BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 13, 2025)--After a one-year hiatus last season, the James Brown Bowling Invitational (JBI) is back. The Morgan State University Lady Bears' bowling team will host the ninth JBI this weekend (Friday, Feb. 14-Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025) at The Lanes at Fort Meade in Fort Meade, Md.
 
The event gets underway on Friday, Feb. 14 with five (5), five-game Baker matches at 9:55 a.m. Bowling continues on Saturday first with the recognition of seniors at 9 a.m., followed by the five (5) Traditional Team matches starting at 9:55 a.m.
 
The tournament concludes on Sunday with bracket style play with the best-of-seven Baker match positioning rounds beginning at 8:25 a.m. The awards ceremony will follow the conclusion of the tournament.

"I'm thrilled to see the return of the JBI Invitational! It's an incredible opportunity for our team to compete at a high level, and I can't wait to get back on the lanes with some of the best in the nation," said second-year Morgan State head coach Alvin Franklin. "None of this would have happened without the help of my assistant coach Thomas Gunter." 
 
Formerly known as the MSU Bowling Invitational Tournament, it was renamed the James Brown Invitational in 2012 after Morgan State's first head bowling coach. The tournament had a four-year hiatus, until it returned in 2017. The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and had another one-year hiatus in 2024. This will be the 16th all-time bowling tournament hosted by the program.
 
From 2007-13, the MSU Bowling Invitational/James Brown Invitational was considered to the be largest collegiate bowling tournament in the country.
 

ABOUT FORMER HEAD COACH JAMES BROWN
James Brown became Morgan State's head bowling coach for the program's inaugural 1996 season. He would coach the Lady Bears for 15 seasons (1996-2011), before retiring after the 2010-11 season. Brown would guide the program to all three of its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship appearances in 2002, 2006 and 2011. In 2003 Brown created the then Morgan State Classic Tournament, which would later be renamed the MSU Bowling Invitational Tournament. In 2012, it received its current name, James Brown Invitational. During his time at the helm, the Lady Bears would be ranked numerous times in the National Tenpins Coaches Association Poll, including a program high, 10^th-place finish in the 2004-05 final poll. Under his leadership, Brown would have six players named to All-MEAC Tournament Teams and had one bowler (Keisheena Waldon) earn All-American honors during the 2009-10 season.
 
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.