BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Illinois Wesleyan University Athletic Director Mike Wagner announced the addition of men's volleyball and women's bowling as the department's 23rd and 24th intercollegiate sport offerings. Both sports will begin competition during the 2020-21 athletic year.

Men's volleyball will play its home games inside the Shirk Center, while women's bowling will compete out of a local alley to be determined soon.

"Men's volleyball and women's bowling are emerging sports among the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin schools, and the midwest overall," said Wagner. "With the addition of these two sports, high school students have another reason to consider attending Illinois Wesleyan."

With the addition of IWU, six CCIW institutions will sponsor men's volleyball by January 2021 in Augustana, Carthage, Millikin, North Central, and North Park. The league also has associate members in Greenville and Loras which makes it eligible for an automatic NCAA tournament bid.

There are more than 220 high schools in Illinois that have boys volleyball programs with most of the programs in the Chicago area and Metro East area near St. Louis. There are nearly 50 programs in Missouri located in the St. Louis area.

Illinois Wesleyan will be one of roughly 90 NCAA campuses to participate in women's bowling, which competes as one division known as the National Collegiate Bowling.

Searches for head coaches will begin immediately.