Copyright 2016l; Wilmington University. All rights reserved.
NEWARK, Del. - - Wilmington University Director of Athletics Linda Van Drie-Andrzjewski has announced the hiring of John York to become the head coach the first year women's bowling program. Competition is set to begin in the fall, 2016.
"We're excited to be bringing John on to lead the women's bowling program from the ground up," Van Drie-Andrzjewski said. "His enthusiasm and knowledge of the game will go a long way in building a competitive program here at Wilmington University. He's been successful in starting programs elsewhere and we are confident he can expand on his accomplishments."
York joins the Wildcats after a successful stint at Cheyney University, turning the program into a contender. Last year, the Wolves finished with a program record 54 victories, going 54-50 overall and landed ninth in the final National Tenpin Coaches Association Division II/Division II National Poll.
"Bowling has been my passion for the past 30 years," York said. "It is what I love to do. I'm thankful and excited for the opportunity to build from the ground floor and turn this Wilmington program into a competitor. To take something brick by brick and see how high you can build gives me a great sense of pride and achievement."
Prior to leading Cheyney to garner national attention, York did more of the same for the New Jersey Institute of Technology men's bowling club team as the head coach from 2009-2012. During his tenure, York led the team to the IBC Sectionals in the 2012 season and was named the Eastern Intercollegiate Bowling Conference (EIBC) Coach of the Year in the same season.
Before being involved at the collegiate level, York had been a personal coach mentoring student-athlete who have attained All-Conference, All-State, and All-American accolades. He helped mentor four student-athletes that went on to win the 2006 Women's Collegiate NCAA National Championship with Fairleigh Dickenson University, including that year's NCAA National Championship Tournament MVP.
"I'm proud to be associated with the tremendous growth of the NCAA in women's bowling over the past 10 years," York added. "Teams and conferences continue to grow with more and more programs each year. It's only going to continue to raise the level of play. I'm excited to begin the growth at Wilmington and see where we can go from here."
The Wildcats will begin competitions next fall with the NCAA National Collegiate Championship being held during April of each year. Wilmington is the fifth member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) to sponsor women's bowling, with a mandatory six teams needed to hold a CACC Championship.