NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) on Friday announced the NCAA recently notified the conference it had received an automatic bid to the national tournament beginning with the 2025 NCAA Bowling Championship in early April. The official AQ designation comes after two years of the CACC demonstrating to the national organization that the conference and its competing schools met NCAA sport-sponsorship standards.
"The CACC is thrilled to now be able to send its bowling champion to the NCAA Tournament," CACC Commissioner Dan Mara said. "It will enhance the CACC Bowling Championship experience for our student-athletes as they compete not only for the conference trophy but a chance to show their skill at the national level. I want to thank the bowlers, coaches, administrators and support staff throughout the conference who took the time to make sure the league met all sponsorship standards to allow the CACC to receive an automatic bid to the NCAAs."
The Wildcats have tasted the NCAA Bowling Championship scene before, winning the 2021-22 East Coast Conference (ECC) Tournament Championship and earning an automatic bid prior to the creation of the CACC for women's bowling. The Wildcats defeated No. 2 Nebraska before falling to No. 13 Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 2 Nebraska in the Regional Tournament in Rochester, New York.
The 2024-25 CACC Women's Bowling Championship will be contested March 22-23, at Pike Lanes in Southampton, Pa. It marks the second consecutive year the CACC Championship will be held at Pike Lanes as the facility serves as a wonderful host for the event. The alley will once again dedicate each of its lanes to the running of the tournament during the weekend.
The winning team of the CACC Championship tournament will earn the league's AQ bid to the regional round of the NCAA Tournament on April 4-5 at one of four pre-determined sites. The four regional winners will advance to the national semifinals on April 11-12, in Las Vegas, Nev.
The top-four teams in the standings following the conclusion of the conference's two regular season tournaments (early November & early March) will advance to the CACC Championship. The competition will be a double-elimination tournament format.