS | NCAA Division I-FCS | 6 | $2,055,122 | $1,538,938 |
| 30 |  Prairie View, TX | NCAA Division I-FCS | 8 | $2,253,792 | $1,298,148 |
| 31 |  Montgomery, AL | NCAA Division I-FCS | 5 | $1,958,925 | $1,551,228 |
| 32 |  Greensboro, NC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 10 | $1,645,423 | $1,026,932 |
| 33 | MSMS Emmitsburg, MD | NCAA Division I without football | 11 | $4,864,808 | $6,647,103 |
| 34 |  Niagara University, NY | NCAA Division I without football | 13 | $2,976,260 | $3,414,951 |
| 35 | NCAA Division I without football | 12 | $2,205,386 | $3,314,394 | |
| 36 |  Wichita, KS | NCAA Division I without football | 10 | $1,942,178 | $2,836,803 |
| 37 |  Princess Anne, MD | NCAA Division I without football | 6 | $1,107,287 | $1,711,622 |
| 38 |  Dayton, OH | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $1,151,795 | $1,243,349 |
| 39 |  Baltimore, MD | NCAA Division I without football | 6 | $763,107 | $1,129,313 |
| 40 | MU Fremont, NE | NAIA Division II | 23 | $10,921,817 | $4,283,507 |
| 41 |  Indianapolis, IN | NAIA Division II | 41 | $9,137,382 | $3,399,127 |
| 42 | MU Milligan, TN | NAIA Division II | 35 | $5,048,330 | $3,712,275 |
| 43 |  Lebanon, IL | NCAA Division II with football | 42 | $4,271,183 | $3,281,590 |
| 44 | SCAD Savannah, GA | NAIA Division II | 43 | $3,676,275 | $2,896,358 |
| 45 |  Indianapolis, IN | NCAA Division II with football | 7 | $4,362,177 | $2,497,241 |
| 46 | EU Franklin Springs, GA | NCAA Division II without football | 28 | $2,924,786 | $3,232,305 |
| 47 |  Quincy, IL | NCAA Division II with football | 20 | $4,132,944 | $2,341,028 |
| 48 |  Romeoville, IL | NCAA Division II without football | 13 | $3,172,785 | $3,073,365 |
| 49 |  Adrian, MI | NAIA Division II | 27 | $3,336,587 | $2,053,875 |
| 50 |  Hastings, NE | NAIA Division II | 28 | $3,562,531 | $2,246,747 |
How we ranked this
Schools are ranked by NCAA/NAIA division tier (Division I-FBS and I-FCS first), then by the school’s overall athletic-aid scale, then by bowling roster size (men + women), all reported to the U.S. Department of Education under the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA). Division III schools are excluded because they do not award athletic scholarships. The athletic-aid columns are the school’s men’s and women’s aid totals across all sports, shown for context; they are not allocated to bowling — EADA reports aid only school-wide, never per sport. Only schools that can be matched to a named institution and report at least one bowling participant are listed (minimum 5schools to publish a page). Empty cells (“—”) mean the school reported no value; we never estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Does EADA data show bowling scholarship amounts per sport?+
No. The federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) reports athletic student aid only as a school-level total, split into men’s and women’s totals — it does not break aid down by individual sport. This page therefore ranks schools by their participation in bowling and shows the school’s overall athletic-aid totals as context only. We never present a per-sport aid figure.
Which colleges rank highest for bowling scholarships?+
Vanderbilt University (Tennessee), a NCAA Division I-FBS program, leads our ranking of scholarship-awarding bowling schools. We rank by division tier and the school's overall athletic-aid scale (athletic aid is reported school-wide, not per sport), then by bowling roster size.
Do all bowling programs offer athletic scholarships?+
No. NCAA Division III and some other associations do not award athletic scholarships at all, while Division I, Division II and NAIA schools may. A school showing $0 in athletic aid in our table typically does not offer athletic scholarships. Always confirm with the program directly.
How are these bowling colleges ranked?+
By the number of student-athletes participating in the sport (men plus women) as reported to EADA — the only per-sport signal the dataset provides. A larger program generally means more roster spots and recruiting activity, but it does not guarantee a larger scholarship.
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education EADA (Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act) · IPEDS · College Scorecard. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.