ACUI 9-ball Collegiate Championships Discontinued

[Benward452]

The Association of College Unions International over the summer made the decision to discontinue their National Collegiate Pocket Billiards program. This program held its first national tournament in 1937 and was the longest running national tournament that I am aware of. From my understanding, the tournament started as straight pool and transitioned to 9-ball at a later time, I believe in the 90s.

I would encourage those who are familiar with the program to help add to/edit the ACUI Collegiate Pocket Billiards page on Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACUI_Collegiate_Pocket_Billiards_National_Championship

Notable winners of this tournament include:
Lars Vardaman (x 3) - Tied for most Men's Championship Titles
Raymond Linares (x 3) - Tied for most Men's Championship Titles
Nick Varner (x 2)
Max Eberle (x 2)
Landon Shuffet (x 2)
Chris Robinson (x 2)
Briana Miller (x 4) - Tied for most Overall Championship Titles
Eleanor Callado (x 4) - Tied for most Overall Championship Titles

Our very own Bob Jewett has won this tournament along with at least one or two others that I do not know. I also know there are many members on this forum who have participated in these tournaments at various levels.

I was involved with this program for about 10 years in various regional and national roles (2007-2017) and it really saddens me to see that the program is discontinued.

Here is the message from the last volunteer 9-ball director on the discontinuation of the program.

Sorry for the bad news.

Ben

 

[Inaction]

Sorry to hear this. I participated at the Regional level five times and probably would have won it all if I didn't draw Marc Oleslager in Mankato, who went on to win the National tournament. My best finish at a Regional was 3rd on my last attempt, and a 4th place on my first one.

My interest in playing would have been much less if it were 9 ball at the time.

 

[PoolBum]

Very disappointing news.

I believe the tournament went from straight pool, to 8 ball, to 9 ball. When I competed it was 9 ball.

I won the California region four years in a row, and finished in the top four every year at the nationals, including second twice. Both finals I lost to Lars, who was a great player and won it three years in a row. I came within two games of winning it in 2004, and I also beat four national ACUI champions along the way.

 

[sjm]

I finished second in the ACUI Eastern regional in 1979, coming within one match of advancing to the Nationals, which were in Las Vegas that year. FYI, 1979 was the final year in which it was straight pool. In 1980, they switched to 8-ball.

 

[ChrisinNC]

I finished second in the ACUI Eastern regional in 1979, coming within one match of advancing to the Nationals, which were in Las Vegas that year. FYI, 1979 was the final year in which it was straight pool. In 1980, they switched to 8-ball.

I played in the ACUI regionals four straight years from 1975 - 1978. It was an incredible experience for myself and I’m sure all of us that played in it, which at that time was still 14.1. One year it was held at the University of Tennessee pool room in Knoxville and another year it was at the Virginia Tech pool room in Blacksburg - both far bigger and nicer pool rooms than our campus 9 table pool room.

It doesn’t surprise me at all. The university that I attended and represented stopped having an annual championship tournament to determine the best male and female players to represent our school in the ACUI tournament many years ago. The on-campus pool room has downsized and doesn’t even bother keeping up their pool tables, balls, cues, etc in decent playing condition anymore - very sad.

 

[Black-Balled]

AZBro uwate is also a winner.

Sad to hear of its discontinuation. That said, I like pool and have never done anything to support acui events.

Read Andre's comments on the decision; there's a lotta niche activities that are equally deserving of continuation and as always, limited resources and limited interest.

 

[Scherf]

Very sad to hear indeed. I also competed in multiple regionals along side my college roommate. My roommate won the regional twice and had to play Max Eberle the two years Max won it. I'll never forget him coming home and me asking him about the competition out there and he told me..."Look out for this kid named Max Eberle"....

 

[Chembry]

Very disappointing news.

I believe the tournament went from straight pool, to 8 ball, to 9 ball. When I competed it was 9 ball.

I won the California region four years in a row, and finished in the top four every year at the nationals, including second twice. Both finals I lost to Lars, who was a great player and won it three years in a row. I came within two games of winning it in 2004, and I also beat four national ACUI champions along the way.

I played with Lars at SIUE. He was a great player at the time and taught me quite a bit about the game. Lars and Justin Bergman were very tight at the time and I would hang out with them learning as much as I could.

We had a 10ft snooker table in our room at SIUE. Lars would practice by playing 9ball on the snooker table and would still run racks. I haven't talked to him in many years.

 

[PoolBum]

I played with Lars at SIUE. He was a great player at the time and taught me quite a bit about the game. Lars and Justin Bergman were very tight at the time and I would hang out with them learning as much as I could.

We had a 10ft snooker table in our room at SIUE. Lars would practice by playing 9ball on the snooker table and would still run racks. I haven't talked to him in many years.

I played many excellent players in the ACUI competitions, including some guys who would go on to beat the likes of Johnny Archer and Earl Strickland. Lars was the best player I ever played in those competitions.

I heard Mark Wilson and Justin Bergman doing commentary on a stream one time. Mark asked Justin if Lars still played, and I think Justin either said he didn't know, or that Lars didn't play any more. Then Mark mentioned how good Lars was, and Justin said, "Yeah, I couldn't beat that guy."

I honestly think if I hadn't played Lars in the finals twice I would have won the ACUI at least a couple of times. One national ACUI champion I beat all five times we played.

 

[Paul Schofield]

There used to be a game room with multiple pool tables in every college student union building in the United States. In my area we have four local colleges. They all used to have nine-footers. Now, none of them have a single table.

