SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY
Because the primary purpose of student life on campus is academic achievement and progress, a certain standard must be maintained for all recipients of bowling scholarships. The awarding of a bowling scholarship is an occurrence that each recipient should view with great pride. The primary purpose of each scholarship is to supplement the cost of a college education, while secondarily allowing each recipient to participate in a quality bowling program. All scholarship recipients must meet or exceed the Shocker Bowling eligibility requirements at all times.
REGULATIONS FOR ADMINISTRATION
I. Scholarships are offered on a semester basis.
A. All scholarship applicants must have a scholarship application on file. Applications are available in the Shocker Bowling Program Office.
B. Non-scholarship, actively participating applicants (with a scholarship application on file) need only fill out a scholarship renewal sheet to reapply each semester for scholarship aid. Renewal sheets are available in the Bowling Program Office.
C. Both new applicants and non-scholarship, actively participating applicants must have the appropriate paperwork back to the Bowling Program Office or postmarked by May 1 or December 1 of each calendar year in order to be considered for the Fall and Spring semesters of the next academic year, respectively.
D. Unless they are dropped from the scholarship program, current bowling scholarship recipients will not need to submit paperwork each semester. Recipients will automatically be considered for scholarship aid, unless they express a desire to not be considered.
E. Each scholarship recipient, prior to receiving assistance must read and sign a binding scholarship contract. By signing this document, the recipient agrees to know and abide by all policies and procedures of the scholarship program.
II. Only those bowlers who are chosen to be on the overall team roster are eligible to apply for Spring semester scholarship aid. The only exception to this policy would be for freshmen, who shall remain on scholarship both semesters, regardless of whether or not they make the overall team rosters.
III. Scholarship decisions will be made by the Head Coaching Staff.
IV. Recipients who drop all of their classes before final class refund dates or withdrawal dates, will be obligated to repay the scholarship fund the full amount of their scholarship. Recipients who drop under a class load of 12 hours will also be obligated to repay their scholarship stipend. A player can be dropped from the scholarship program if the program’s Code of Conduct is not upheld. A player may also be dropped at the discretion of the Head Coach. The awarding of a scholarship to a student/athlete is a privilege to give and should be perceived by the players as a privilege to receive. Therefore, it is expected that the player do everything in their power to remain in good scholarship standing. The Head Coach may grant an exception based on extraordinary circumstances.
V. Coaches reserve the right to make decisions or changes in policies at their discretion regarding all aspects of the scholarship program.
The first WSU bowling scholarship was offered in 1978 as a means to offer a better total support package to our student-athletes. One of the WSU bowling programs' trademarks - innovation - is clearly evident in the scholarship program. It is one of the most important keys to the past and continuing success of the Wichita State University bowling program. There are currently two types of scholarship aid available to WSU Shocker bowlers: tuition scholarship, and book loan.
I. BOWLING SCHOLARSHIP: Each year the scholarship program is in effect, the WSU bowling scholarship fund can support a predetermined number of partial scholarships, on a semester to semester basis. Scholarship recipients with in-state residency are awarded either $650.00 or $750.00 each semester based upon that recipient's designation as a ‘dependent’ (student-athletes from the local area) or ‘independent’ (in-state student-athletes attending WSU from outside the local area) student. Recipients with out-of-state residency are awarded either $700.00, $1,400.00, $2,100.00, or $2,800.00 based upon the coaching staff’s perceptions of the athlete’s bowling skills, skill development, and budgetary constraints. Scholarship money is automatically applied towards tuition and fees expense. Application deadlines are May 1 and December 1 for Fall and Spring semesters, respectively. Fall semester scholarship decisions will be announced no later than May 15 and applicants will be notified by a postal or electronic mail. Spring scholarship decisions will be announced as soon as possible after Fall semester eligibility is determined.
II. BOOK LOAN SCHOLARSHIP: The University Bookstore provides a textbook loan program for recipients of this scholarship. In short, the recipient will be provided required class textbooks on a “loan” basis for a semester. Supplies and some books may not be covered on the plan ( i.e., a workbook that is a supplemental text that features "tear out" pages for assignments). These workbooks or other school supplies must be paid for by the student. Depending on the number of credit hours taken, this plan could represent around $450.00 to $500.00 savings per semester. For more information please review the book loan policies on the following pages.
1. WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A BOWLING SCHOLARSHIP?
Any person, male or female, either in-state or out-of-state who will be an entering freshman, transferring from another university, or who is currently enrolled at WSU, may apply.
2. HOW MANY SCHOLARSHIPS ARE GIVEN OUT?
There is no established number of scholarships given because the primary basis for awarding a scholarship is based on the amount of funding available and the talent of the bowlers. An average number of annual recipients of some form of scholarship aid is usually between 15 and 25 students.
3. HOW DO I GET BOWLING SCHOLARSHIP AID?
Bowling scholarship aid, simply said, is given to our BEST student athletes. These are the people who have shown us elite skills both as bowlers and students.
a. What are “elite bowling skills?”
In short, these are skills needed to compete at the collegiate level and beyond. The following list (although not complete or detailed) provides a few examples:
Lane Play
Complete control of: laydown (board 1 to 39), target area (15 ft., board 1 to 30) and break point; controlled lofting; Ball placement (at pindeck, board 1 to 39)
Ball Dynamics
Ability to recognize crosswise and lengthwise lane conditioner pattern(s) and lane surface characteristics so as to quickly match a bowling ball to a lane - this is accomplished by working with a 5 to 8 ball set, designed with different surfaces, and imbalances.
Team Play
Teammate communication (quality vs. quantity), conflict resolution skills, social support kills, role playing skills, goal planning and implementation skills.
