The University That Killed Its Own Championship Bowling Team

SFA bowling won two national titles. The university cut the team anyway. The court record reveals the warning that came before the budget decision.

Stephen F. Austin’s Ladyjacks beat Nebraska in 2016 and Vanderbilt in 2019, delivering the school’s first two NCAA team championships of its Division I era. Winning did not protect the program. On May 22, 2025, SFA announced that bowling, beach volleyball, and men’s and women’s golf would be eliminated, citing ongoing athletic deficits and the anticipated cost of college sports revenue sharing.

The paper trail makes this more than another story about a small sport losing its funding. A January 2025 report by Title IX consultant Helen Grant had already identified a gap in athletic opportunities for women. Months later, the university cut three women’s teams. The athletes sued, and Judge Michael J. Truncale ordered SFA to preserve the programs while their case proceeded.

That order did not settle the fight. On December 4, 2025, the Fifth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction because it did not explain precisely what SFA had to do. The appeals court did not decide that eliminating the teams was lawful. The difference matters: a championship trophy records what a bowling team won, but the court file records what happened when its university decided it could no longer afford to keep it.

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1:15 How SFA Built a Bowling Championship Team

3:43 The May Announcement That Cut Four Teams

4:12 The House Settlement Changes the Budget

5:37 Title IX Meets the Athletic Budget Cuts

6:41 The Written Warning SFA Already Had

7:52 The Athletes Take SFA Into Federal Court

8:54 Judge Truncale Orders the Teams Preserved

10:37 Why the Fifth Circuit Vacated the Order

11:45 The Lawsuit Survives as Athletes Move On

12:32 The Agreement That Left Bowling Outside

13:54 What SFA’s Decision Means for Bowling

Fifth Circuit opinion, December 4, 2025: https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/25/25-40487.0.pdf

District court injunction and Title IX findings, August 1, 2025: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-dis-crt-e-d-tex-luf-div/117586814.html

SFA’s official announcement of the four program cuts: https://www.sfasu.edu/about-sfa/newsroom/2025/sfa-announces-sports-sponsorship-changes

SFA’s 2019 national championship recap: https://sfajacks.com/news/2019/4/13/womens-bowling-ladyjacks-claim-schools-second-division-i-team-national-championship

Myers v. SFA case file and docket: https://clearinghouse.net/case/47733/

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