 

[PoolBum]

There used to be a game room with multiple pool tables in every college student union building in the United States. In my area we have four local colleges. They all used to have nine-footers. Now, none of them have a single table.

They used to have a pool room at UCLA, before I got there. It was gone by the time I got there, but when I was there the new game room manager was able to buy five new Diamond tables. Before I left they had sold the tables, closed the game room, and replaced it with a Jamba juice. It's all about the $$$$.

 

[ChrisinNC]

They used to have a pool room at UCLA, before I got there. It was gone by the time I got there, but when I was there the new game room manager was able to buy five new Diamond tables. Before I left they had sold the tables, closed the game room, and replaced it with a Jamba juice. It's all about the $$$$.

It was a sad day no more than a year or so ago when the University of Michigan announced the closing of their quite historical pool room, which I attended the BCA junior nationals with my son, roughly 20 years ago.

As a positive note, I’d like to hear from anyone who knows if there are still any of the really nice well-kept University pool rooms still in existence, like there were 40-50 years ago?

 

[PoolBum]

It was a sad day no more than a year or so ago when the University of Michigan announced the closing of their quite historical pool room, which I attended the BCA junior nationals with my son, roughly 20 years ago.

That was a great room. I played there in the ACUI nationals in 2005, and got to see Justin Bergman and John Morra play in the BCA junior nationals final that year.

 

[ChrisinNC]

That was a great room. I played there in the ACUI nationals in 2005, and got to see Justin Bergman and John Morra play in the BCA junior nationals final that year.

Yeah, the few years my son played in the BCA Jr Nationals, Magoos in Tulsa one year and U of Michigan the next, was unreal the amount of young talent that was playing - Shane McMinn in the 18 and under division, but the 14 and under division was really loaded back then - the late Tyler Straun, John Mora, Justin Bergman, Justin Hall and Joey Gray just to name a few!

 

[Benward452]

Virginia Tech University still has a great poolroom. They had a just bought a 9-ft Diamond and a 12ft snooker table in the last 6-7 years. Have about 15-18 GC3-5.

West Virginia University has a great hall with shitty tables. Arizona State is about the same; great sized room with not so great tables.

At a time, I know University of Maryland had a great room when Andre Adams, the gentleman who was the final ACUI 9-ball volunteer, worked there 10 years ago or so.

Indiana and Lindenwood had good places... Who knows what happened to Lindenwood's facilities when they shut their program down last year. They had 4 really nice Diamond tables in a great facility.

 

[jay helfert]

They used to have a pool room at UCLA, before I got there. It was gone by the time I got there, but when I was there the new game room manager was able to buy five new Diamond tables. Before I left they had sold the tables, closed the game room, and replaced it with a Jamba juice. It's all about the $$$$.

I actually taught Pool at UCLA in the early 1980's. It was part of their Extension program that offered electoral courses that weren't on the regular curriculum. I had about 12-16 students in my class each semester for the two years I was there. This was just before the tables were taken out. The name of the class was Pool, Billiards and Snooker and there were all three tables at UCLA back then.

I played the Southeast Regional champ at Florida U. in the late 60's and beat him one game of Straights when I ran 72 and out on him, my high run to this day. I also played the former National champ Dan Louie in the Dayton tournament a couple of years after he won the title. I put a loss on him too. Oh those were the days!

 

[Bob Jewett]

Well, this is very sad news.

The problem is that most Student Unions no longer have any interest in providing recreation for students.

At Berkeley, where I learned to play, there were 13 pool tables, two snooker tables and two carom tables, plus table tennis and a place to play chess/cards/go. Downstairs from the pool room there was a 16-lane bowling alley. We had intramural tournaments and qualifiers for the ACUI regionals in five or six events. Berkeley has no tables in the Union but there may be some in dorms and frats.

Stanford used to have about 15 tables. I happened to go by about 1974 when the ACUI regionals were held there. Dorothy Wise was the tournament director. By 1985 they were down to three tables in lousy condition and their bowling alley had turned into a rent-a-Mac area. There were no tables the last time I went by and the computer rental had turned into exercise machines.

In 1975 the tournament was still 14.1, but I think that was near the final year of straight pool. It was at the University of Maryland and Jimmy Caras was the guest celebrity.

I played my fourth and final year of eligibility at Georgia Tech in 1982 (as a graduate student) and the tournament at that time was eight ball with rather strange rules. I remember at the Regionals (in a pool hall near Stanford) there was one situation where my best play was to bounce the eight ball off the table. All the players at the Nationals expressed a preference for nine ball. Tom Golly won that year. Mizerak was the celebrity.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Here is the National Billiard News article from August 1982...



I see there is a Bruce Choyce who currently plays pool -- perhaps the same one.

 

[Bob Jewett]

1977 at the University of South Carolina, Julie Bentz and William (Jay) Hungerford, straight pool.

 

[Bob Jewett]

1976 at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Melissa Rice and John Cianflone, straight pool



A personal detail.... The fourth-place finisher in the men's division was a friend of mine -- Demetri Angelakos (misspelled in the table). He finished second to me at the Regionals in 1975. If I had had my wits about me, I would have let him win the finals so we both could have gone to the Nationals. The 16th player was chosen from the 15 regions by high per-inning average (at 14.1), and my average would have been way out in front of the second-place finishers. Demetri's father was one of the victims of the Unabomber.