BPAA got out of business for elite bowlers as PBA Tour flourished By Dick Evans

Since covering the first of more than 200 PBA tournaments starting in 1964, I firmly have believed the Professional Bowlers Association is the best thing ever to happen to the Bowling Proprietors Association of America.

As the Saturday afternoon ratings for the ninety-minute live Saturday afternoon PBA tour stop on the ABC-TV network grew to an amazing 8.5 million viewers, so did membership in the ABC and WIBC plus the BPAA.

Such great ratings resulted in the ABC network expanding its winter tour from 13 to 16 tournaments and adding a spring ABC-TV tour. Cable networks jumped on the bowling bandwagon and ran summer tours and the NBC television network added a fall tour.

Bowling had become the country's "in" sport and the ABC/WIBC were reaping benefits in membership growth, but more importantly proprietors were raving about the bowling tournaments on Sunday after a Saturday telecast on the ABC network the previous day.

The PBA helped fill bowling centers, especially on Sundays and at no cost to the BPAA. In my eyes the PBA had become the promotional arm of the BPAA without the BPAA suffering any over head financial obligations.

There is a direction correlation between when the PBA ratings started to decline late in 1989 and ABC/WIBC membership went into a nose dive and the BPAA started to lose members...many times because proprietors sold their businesses as business started to dip.

I am not a businessman, but I know that the BPAA has had some shrewd business leaders. I never understood why when Strike Ten was formed, to the best of my memory WIBC was contributing $1 million a year to the program, ABC $900,000 and BPAA $100,000.

To my way of thinking, the BPAA members would garner the only real benefits if Strike Ten was a success, which it wasn't early in its formative years. The New Strike Ten Entertainment is a different story and should be applauded.

When I started writing bowling in 1957, BPAA was bowler friendly and ran the best tournaments in the world for its male and female bowlers. If you check the historical record book of the BPAA, you will find a paragraph that reads: "In 1966, the legal suits against BPAA were given a push toward resolution when BPAA lifted all restrictions on its tournament eligibility rules."

The BPAA poured tons of money into its first-class tournaments for men and women and had tried to restrict entries to BPAA tournaments only to bowlers who competed in BPAA houses.

Five years later the BPAA for all intentions and purposes was out of the tournament business and depending on the PBA to spread the gospel on TV about what a great sport bowling was.

The PWBA put up a gallant fight to produce a strong tour and join the PBA in promoting bowling, but with very little commercial support or TV exposure it was doomed to eventual failure.

It is my opinion that if the BPAA doesn't become a stronger support group to the PBA in the near future,, there is a definite possibility that one year soon there will be no more PBA and no more bowling on TV.

I put my theory to Fred Schreyer (pictured right)!, who has proved an admirable leader since taking over as Commissioner and CEO of the PBA in 2005 -- five years after the old PBA went broke and was purchased by former Microsoft executives Chris Peters, Mike Slade and Rob Glaser.

Schreyer, a lawyer by trade, has spent 25 years involved in sports, including being the director of director of Sports director for Nike from 1979-87 and founding the Nike Sports Management Division.

Below you will find his answer to my questions about BPAA's support of the PBA and other timely and interesting issues including the $1 million Tournament of Champions with the telecast scheduled live on the ABC Network at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday Jan 22.

 

Question: "Do you believe, like I do, that it is time for the BPAA to step up and sponsor the women bowlers on the PBA Tour like the USBC has done the past three years?"

Answer: "With USBC's withdrawal, the fate of the Women's Series and other women's events is clearly in jeopardy. The opportunity exists for BPAA to step in and fill the void and certainly BPAA is one organization in the industry that continues to perform well financially in these challenging times.

"But, there are all kinds of opportunities for BPAA to support the sport of bowling, including the men's side of the sport where it should be noted BPAA provides no financial support other than facilitating Pepsi's sponsorship of the PBA Tour (for which we are grateful,"

 

Question: "Do you believe that ESPN ratings will climb since the 2010-11 tour will not conflict with so many NFL games, and how did the 2009-10 TV ratings compare to the previous season?"

Answer: "Starting our TV season on Thanksgiving weekend this year rather than mid-October definitely should lead to better overall ratings for the 2010-11 season. Fewer weeks of head-to-head competition with the NFL will allow more viewers to catch our PBA telecasts. Historically, our ratings the first few weeks of the season always have been the lowest of the season and we typically don't see a bounce in our ratings until around Thanksgiving so this change should clearly lead to a higher season's average rating.

"Ratings for 2009-10 were down slightly from the prior year, primarily because of ESPN moving our broadcast times and network around more frequently than in prior seasons."

 

Question: "Do you believe that the one-million dollar prize fund and the $250,000 first-place check for the Tournament of Champions winner will result in more national exposure for the PBA?"

Answer: "The Tournament of Champions will be the biggest event in the history of professional bowling. It will again be held at the Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV January 18-22. As during the heyday of the PBA, the finals will be televised on ABC Sports on Saturday, January 22 at 2:30 pm EST.

"Year in, year out this has been the biggest week of our season. Last year almost 2 million viewers tuned in to watch Kelly Kulick history-making triumph (1.53 average HH rating). We believe this is our best opportunity to make a significant impression on the national sports landscape and we intend to direct our resources to give us the best shot to do so."

 

Question: "How will Chris Peters' decision not to invest any more of his money in the PBA impact the PBA's future since he was the spokesperson for the three owners and a gung-ho supporter of the PBA?"

Answer: "Rob Glaser and Mike Slade remain committed to the PBA. Chris certainly will be missed; as you point out he was the face of the ownership group from Day 1.

"His life has moved in a different direction, however, since his relocation to Los Angeles and it no longer makes sense for Chris to own the PBA. Keep in mind, though, that Chris never owned more than 10% of the PBA and Rob Glaser has always had the majority stake. Rob's recent retirement from his position as CEO of Real Networks actually now affords him more time to participate in PBA affairs which I see as a positive development."

 

Question: "Have you been drowning in complaints from PBA bowlers because some of the new formats will limit the size of some fields plus the guaranteed money has been reduced?"

Answer: "We hardly have been "drowning" in complaints but we certainly have heard from some players who are concerned with the more condensed schedule planned for 2010-11. Those who are expressing their concerns are focusing on the loss of events rather than the opportunities provided in the events that are being conducted.

"Players will be bowling for more money than ever in the Tournament of Champions, PBA World Championship and U.S. Open. Players also will have the opportunity to bowl in the first ever PBA postseason. Those players who bowl well in the big events will make more money than they ever have in the past."

 

Email address: Evans121@aol.com