Pikeville, Ky. – Director of Athletics Kelly Wells has announced the restructuring of the UPIKE bowling program's leadership. The move elevates Bobby Brown to Director of Bowling while keeping his post as head coach of the women's program, while Andrew Dekowski will serve as the assistant coach for both the men's and women's program. Longtime men's bowling head coach Kyle Wilson will continue to lead the men's program.
"Our bowling teams have consistently excelled as one of the nation's top programs," said Wells, "These changes reflect the growth of the program, along with the addition of the SportsPlex, and provide a centralized leadership structure. I am also excited to elevate Coach Dekowski into a permanent position as he has been a key component of the program's success."
Along with the changes to the coaching structure, a graduate assistant position will be added, whose primary role will be to aid in the oversight of the SportsPlex and the 10-lane bowling center within.
Coach Brown joined the women's bowling program in 2016 and found immediate success, finishing runner-up at the NAIA National Championships that year. Under Brown, the Bears have claimed three MSC tournament titles and five regular season MSC titles. Succeeding legendary coach Ron Damron, Brown has also been named NAIA Coach of the Year twice in his tenure, while earning four MSC Coach of the Year nods.
This past season the Bears finished runner-up in the MSC tournament, earning the team's 10th consecutive bid to the NAIA National Tournament. In USBC play the Bears qualified fourth in the Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITC) Sectionals, earning a trip to Addison, Ill. for the ITC National Championships. The Bears climbed the bracket, finished third overall.
Coach Wilson has been with the men's bowling program since 2003, entering his 18th season with the program in 2022. While at the helm, Wilson has led the Bears to ten NAIA National Tournament appearances, including a program best runner-up finish 2017. Since taking over, Wilson has led the Bears to six MSC regular season and three MSC tournament titles. In the USBC circuit, Wilson has competed in 14 ITC National Championships. Wilson has also been named MSC Coach of the Year three times.
In the 2021-22 season, the Bears finished runner-up in the MSC tournament before moving on to the NAIA Championships. Sophomore standout Bryce Oliver etched himself into the record books in qualifying at the USBC ISC Sectionals, bowling a perfect 300 game, and punching his ticket to the ISC National Championships in Addison.
Andrew Dekowski has served as the women's bowling graduate assistant for three seasons after joining the program in 2019. The William Paterson alum has aided the team in their MSC regular season and tournament victories in 2020 and 2021, as well as this season's third place USBC ITC third place finish.
Dekowski has an extensive bowling background, bowling four years at WPU where he was a two time All-American and helped the team in two national championship runs. Coach has evolved his role since becoming a Bear, working with both teams and overseeing several day-to-day duties of the program. Part of Dekowski's new role will include managing the pro shop at the SportsPlex.
The changes take effect immediately. The UPIKE SportsPlex is undergoing final stages of construction and renovation and photos/information will be made public in the near future.
