Bulldogs Bowl

After Tyler Tiatjen gives his opponent a smile as she finishes her round, he gets up from his seat, walks over and carefully selects the bowling ball he will be using to hopefully strike out his opponent on his next round.

Rather than picking any bowling ball that is there, he chooses the orange ball, which tends to be heavier than others, and marks his feet as he prepares to roll the ball forward.

“I don’t come here that often,” says Tiatjen, a junior and Army ROTC at Fresno State, “but I do come here when I get the chance to and bowl for a bit.” “The price is tremulously cheap.”

With approximately 24,000 students at Fresno State, they can conveniently access the bottom level of the Student Union, which offers a 12-lane bowling alley and pool tables for students

Patricia Thompson, manager of the Bulldog Bowl, helps make sure the students’ needs are met while they are there as well as making sure everything is running smoothly. Thompson has been a part of the management team at the Bulldog Bowl for over 20 years.

Aside from Thompson, the rest of the staff consists of students who are currently attending Fresno State.

“It’s right on campus; it’s something kind of fun to do, it’s not a lot of money, that’s an activity where they can interact with students and make some new friends,” Thompson says. “We offer open houses, nights where bowling is a dollar, the last event we had, we had about 370 people who came.”

According to Brunswickbowling.com, over 3,500 college athletes competed in bowling tournaments in 2010. Due to the growing popularity of bowling, many colleges are offering bowling scholarships through the NCAA.

The Fresno State’s Bowling Club consists of 25 student-athletes and has established itself to be one of the top college clubs bowling programs in the nation, becoming the 2011 National Champion and 2015 Collegiate Champions.

“Bowling has become quite popular as a competitive sport among high school and college students, as we have seen trends change drastically to include bowling as a varsity sport,” says Gary Smith of Brunswick. “Many bowling centers helped nurture this growth by creating youth-oriented leagues to spark an interest in student bowlers and create a passion for bowling at a young age. This forward-thinking concept created a new generation of bowlers that will continues to impact the popularity of bowling in years to come.”

The Bulldog Bowl provides students a great place to socialize, as well as helping them with their budget. With over 20,000 students, many of whom are from out of town, and not familiar with Fresno or came to school without any form of transportation, the Bulldog Bowl provides that resource of fun at affordable prices here on campus.

“It is affordable and helps those who are in the dorms to meet new people and make some friends,” Tiatjen says. “This is a great way to get someone out of their shell.”

The Bulldog Bowl offers students, with ID, a price of $2.50 per game, not including shoe rental cost, which is only an additional $2.00. While at local AMF Bowling Lane in Fresno, it is $3.99 - $5.29 per game, not including shoe rentals.

Tiatjen often comes down for a game or two with his girlfriend, who is not a Fresno State student, after or in-between his classes.

The Bulldog Bowl has separate hours for the semester and the summer, which students and the community have, full access to. You can access the hours on the Fresno State website or on the door of the Bulldog Bowl.

For more information, contact:

Patricia Thompson (559) 278 - 6019