Are College Billiard Teams Still Popular?

[Doug the horse]

Back when I was in college(1980s) collegiate billiard teams were common. I played in the Dayton,Ohio area and it wasn't unusual for members of the University of Dayton billiard team to come to the local tournaments I talked to some of the players and they all represented the sport in a very positive way. I'm not sure if any scholarships were given or not but they had a coach,uniform,schedule,rivalry,ect, just like every other college sport. It would be great to see the game as a popular college sport.

 

[macguy]

Back when I was in college(1980s) collegiate billiard teams were common. I played in the Dayton,Ohio area and it wasn't unusual for members of the University of Dayton billiard team to come to the local tournaments I talked to some of the players and they all represented the sport in a very positive way. I'm not sure if any scholarships were given or not but they had a coach,uniform,schedule,rivalry,ect, just like every other college sport. It would be great to see the game as a popular college sport.

Do they still have billiard rooms at collages? I remember playing in the room at U of Miami and it was as nice as a public pool room.

 

[Cuebuddy]

Cornell has a nice room. Smallish with about eight tables. Brunswicks if I remember right. With three in this school right now I can attest that none of my kids have time to play pool.

 

[Doug the horse]

Do they still have billiard rooms at collages? I remember playing in the room at U of Miami and it was as nice as a public pool room.

I'm not sure what's going on at the college level these days. My son is finishing his Pre-law undergrad at the University of Cincinnat. He said there are some 1 table on campus that he is aware of but that's it. Most sports have a "trickle down effect". The NFL has an interest in college football because that's where they get their players from. Colleges are interested in high school football for the same reason. It's a repetitive cycle that is very self sustaining. Now if we only had pro pool on a level like the NFL.

 

[macguy]

I'm not sure what's going on at the college level these days. My son is finishing his Pre-law undergrad at the University of Cincinnat. He said there are some 1 table on campus that he is aware of but that's it. Most sports have a "trickle down effect". The NFL has an interest in college football because that's where they get their players from. Colleges are interested in high school football for the same reason. It's a repetitive cycle that is very self sustaining. Now if we only had pro pool on a level like the NFL.

My experience from running around is there are usually pool rooms in collage towns. There is plenty of opportunity to play when you are in collage. I don't know about the on campus rooms though. Might be a thing of the past.

Nick Varner was a collage champion, Do they still even have an annual collage champion?

 

[Doug the horse]

My experience from running around is there are usually pool rooms in collage towns. There is plenty of opportunity to play when you are in collage. I don't know about the on campus rooms though. Might be a thing of the past.

Nick Varner was a collage champion, Do they still even have an annual collage champion?

Yeah, I remember that about Nick now that you mention it. I'm down by Gainesville, Florida now(big college town). Its hard to get a table on most nights at any of the 5 rooms here. The sun goes down and college students take over the town! They like to play, I just don't hear of any sanctioned college events.

 

[Benward452]

Collegiate pool is still alive and active! Mainly due to the likes of Betsy Sundholm (Volunteer ACUI 9-ball Director) from the University of Michigan who hosts the University of Michigan Team Pool Championship (http://uunions.umich.edu/billiards/article/umtpc-general-information). This year's event in November will be its 11th straight year. Last year there were 15 unique teams in the 16 team field.

ACUI (Association of College Unions International) has been hosting its collegiate championships since 1937 (http://www.acui.org/billiards/). The ACUI Men's and Women's 9-Ball Championship will be hosted this June at the University of Akron. Last year's respective winners were Landon Shuffett and Brianna Miller, both from the University of Lindenwood team coached by none other than Mark Wilson (http://www.lindenwoodlionssls.com/index.aspx?path=pool&tab=billiards).

There are also smaller team tournaments that have been hosted at West Virginia University, Radford University (http://blitvak.wix.com/rutpt), and Virginia Tech over the years.

There are still pool halls on college campuses and there are student still fighting for the coveted national championship.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about how to get involved.

Thanks,
Ben Litvak

 

[Doug the horse]

Thanks for the info! It's good to hear it's still alive. I tend to appreciate college sports over pro. College athletes usually play hard and for the love of the game. In order for this sport to make a comeback it has to start somewhere! I think expanding college level competition would be a great thing!

 

[jay helfert]

I don't remember pool/billiards ever being a popular intercollegiate sport. Only a few schools ever had a "team" to the best of my knowledge. What I do remember is the time when most colleges of any size had game rooms or union buildings with pool tables in them. That also seems to be going by the wayside today.

I actually taught a course in Pool, Billiards and Snooker at UCLA in the 80's. It was part of their Experimental College. I would typically have ten or twelve students each semester for a one hour class (once or twice a week), held in the Union building on campus.

 

[macguy]

Yeah, I remember that about Nick now that you mention it. I'm down by Gainesville, Florida now(big college town). Its hard to get a table on most nights at any of the 5 rooms here. The sun goes down and college students take over the town! They like to play, I just don't hear of any sanctioned college events.

I have a house in Tallahassee, I have never lived there but plan to in the near future. I have very seriously considered opening a room in Tallahassee before I get too old and kick off... I think there are like 5 or 6 rooms there now. Collage towns are good places for pool rooms from what I have seen.

 

[macguy]

Collegiate pool is still alive and active! Mainly due to the likes of Betsy Sundholm (Volunteer ACUI 9-ball Director) from the University of Michigan who hosts the University of Michigan Team Pool Championship (http://uunions.umich.edu/billiards/article/umtpc-general-information). This year's event in November will be its 11th straight year. Last year there were 15 unique teams in the 16 team field.

