NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The architect of a self-made dynasty that won Vanderbilt’s first national championship and recently became the university’s first three-time national champion, bowling head coach John Williamson will transition from coaching after 22 seasons. Williamson will continue his career in a new role in Vanderbilt Athletics at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director Candice Storey Lee announced Friday.
“John Wiliamson showed us what it means to reimagine what is possible at Vanderbilt,” Lee said. “I had the privilege of witnessing him turn the mere idea of a new program into a three-time national champion and set an unmatched standard. Today, when we talk about Vanderbilt’s commitment to winning with our values intact, we are building from a blueprint that John championed. His leadership has shaped generations of student-athletes and continues to define the culture and standards we expect within Vanderbilt Athletics.”
A four-time National Tenpin Coaches Association Coach of the Year, Williamson led teams to NCAA championships in 2007, 2018 and 2023 and reached the championship match on three more occasions among 10 Final Four appearances. Vanderbilt has advanced to 19 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, the second-longest active streak in the sport and is ranked No. 2 in the most recent NTCA Top 25. The Commodores won four Southland Bowling Conference championships before moving to Conference USA in 2024. He currently has a 69 percent career winning percentage with 1712 wins and 762 losses.
“I tell our bowlers all the time that the lessons they learn as part of this team will serve them for the rest of their lives, and it’s time for me to see what I’ve learned, too,” Williamson said. “I hope today shines a light on all the people — student-athletes, families, staff and supporters — who have made our success possible over the past 22 years. It takes a village, and we’ve built a strong one that will keep growing in the years ahead. I’m proud of the women who made Vanderbilt bowling a name people know and respect.”
Williamson’s student-athletes were honored as National Player of the Year on four occasions, including two-time winner and current associate head coach Josie Earnest Barnes. Seven Commodores have also been honored as National Rookie of the Year. In all, Vanderbilt bowlers have amassed 18 first-team All-America honors and more than 64 All-America honors across first, second and third teams and honorable mention. Alumni have gone on to win professional major titles and represent the United States and almost half a dozen other countries in international competition.
The heights Vanderbilt bowling ascended to under Williamson are all the more impressive — and arguably all the more unique in modern college sports — for starting at sea level.
Previously an administrative assistant with Vanderbilt baseball during Tim Corbin’s first two years leading the VandyBoys, Williamson was charged with coaching a new program following NCAA recognition of bowling as a championship sport. A former collegiate football student-athlete at Ole Miss and avid bowler whose father worked for Vanderbilt athletics for more than 30 years,Williamson led a team selected from open tryouts in its debut 2004–05 season. Soon able to bolster the roster and expand ambitions through recruiting and scholarships, Vanderbilt reached the NCAA Tournament in just its second season. By their third season together, Williamson and the Commodores were national champions — the first Vanderbilt team in any sport to bring home the biggest prize.
In winning the 2023 national title with a stirring comeback in Las Vegas, bowling became Vanderbilt’s first three-time national champion.
Vanderbilt’s sustained competitive excellence under Williamson was matched only by his commitment to the full student-athlete experience. In 2005, as the team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, six Commodores were also honored as NTCA All-Academic Scholar-Athletes, including future Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame member Michelle Peloquin. And in 2025, alongside the most recent postseason trip, eight Dores again received those same academic honors. In all, Vanderbilt bowling student-athletes have garnered more than 100 All-Academic selections — meaning Vanderbilt has averaged better than one All-Academic selection per bowler who has passed through the program.
The team’s head coach in waiting, Barnes will continue in her leadership role. Regarded as one of the top professional bowlers in the world, Barnes is in her 15th season with the Vanderbilt bowling program. A formal announcement regarding the program’s leadership transition will be made at a later date.
Vanderbilt has three more regular season tournaments this season, including the Music City Classic it hosts from March 6–8 at the Smyrna Bowling Center, before traveling to the Conference USA Championship in Harahan, Louisiana, later in March.
