PITTSBURGH – Duquesne bowling became the third program in school history to earn multiple NCAA Championship appearances, when it was awarded one of eight at-large berths to the 2023 NCAA Bowling Championship this afternoon.

The Dukes (69-30), who won a share of the Northeast Conference regular-season title, will face Stephen F. Austin in the opening round of the Pittsburgh Region of the 17-team championship on April 7 at AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes in suburban Pittsburgh. Fourth-seeded Nebraska and Mercyhurst round out the region.

With the bid, the bowling team, which began competition in 2016-17, continued its meteoric rise as just the third program in school history to earn multiple NCAA Championship appearances, joining men's basketball and football.

DUQUESNE'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES BY PROGRAM
Men's Basketball (5): 1940, 1952, 1969, 1971, 1977
FCS Football (2): 2015, 2018
Bowling (2): 2021, 2023
Volleyball (1): 2013
Women's Soccer (1): 2015
Women's Basketball (1): 2016

The Dukes, who are 11th in both in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 the latest NCAA RPI, will join nine conference automatic qualifiers (Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, East Coast Conference, Great Lakes Valley Conference, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Northeast Conference, Southland Conference and Southwest Athletic Conference) in the 17-team field.

The 2023 championship playoff format involves 17 teams playing in groups of four (with five teams competing in Arlington which will open on April 6) at the following regional sites: Pittsburgh, Pa., Rochester, N.Y., Lansing, Mich. and Arlington, Texas on April 7-8. Winners of the four regionals will advance to the championship final which will be held at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas, Nev. on April 14-15.

Each match of the double-elimination tournament (not including the play-in), other than the if-necessary regional final match and championship final match, will consist of teams competing in a best-of-three match format, bowled in the following order: five-person team match, Baker total pinfall and best-of-seven Baker match play.

Any 'if-necessary' regional final match and the championship final match will be best-of-seven Baker match play.

In 2021, DU - in its first NCAA postseason appearance - advanced to the second day of competition at the NCAA Championship held in Kansas City, Mo.

Duquesne University and SportsPITTSBURGH serve as host of the Pittsburgh Regional at AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes. Visit the Championship Central here for more information. Tickets for the event may be purchased here.

Visit NCAA.com for additional Championship information.