ACUI (Association of College Unions International) has been hosting its collegiate championships since 1937 (http://www.acui.org/billiards/). The ACUI Men's and Women's 9-Ball Championship will be hosted this June at the University of Akron. Last year's respective winners were Landon Shuffett and Brianna Miller, both from the University of Lindenwood team coached by none other than Mark Wilson (http://www.lindenwoodlionssls.com/index.aspx?path=pool&tab=billiards).

There are also smaller team tournaments that have been hosted at West Virginia University, Radford University (http://blitvak.wix.com/rutpt), and Virginia Tech over the years.

There are still pool halls on college campuses and there are student still fighting for the coveted national championship.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about how to get involved.

Thanks,
Ben Litvak

How could all this be going on in such obscurity? This amateur pool needs more public exposure.

 

[macguy]

Thanks for the info! It's good to hear it's still alive. I tend to appreciate college sports over pro. College athletes usually play hard and for the love of the game. In order for this sport to make a comeback it has to start somewhere! I think expanding college level competition would be a great thing!

From being in the pool room business for so many years. There was hardly a week would go by when you would hear, "I haven't played since I was in collage". It seems a lot of players got much of their exposure to the game in collage.

 

[Benward452]

Macguy,

I know I have posted many times about all of these collegiate events on this forum before. Both the ACUI Nationals and University of Michigan Team Pool Tournament have been covered in Pool and Billiards Magazine over the most recent years.

Here is one article about UMTPC pg - 17-18
http://digital.turn-page.com/i/440498

 

[macguy]

Macguy,

I know I have posted many times about all of these collegiate events on this forum before. Both the ACUI Nationals and University of Michigan Team Pool Tournament have been covered in Pool and Billiards Magazine over the most recent years.

Here is one article about UMTPC
http://digital.turn-page.com/i/440498

That is true but obscure forums like this and the few Mags that are not even sold on news stands can't reach the main stream.

When I see a collage champ, or any champ for that matter, doing a guest spot on Letterman I will feel like there is a chance.

 

[gogg]

Max Eberle was a college champion as well......if I am remembering correctly.


* wish I had started this crap earlier *

 

[asamimasa]

Pretty much dead in the San Diego area. I'm the only one playing with any regularity at UC San Diego, where we have 4x GCIII and 2x Olhausens. I'd have one hell of a time scraping together enough participants to form a team.

 

[West Point 1987]

Most of the college programs I'm aware of are not NCAA, but clubs...but they do take it seriously and have a great time. VA Tech (where my son goes) has a pretty decent club and a big room in their student union...they even had Allison Fisher come by a few years ago and give lessons/exhibition.

 

[Inaction]

I was at SD State (7,000 students) during a great time for playing pool in the late 80's until 1992. The game room had 8 GC & 2 snooker tables. There was an unofficial billiard club which held informal meetings throughout the day. It was common to see someone reading a text book when not shooting. The game room director supported pool with 5 or 6 tournaments each semester. $1 entry fee and $30, $20 & $10 for the top three. Table time was only $1.80 per hour, and I received free table time for five semesters as compensation for "teaching' the billiards PE class. This amounted to explaining the rules, taking role, and giving exams. There wasn't a single student out of about 80 who showed any interest in improving their game.

The competition was very good too at the time. There were a pair of very good players that left a year or two before I started that would have been great to compete against. Several of the guys I would regularly beat ended are now Masters players in the VNEA.

He would take 6 guys and 2 gals to the regional ACUI tournaments. I played in Ames, Mankato & Fargo game rooms that were very nice. U of Minnesota let Shooters Billiards host their tournament.

Great times and lots of good memories.

The year after I graduated, half the tables were put into storage, and the GR director was fired for having sticky fingers.

I attended the other large State School in 2004 & 2005. There was one table in the Student Union, and I did not see anyone else playing on it.

 

[Doug the horse]

Most of the college programs I'm aware of are not NCAA, but clubs...but they do take it seriously and have a great time. VA Tech (where my son goes) has a pretty decent club and a big room in their student union...they even had Allison Fisher come by a few years ago and give lessons/exhibition.

That is really unfortunate. However if they do still have the equipment there is still hope!

 

[Doug the horse]

I was at SD State (7,000 students) during a great time for playing pool in the late 80's until 1992. The game room had 8 GC & 2 snooker tables. There was an unofficial billiard club which held informal meetings throughout the day. It was common to see someone reading a text book when not shooting. The game room director supported pool with 5 or 6 tournaments each semester. $1 entry fee and $30, $20 & $10 for the top three. Table time was only $1.80 per hour, and I received free table time for five semesters as compensation for "teaching' the billiards PE class. This amounted to explaining the rules, taking role, and giving exams. There wasn't a single student out of about 80 who showed any interest in improving their game.

The competition was very good too at the time. There were a pair of very good players that left a year or two before I started that would have been great to compete against. Several of the guys I would regularly beat ended are now Masters players in the VNEA.

He would take 6 guys and 2 gals to the regional ACUI tournaments. I played in Ames, Mankato & Fargo game rooms that were very nice. U of Minnesota let Shooters Billiards host their tournament.

Great times and lots of good memories.

The year after I graduated, half the tables were put into storage, and the GR director was fired for having sticky fingers.

I attended the other large State School in 2004 & 2005. There was one table in the Student Union, and I did not see anyone else playing on it.

Sounds like a great college experience. Sure would be great to see it continued for future generations. I would like to see a push to expand the sport on the college level. This would help to change the sports image.