NU Notes: Nebraska Bowling to Join Conference USA as Affiliate Member
University of Nebraska Athletics and Conference USA announced Monday (Aug. 4) that the Husker women’s bowling program will join CUSA as an affiliate member beginning with the 2025-26 season.
Nebraska is one of three affiliate members joining Conference USA in bowling for the 2025-26 season, along with Wright State and Sacred Heart. The 12-team bowling conference also includes Arkansas State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston, Tulane, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt, Wichita State and Youngstown State.
“We are excited to have Nebraska Bowling join Conference USA as an affiliate member,” Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen said. “The move aligns with our department’s philosophy of putting our programs in the best position to compete for success at the national level. In two seasons, CUSA has become the premier conference in college bowling, and the additions of Nebraska, along with Sacred Heart and Wright State, only make it stronger. This will provide our student-athletes with a championship-level event prior to the NCAA Championships. We have a long history of success in bowling, and I know Coach Klempa and his team are looking forward to the opportunity to compete for conference championships for the first time in program history.”
“We are honored to be afforded the opportunity to join Conference USA as an affiliate member,” Bowling Head Coach Paul Klempa said. “This bowling conference is unequivocally the strongest group of teams in the country, and we are excited to be included in what will be fierce competition each season. CUSA includes a large portion of the top-10 teams in the country and is a natural fit for Nebraska to be among them in conference competition. The opportunity to join CUSA allows us to compete in late March, right before the NCAA postseason begins, and that will help our team be competitively sharp for the NCAA Championship. I would like to thank Athletic Director Troy Dannen and our administration for their help in getting Nebraska Bowling included in the most prestigious bowling conference in the country.”
The Huskers, who had been independent since the program elevated to varsity status during the 1997-98 season, will join what is the toughest conference in college bowling. In the two seasons since it sponsored women’s bowling, Conference USA has had back-to-back NCAA champions (Youngstown State in 2025, Jacksonville State in 2024) and seven of the eight national semifinalists. The only team outside CUSA to reach the national semifinals was the Huskers in 2025. The schools now competing in CUSA have accounted for 12 of the 21 NCAA titles, including four of the last five since 2021.
The Nebraska bowling program has enjoyed unparalleled success since becoming a varsity sport during the 1997-98 season. The Huskers have won eight national championships, including six NCAA titles since women’s bowling became an NCAA Championship sport in 2004. The Huskers have finished first or second 10 times in 21 all-time NCAA Championships and are the only program to compete in every NCAA Championship. Nebraska has had nine bowlers combine for 12 National Bowler-of-the-Year honors since 2000, most recently Jillian Martin in 2025, while 34 bowlers have combined to earn 74 All-America awards since 1998. Under Head Coach Paul Klempa, Nebraska has a trio of top-three NCAA finishes over the past five seasons, including the program’s sixth NCAA title in 2021.
Christo Inks Free Agent Deal with Braves
Nebraska senior Drew Christo signed an undrafted free agent contract and reported to the spring training complex of the Atlanta Braves organization.
Christo is the third NU pitcher from this year’s team to continue with a Major League Baseball organization after Mason McConnaughey and Luke Broderick were selected in the MLB Draft earlier this summer.
A product of Elkhorn, Neb., Christo went 3-2 with a save and a 5.61 ERA in a team-high 31 appearances, which is tied for sixth-most in a season by an NU pitcher in program history. The right-hander totaled 51 strikeouts in 51.1 innings and held opponents to a .260 batting average in 2025.
Christo totaled seven wins, two saves and a 4.98 ERA in his four seasons with the Huskers. He recorded 128 punchouts in 133.2 innings while making 64 appearances on the mound, including 13 starts.
Bolt Adds Nicholson to Husker Baseball Staff
Nebraska Baseball Head Coach Will Bolt announced the hiring of Kyle Nicholson as Director of Player Development on Monday.
Nicholson joins the Huskers after spending the 2025 campaign as the pitching coach at Mercyhurst and three seasons as the pitching coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2022-24.
In three seasons at IUP, Nicholson helped the Crimson Hawks to their best season in program history in 2024. The Crimson Hawks went 41-18 and finished one win shy of the national championship series at the DII College World Series while setting a program record for wins and concluding the season with a No. 4 national ranking.
