You are probably correct. It would take someone with a genius mind and a tremendous amount of influence to promote this sport to the NCAA. With the high level of understanding it requires in geometry and strategy I'm surprised it's not already a coveted college sport.Unfortunately collegiate billiards will never be popular or a major NCAA sport as long as professional billiards isn't popular. NCAA teams wouldn't benefit the colleges like football and basketball do.
Beautiful room, but I bet those windows can be trouble on a bright day.forgot the Pic......... this is about 1/2 of the room
How could all this be going on in such obscurity? This amateur pool needs more public exposure.
When I was an undergrad, UC Berkeley had 17 tables including two snooker and two carom. Now it has none. Stanford had at least 13 tables. Now it has none. Too many student unions have gotten out of providing recreation for the students. In the case of Berkeley, the function has mostly been taken over by the "Recreational Sports Facility" which is more about standard gym sorts of sports maybe with table tennis thrown in.
Way back then, the only competition (other than informal matches of money ball, pink ball, one pocket, six ball and nine ball) was the annual local tournament to see who we would send (expenses paid) to the ACUI regionals. That tournament was run by the Game Room manager.
By the 1980s the Rec Center was down to six or seven tables and since the new Rec Center manager didn't particularly care for the non-native-born people who had been playing carom, they were all pool tables. Any ACUI competition had to be organized by the participants because the Student Union management couldn't be bothered.
So, no collegiate billiard teams in Northern California so far as I know.
, do you know who won the national Badminton championship or the water polo championship?
Max Eberle was a college champion as well......if I am remembering correctly.
* wish I had started this crap earlier *
Not sure why it was not mentioned already, Mark Wilson runs the Linderwood Univ college program and I believe they are one of the very few, if not the only, schools that offer a scholarship for billiards as a sport. I think that is the most well known team, I think Skyler is part of it and a few other top players.
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.
The largest billiards clubs were at UPitt, and UNT Denton...both of which at one time, had over 700 members 20 years ago. I don't think either club still exists.
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com