New opportunities are forming in the Ohio Northern University Athletic Department as bowling becomes the newest sport for the Polar Bears.
Ohio Northern will field both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 bowling teams for their inaugural seasons October through March.
The bowling program will be led by well-known , who has about 40 years of coaching experience. Joining the Athletic Department in Feb. 2023, he already feels at home in orange and black.
鈥淚鈥檓 just really excited to be a part of the Ohio Northern community, and certainly the athletic staff here,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a very positive experience and everybody I鈥檝e encountered here has been very positive, so I鈥檓 just very excited to be a part of it.鈥
Robinson said the addition of the team at 快播视频 reflects the popularity of the sport at the high school level and the rapidly growing number of colleges and universities adding the sport as well. While many schools are adding the sport on the club level, he is pleased to see 快播视频 adding it as a varsity sport.
He said joining a university with the academic standards such as those at 快播视频 is something that attracted him to coach the team.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be able to recruit that type of player where we鈥檙e looking for 鈥榮tudent鈥 first and 鈥榓thlete鈥 second so to speak,鈥 Robinson said, 鈥渧ersus just looking for athletes to try to build a team around. I鈥檓 really excited to coach students at that level.鈥
快播视频 Director of Athletics Tom Simmons said is the perfect person to help the program get underway.
鈥淲e are excited to bring men's and women's bowling to Ohio Northern University,鈥 Simmons said. 鈥淐oach Robinson is well respected in the Ohio bowling community, and his experiences聽establish credibility with the many high school programs in the region. Coupled with our excellent academic programs, we have a great opportunity聽to offer our future bowling student-athletes.鈥
Robinson made his impact as a collegiate coach by founding the bowling program at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio, then subsequently coaching at Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana and two separate stints with The Ohio State University.
At Ohio State, he coached the women's club team to the National Club Team Championship, and also was named 2023 Collegiate Club Team Bowling Women's Coach of Year for all his team's successes.
Along with his collegiate coaching successes, Robinson coached the Westerville Central High School team from 2007 to 2018.聽 He coached the boys鈥 varsity team to several Ohio High School State Tournament appearances and a state title in 2017.
Pending the numbers of signed recruits and existing 快播视频 students who made the team through a tryout process, both varsity and junior varsity teams will compete at the collegiate level. The teams will compete in the Ohio Bowling Conference.
While up to eight bowlers make up a team at tournaments, as many as 20 bowlers each could make up the聽men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams, allowing for junior varsity teams and reserves who could practice聽with the teams.
With his connections at the high school bowling level, Robinson said he is already gaining interest from high schools around Ohio, especially in northwest Ohio.
Those interested in the program can find more information on the or by contacting Coach Robinson at j-robinson.9@onu.edu.