Women's Bowling set to join ECC as affiliate member
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University Athletics Department is pleased to announce that the women's bowling program will join the East Coast Conference as an affiliate member effective July 1, 2022. The announcement was made today by Director of Athletics Bill Smith and East Coast Conference Commissioner Dr. Robert Dranoff.
Bryant, which is beginning its inaugural season of women's bowling, will become the 15th bowling member of the ECC.
"The East Coast Conference is very excited to announce Bryant University as our newest associate member for women's bowling," Commissioner Dranoff said. "As the largest bowling conference in the NCAA, we are proud that over the years we have been able to provide a home for many institution's women's bowling programs and to help those programs grow and compete. Welcome to the ECC, Bryant University."
The ECC consists of five core institutions, with Bryant becoming the 10th affiliate member. Bryant will be competing in the largest bowling conference in the NCAA. The winner of the ECC Championship earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"We are honored and thankful to the East Coast Conference for welcoming Bryant University as an associate member in the sport of women's bowling," said Smith. We are excited about our inaugural season of women's bowling in 2022-23 and for our program to have a future home in the East Coast Conference."
The Bulldogs will be led by Morgan Walsh, the first women's bowling coach in school history. Prior to joining the Bulldogs, Walsh helped Medaille win an AMCC Championship and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. As a student-athlete, Walsh made NCAA Tournament appearances at both Fairleigh Dickinson (2017) and Medaille (2019).
"We are excited and honored to be a member of the ECC for our inaugural season," Walsh said. "It is a highly competitive conference with a great lineup of teams. We look forward to competing for a championship!"