PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University women's bowling program will compete as an associate member in the Northeast Conference it was announced today.

Bowling, which officially became DU's 17th varsity sport on July 1, will begin competition in 2016-17.

Duquesne will be joining two-time national champion Fairleigh Dickinson, St. Francis Brooklyn, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U., LIU Brooklyn and Caldwell in the NEC.

Six NEC teams finished ranked in the Top 20 of the final 2015 National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) poll and five are currently ranked in the NTCA Top 25.

"We are thrilled to welcome Duquesne as an associate member in bowling beginning the 2016-17 season," said NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris. "We've had a tremendous relationship with Duquesne as an associate member in football, and we have no doubt that the partnership with the Dukes bowling program will garner just as much success for both parties."

"The Northeast Conference is year in and year out one of the top performing bowling conferences in the country," said Duquesne Director of Athletics Dave Harper. "We are excited to provide our student-athletes with the opportunity to compete against the best."

"We are thrilled to be joining the NEC next year," said Duquesne head bowling coach Jody Fetterhoff. "The depth of the conference is evident, in that NEC teams are consistently ranked among the best in the nation. Bowling so many great teams throughout conference play is not only going to make the team stronger, but they will be better equipped to make post-season competition - which is ultimately our goal. Joining the conference also gives us the potential opportunity to host an event in the future, which is something we look forward to. Pittsburgh is a great city, and our campus community has shown a lot of support for this new program. We can't wait to share that excitement with the rest of our conference members."

The NEC, which first sponsored bowling in 2008-09, has had at least one team earn an NCAA post-season at-large bid in each of its first seven seasons.

The conference is scheduled to host the 2016 NCAA Championship at Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick, NJ on April 14-16.

Duquesne women's bowling is now on Facebook