PITTSBURGH - Duquesne University will add women's bowling as its 17th intercollegiate sport it was announced today.

The bowling program, which will be established in 2015-16 and will begin competition in 2016-17, is the 11th women's sport offered by Duquesne.

"We are pleased to provide additional opportunities for female student-athletes to compete in what is one of the fastest-growing sports at the intercollegiate level," said interim Director of Athletics Phil Racicot. "Bowling has a long history in Western Pennsylvania and high school bowling in our area is experiencing unprecedented popularity and growth. We hope to make Duquesne a viable option for local recruits as we embrace the challenge of building a program that will compete at the highest level."

In 1994, as part of the NCAA's Gender-Equity Task Force, bowling was identified as an emerging sport for women. It became an NCAA championship sport in 2004 when the first National Collegiate championship was held in Houston. Over 60 institutions - across the three divisions - currently sponsor the sport.

"Increased female enrollment at Duquesne - as it has at many schools across the nation - has significantly changed our ratio of female-to-male students," said Racicot. "The addition of women's bowling allows our department to more closely mirror our enrollment and furthers our commitment to gender equity in athletics as defined by Title IX."

At the high school level, bowling has seen a 183.7 percent increase in sponsorship according to data compiled by the National Federation of State High School Associations, making it one of the fastest-growing sports for young women.

Fifty Pittsburgh area high schools currently compete in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League (WPIBL).

Duquesne will begin the process of identifying a prospective head coach immediately. NCAA job listing here.