Nicholson’s pitching staff played a key role in a big turnaround for the Crimson Hawks in his first season at IUP in 2022, helping the program to a 25-win improvement from 2021.
Prior to a three-year stint at IUP, Nicholson spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Bethel Park High School in 2020 and 2021. Under Nicholson’s guidance, Bethel Park finished 2021 with a 1.62 ERA in 176 innings and won the PIAA 5A state championship.
Nicholson was a graduate assistant on the Texas A&M coaching staff for two seasons in 2011-12. The Aggies captured the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles en route to a College World Series appearance in 2011, followed by an NCAA Regional appearance in 2012.
Nicholson played four seasons at Texas A&M, making 83 appearances on the mound for the Aggies in 2004-07. An All-American and National Pitcher of the Year finalist in 2007, Nicholson went 11-3 with four saves and a 2.25 ERA as a senior.
He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants and earned the MiLB.com Short-Season Starting Pitcher of the Year and MiLB Most Spectacular Pitcher Award for the 2008 season.
A native of College Station, Texas, Nicholson earned his bachelor's degree in agricultural leadership and development from Texas A&M in 2007. He and his wife, Megan, have two sons, Braedon and Eli, and two daughters, Averie and Lyla.
Wilson Wins High Jump Gold at USATF Championships
Nebraska track and field graduate Tyus Wilson won the gold medal in the high jump at the USATF Outdoor Championships on Sunday in Eugene, Ore.
Wilson was the only high jumper to clear 7-5 1/4 (2.27m), doing so on his third attempt to clinch the title. He outdueled 2024 Olympics silver medalist Shelby McEwen and 2024 Olympian JuVaughn Harrison to win the U.S. national title.
Wilson was a five-time All-American for the Huskers and won the 2025 NCAA Indoor high jump gold medal. He was also the runner-up at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Wilson was a four-time Big Ten champion, sweeping the indoor and outdoor conference titles each of the past two years. He earned two Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year honors. Wilson also excelled in the classroom where he was a two-time Academic All-American.
A native of Sterling, Kan., Wilson will compete at the NACAC Championships in The Bahamas Aug. 15-17 as he seeks to secure enough points to gain a spot on the U.S. team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.
Huskers Take On Jackrabbits in First Exhibition Match
The Nebraska soccer team is set to travel to Brookings, S.D., to face the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in an exhibition match on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. (CT).
Following the contest at SDSU, the Huskers will host an exhibition against the Colorado State Rams at Barbara Hibner Stadium on Friday, Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. (CT). Admission is free for fans.
Quick Notes
- NU has 11 regular-season home games scheduled for its 11th season at Hibner Stadium in 2025, which includes five non-conference matches and six Big Ten contests. Additionally, the Big Red will host one exhibition.
- Nebraska grabbed victories over Drake, Iowa State and Wyoming during the 2024 spring season.
- NU returns 10 letterwinners from last season, along with sixth-year Reagan Raabe. Raabe was injured in both 2023 and 2024, but was a third-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2021 and 2022.
- The Huskers welcome 15 newcomers in 2025, including 13 freshmen and two transfers. Alyse Then previously competed at Daytona State and SUNY, while Jo Sees comes to the Big Red from Kansas State.
- Last season, goalie Cece Villa ranked second in the Big Ten with 4.89 saves per game.
- During the 2024 season, the Huskers averaged 1,437 fans per game at Hibner Stadium, second most in Husker history and 11th in the nation. NU added a total attendance of 12,933, which ranked 18th nationally.
- Head Coach John Walker enters his 32nd season, alongside assistant coaches Savanah Anderson-Baer (third season), Ian Bridge (10th season) and Dan Ball (first season). Walker has a 371-203-62 record in his career and has coached all 31 seasons in Nebraska soccer history.
Scouting the Jackrabbits
- South Dakota State finished the 2024 season with a 15-5-2 overall record and 5-2-1 mark in conference play. The Jackrabbits won their second straight Summit League tournament championship last season. SDSU fell to Minnesota in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
- After facing NU, South Dakota State will take on Iowa Lakes Community College on Friday, Aug. 8 in another exhibition match.
- Head coach Brock Thompson is in his ninth season with the Jackrabbits. He holds a 108-30-22 record at SDSU and is 174-79-32 in his career.