By Eli Meschko
Media & Communications Coordinator
Prior to the 2026-27 academic year, Briar Cliff University had never had a bowling program in its history.
With the introduction of both men’s and women’s bowling, head coach Dylan Elsworth was tasked with building two programs from the ground up. While Elsworth brought previous head coaching experience from Thomas More University, building two programs from scratch presented an entirely new challenge.
Despite having to build both programs from scratch, the Chargers’ bowling teams have started their respective seasons better than expected.
On October 11, the men’s and women’s teams competed in the university’s first-ever bowling competition at the MIBC tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The men’s team captured first place overall, while the women’s team finished sixth. 
“I think it took me a while to fully process that we had done that [in our first competition ever],” Elsworth said. “The men continued their momentum from the first day. But the push was excellent for the ladies. After the first day, they were in eighth place. It’s really easy to bottom out, but they continued to fight and climbed two spots on the final day.”
The men's team has continued to build on that early success, consistently ranking among the top 30 bowling programs in the country so far this season. Out of 147 programs nationwide, the Chargers have quickly established themselves as one of the top teams in their inaugural year.
Elsworth credits the athletes themselves for much of the early success of the brand-new programs. One of the first things he noticed was the group’s chemistry. From the beginning, the athletes quickly formed friendships, had fun together and knew how to enjoy each other’s company.
Despite the nerves that come with representing the first bowling teams in university history, those friendships have helped the athletes feel comfortable with one another and find success early on.
“These wonderful student-athletes really believed in the vision that was sold to me by President Draud when I was first hired,” Elsworth said. “The energy level that we were able to come in with matched that. It feels like we are creating something special to set ourselves apart.”
Another part of that vision was bringing in an unprecedented recruiting class for the program’s inaugural year. Elsworth was initially tasked with recruiting 14 athletes, seven men and seven women, for the first class of Charger bowlers. However, he exceeded that goal, bringing in 40 bowlers across both teams.
With such a large recruiting class, Elsworth and his coaching staff have looked for ways to provide the best possible experience for every athlete. One way they are doing this is by giving the junior varsity teams opportunities to compete in as many tournaments as possible.
“Our goal is to give our athletes the same experience and push them all to be the best bowlers that they possibly can be,” Elsworth said. “Not everyone can be on varsity, but I would be fine with any group of our athletes being on the varsity roster and being able to compete.”
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, Elsworth hopes to see both teams ranked among the top 80 programs in the country across all divisions, including NCAA, NAIA and club programs. Reaching that mark would put the Chargers in contention for the Intercollegiate Team Championships.
He also wants to see both teams make a strong showing at the NAIA championships in February. While those expectations can feel overwhelming for a new program with a roster made up primarily of freshmen, Elsworth firmly believes in the teams’ potential and sees no limit to what they can accomplish.
“I want the BCU community to know that we are looking to bring so much pride to the university and are really pushing to be one of the most competitive programs on campus,” Elsworth said. “These athletes are just wonderful kids, and the fact that I get to work with them every single day brings me so much joy.”