Sports Psychology
Demonstrable skills in mental practice rivaling the time commitment of physical practice. These include stress management skills, psychic energy management skills, attention skills, imagery/visualization skills, self-confidence and goal setting skills. Detailed written plans which include personal precompetition plans, event focus plans, and event re-focusing plans.
Desire to Improve/Learn
Work Ethic/Commitment
Loyalty
b. What are “elite student skills?”
In short, these are the academic (and in some cases life) skills needed to be successful at the college level and beyond. The following is a partial list of some of these skills.
Desire to Improve/Learn Good Note Taking
Work Ethic/Commitment Self-Discipline
Enthusiasm Prioritization
Time Management Proficiency Planning/Goal Setting
Superior Study Habits Practice
Overachieving/Overlearning Attention to Details/Preparation
4. ONCE ON BOWLING SCHOLARSHIP ASSISTANCE, HOW DO I KEEP RECEIVING IT?Simply said, by overachieving and rising to new, higher levels in each area listed in #3 above. Awarding of a bowling scholarship is not a reward for past work; rather it is a challenge to the recipient of the work yet to be done.
5. HOW MUCH ARE THE SCHOLARSHIPS?
In-state scholarship recipients are awarded:
Dependent scholarship - $ 650.00
Independent scholarship - $ 750.00
Out-of-state scholarship recipients are awarded:
$700.00, $1,400.00, $2,100.00, $2,800.00
6. WHERE DOES SCHOLARSHIP MONEY COME FROM? Money flows into the scholarship fund from corporate and individual contributions, various team fund raising activities and a dollar amount allocated from WSU’s Rhatigan Student Center. We currently expect to award roughly $103,000 each year in Bowling Scholarships.
7. ARE THERE ANY OTHER SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE? Yes. The team has been honored in recent years by the inception of three memorial and/or honorary scholarships. These very special remembrances flow in to our General Scholarship fund; the coaches honor three bowlers by naming them as recipients of these scholarships:
The Sidney L. Brick Memorial Scholarship is given to either an in-state or out-of-state student-athlete with a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA for preferably a one-year (two semester) period and carries a $395.00/semester award.
The Gary Armstrong Scholarship is similar to the Sidney L. Brick Memorial except that the recipient is to be an out-of-state resident. The recipient must also be currently on a standard bowling team "grant" scholarship. This scholarship currently offers $1000.00 per semester.
The Skip Wilson Scholarship is similar to the above two scholarships, except that it carries a $250.00/semester award and is given to an in-state resident.
8. DO I HAVE TO HAVE BOWLING SCHOLARSHIP AID TO PLAY FOR WICHITA STATE?
Absolutely not! Most of the student-athletes who both try-out and are selected for our teams are not initially on bowling scholarship assistance.
9. IS IT UNUSUAL FOR ENTERING FRESHMAN TO BE AWARDED ABOWLING SCHOLARSHIP? Yes. It is unusual to see a student-athlete with a substantial quantity of the skills needed (both academically and athletically) to compete at this level of bowling as partially listed on #3. More often, student-athletes come into our program with a commitment to work hard and learn. In time, these athletes establish a track record of working, learning, and loyalty that leads to not only scholarship support, but success as well.
10. HOW DO I APPLY FOR A BOWLING SCHOLARSHIP? Bowling scholarship applications can be obtained (after filling out, and returning, a one-page WSU Bowling Program interest form, accomplished on-line, at www.wichita.edu/bowling) by writing to the Rhatigan Student Center - Shocker Bowling Program, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas 67260-0056. Scholarship applications should be completed and returned to the Bowling Program Office by May 1 or December 1 to be considered for aid for the following Fall and Spring semester, respectively. Recipients will be notified by postal or electronic email.
1. Only REQUIRED class textbooks will be covered by the Book Loan scholarship.
2. Required study guides, syllabi, packets and text books labeled "non-returnable" may not be included in the Book Loan plan.
3. Textbooks may be picked up at the RSC Bookstore. Take all of the books required for your classes up to the RSC Bookstore Service Counter.
4. SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS MUST RETURN ALL OF THEIR BOOKS (AND EVERYTHING ELSE GIVEN TO THEM BY THE RSC BOOKSTORE) TO THE COACHES BY NOON ON THE LAST DAY OF FINALS. STUDENTS WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT OF THOSE BOOKS (OR OTHER ITEM(S)) NOT RETURNED. Any workbooks that were not paid for initially must be paid for at that time as well.
5. All scholarship recipients need to pre-register for their following semester's classes and provide the Head Coach with a copy of that schedule as soon as possible, if requested.
6. The Head Coach must be notified immediately in the event a student drops or adds a class. Unused textbooks must be returned to the coach.
7. Students wishing to keep their textbooks may purchase them at the regular selling price listed on the sales voucher.
8. Lost or damaged textbooks must be paid for by the scholarship recipient at the regular selling price listed on the sales voucher.
9. The Book Loan scholarship is available for the Fall and Spring semesters of each academic year only, unless special permission is granted by the Head Coach for student-athletes(s) to use the scholarship during the Summer Session.
10. The scholarship will be offered on a semester-to-semester basis and both non-scholarship, actively participating applicants and new applicants must complete and return a renewal application by December 1 and May 1 of each year to be considered for the following Spring and Fall semesters, respectively. Current bowling scholarship recipients will not need to submit paperwork each semester. These recipients will be automatically considered for scholarship aid, unless they do not wish to be considered.
11. All scholarships recipients must read and sign a scholarship contract, binding them to abide by all policies and procedures of the scholarship program.