Are College Billiard Teams Still Popular?
- Thread starter Doug the horse
- Start date
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.
Doug the horse
Registered
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.
Pretty low commitment on my side as well, I am attending UC Riverside we have 3 Olhausen tables. There was a year my first year (I am a third year now) where we had a handful of players that were there playing regularly in between classes but most of them have graduated now. I tried getting a Billiards Club to compete in the ACUI, I had contacted on of the members from there board and they told me my school was allowed to compete I just had to form the club and compete among local teams. Went to my school and introduced the club got the forms just needed committed players, which I had at least 10. I was told we could compete against CSU San Bernardino, CSU Long Beach, UC Irvine, CSU Fullerton, I contacted CSUSB the closest to us turns out they didn't have an actual Billiards Club for them to compete, same response from other schools not actually having a team to compete with. Gave up on the idea and just took a couple of guys to form an APA team. Ive heard of other successful college teams but those mostly actually have a coach. Or some sort of support in billiards like having pro's coming in to give lessons.
U of M Billiard room has been around since 1907 and is still going strong. It's a great room.
2nd floor of the Student Union building. All Brunswick Anniversary tables, Snooker table, and a 3C table. $3.00 an hour or 4.50 for 2 players. Lots of history there.
It's a shame pool has never taken off at the collegiate level.
2nd floor of the Student Union building. All Brunswick Anniversary tables, Snooker table, and a 3C table. $3.00 an hour or 4.50 for 2 players. Lots of history there.
It's a shame pool has never taken off at the collegiate level.
Well, to be fair, do you know who won the national Badminton championship or the water polo championship? Not exactly front page kinda stuff. But yeah, it was posted in here when Landon won his national college championship.
BetsyUmichPool
Registered
Hello,
Thanks, Ben, for speaking on my behalf! I wasn't a member of the AZ Billiards forums but another friend called this to my attention, so I joined. And then I saw that Ben has been doing a great job of answering people's questions.
It's just three days until commencement on my campus so this is all I have time for at the moment, but I look to continue this conversation and address some of the questions posed here after things slow down.
Information about the ACUI collegiate 9-ball program: http://www.acui.org/billiards/
A list of ACUI champions dating back to 1937 (which, as you will see, includes both Nick Varner and Max Eberle as someone wondered): http://www.acui.org/content.aspx?menu_id=14&id=13181
Betsy
University of Michigan Billiards & Games Room Supervisor
ACUI Volunteer
Thanks, Ben, for speaking on my behalf! I wasn't a member of the AZ Billiards forums but another friend called this to my attention, so I joined. And then I saw that Ben has been doing a great job of answering people's questions.
It's just three days until commencement on my campus so this is all I have time for at the moment, but I look to continue this conversation and address some of the questions posed here after things slow down.
Information about the ACUI collegiate 9-ball program: http://www.acui.org/billiards/
A list of ACUI champions dating back to 1937 (which, as you will see, includes both Nick Varner and Max Eberle as someone wondered): http://www.acui.org/content.aspx?menu_id=14&id=13181
Betsy
University of Michigan Billiards & Games Room Supervisor
ACUI Volunteer
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.
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.
I was a founding member of the Indiana University Pool Team. We were the first team from IU to play in University of Michigan Team Pool Championship. We were pretty green and I was half the player I am now but it was an absolute blast. Betsy does a fantastic job directing that tournament. We started the IU pool team back in 05/06 about the same time I joined this site. I know they still had a team up until last year (I graduated in 06), but I'm not sure they do anymore. I do know the University still has tables and even hosted the ACUI championship 2 or 3 years ago. Maybe some day it will be more than a club sport if Mark Wilson has his way.
UCLA got rid of their five 9-foot Diamond tables a few years ago and turned the room into a Jamba Juice, or something like that.
water polo does provide scholarships and its an Olympic sport, so its a different animal.
(My buddy got a water polo scholarship to UC Santa Barbara.)
BetsyUmichPool
Registered
Here is a list of ACUI National Collegiate Champions since 1937 (it hasn't been updated since 2014, but the events have happened!)
http://www.acui.org/content.aspx?menu_id=14&id=13181
VA Tech has been competing in the MI tournament for many years. They contacted me to come work with their pool team. I spent a long weekend working with all of the billiard club members, and then did a trick shot show at the end. In several years of competing the VA Tech team had never done better than 8th. 2 months after my workshop, they went to MI and finished 3rd. They worked hard on what I showed them, and it showed up at tournament time!
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
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
classicjay17
Registered
Scott, you are correct about Pitt. The University of Pittsburgh Billiard club no longer exists. I was the VP and then President of the club back in 2003-2004. The student Union Rec Center had 13 8' gold crowns, a 10' snooker table and a vintage 10' Brunswick 3 Cushion table. We held $3 entry handicapped 9 ball tournaments every Thursday night, and end of the semester tournament/events at a local pool rooms. Most of my Friends from college that I'm still in touch with are from the Billiard club.
In 2006 the student activities council did not approve the clubs meager $500/semester budget. I guess they didn't think it was important. What was mind boggling was the thousands and 10's of thousands of $ they did approve during the meeting for various guest speakers and rediculous unnecessary trips for various campus organizations.
About a year or two after that, they renamed the rec center after the Chancellor, and turned it into a club type space for Bands to play & video games. They kept maybe 2-3 pool tables and recovered them in Pitt Yellow cloth with the panther logo in the center.
It really was a great club, and what started my passion for the game. It's sad that future students won't have the same opportunity to be introduced to and enjoy the game.