FULTON, Mo. – William Woods University (WWU) will be adding three new intercollegiate sports beginning with the next academic year, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jason Vittone announced today. Men's and women's bowling and Outdoor Life Sports will begin competition beginning in the fall of 2022. 
 
"We are excited to add bowling and outdoor life sports to our department," Vittone said. "We looked at a variety of options when considering an expansion of our athletic options. We feel like these are a great start and hopefully of sign of more exciting things to come."
 
"At William Woods, we consider the education that goes on outside the classroom an important component of the college experience," said Dr. Jeremy Moreland, President of William Woods University. "By continuing to grow athletic options for our student-athletes, we are furthering our commitment here at The Woods to educating the total person." 
 
Men's and women's bowling will compete as NAIA Championship sports in the winter of 2022. Bowling became a NAIA Championship sport in 2019-20. The NAIA will host the second annual NAIA National Championship in March. Winter 2021 served as the first tournament following the cancelation of the 2020 championship due to COVID-19.  
 
The Fulton Bowling Center will serve as the home of the Owls for practice and competition. The Fulton Bowling Center is comprised of 16 fully functioning lanes and is located at 530 Commons Drive, Fulton, MO 65251. See more about the bowling alley here.
 
The bowling teams will have roster goals of 16-20 for the two teams. 
 
The Outdoor Life Sports will begin with shooting sports and archery with the possibility of expanding the program to additional offerings in the future. While OLS is not a NAIA sponsored sport, it will still be housed under athletics and competitions will be conducted under outside entities and groups.  
 
Prairie Grove Shotgun Sports will serve as the home of the Owls for practice and competition. The full-facility shotgun sports club is located in Columbia, Mo. They offer multiple shooting sports and two sporting clays courses with 48+ shooting stations. To learn more about the facility, click here.
 
The team will hold a roster size of 15-20.
 
The Owls most recently added men's and women's tennis in 2015. Since their inception, the two teams have appeared in a combined nine NAIA National Championships. Prior to tennis, WWU added men's basketball in 2007. 
 
The search for coaches has begun. If you are interested in the men's and women's bowling position, click here. If you are interested in the Outdoor Life Sports and Assistant Sports Information Director position, click here.