The Vanderbilt University bowling team has won the first national championship for my alma mater. The school is quite proud of its team and held a rally to welcome the team back. As a four-year Memorial Maniac, alumnus and Commodore fan since I was seven years old I could not be more proud. Our bowlers are the finest quality in the nation and they earned this recognition.

But as I sat and watched the re-broadcast on ESPN2 and read Rod Williamson’s recaps on the Commodore Web site, I was and continue to be disgusted. Where the once all-powerful athletic director resided now exists a powerful “Ole Boys” network that has disenfranchised at least one alumnus.

In 2001, I founded the Vanderbilt University Bowling Club (VUBowl), and I ran the organization until my graduation in 2003. We competed on the intercollegiate level with both female and male teams. I negotiated the initial Columbia 300 Inc. corporate sponsorship remaining with the varsity squad today. In 2003, I ran and participated in the first intercollegiate bowling tournament in Tennessee history, the Music City Bowlarama. Further, I spearheaded the movement to make women’s bowling the next varsity sport, which came to fruition.

In late 2004, I noticed a job posting for the first head coach of Vanderbilt bowling. It was a perfect opportunity; I was thrilled. During my run with VUBowl, I devoted endless hours to its management, organization, promotion and participation. In fact, I have separated my college experience into pre-VUBowl (3.65 GPA) and post-VUBowl (2.89 GPA, dropping my cumulative to 3.08). But that effort would be well worth it as the bowling coach was the one job for which I was most qualified. It was my alma mater. I was a collegiate bowler. I was the reason it existed in the first place.

I submitted my online application and was contacted shortly thereafter by Brian Reese. During our two-hour phone interview, I discussed my plans for the bowling team, including yoga, weight training and the fact that recruiting would be simple. Reese asked me to fly to Nashville for an in-person interview. I notified my place of employment and took the time off. After all, no matter how upset my employer would be, this was my dream job!

A few days went by and no call from Vandy. I phoned Reese to no response. A few days later, John Williamson was introduced as the bowling head coach. I was devastated. I did not understand how an alumnus and founder could be thrown to the curb and mistreated in favor of a Mississippi graduate and recreational bowler.

Shortly thereafter, I discovered that John Williamson’s father Rod is the Director of Sports Information at Vanderbilt. Though I was the perfect candidate for the position, I was a victim of the “Ole Boy” politics that Gordon Gee was trying to expunge with the new, flat athletic structure. Perhaps the “New South” is just a myth.

Over the years, culminating this past weekend, the bowling team has received positive press. Rod Williamson, the director of Media Relations, was sure to make it so for his son. The team was recognized for its unique yoga-training program. The senior Williamson wrote a piece celebrating the championship and praising the workout regimen of the players. He goes further to point out the 3.49 GPA the team had last year. The fact is, the Vanderbilt community is not prone to a great deal of spin from its own.

This wound has cut deep and festered over the years. There are strong coincidences between the bowling training program and those ideas I proposed in my phone interview, specifically with yoga training. Maybe the “Ole Boys” get together for a weekly yoga session. Coach Williamson even discusses the ease of his recruiting process as Vanderbilt offers scholarships to bowlers to come to a top 20 academic institution in a diverse, large city that is surrounded by successful Division I athletics. No other school offers that mix.

My question is whether the bowling team was best served by the decision to hire Williamson. Are the players improving as bowlers from high school through college? How does a recruiting-only coach help the players improve skills? How will we know any different when the main source of press about this team comes from the coach’s father? If my mother wrote about me, I would be more respected than the Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa combined!

I feel slighted that there has been no recognition at all for those who worked hard to lay the groundwork for Vanderbilt bowling. There has been no personal or media acknowledgement of the work VUBowl members did. Further, the tournament we began has morphed into the Music City Classic; a tribute by keeping the name Bowlarama would have been a nice reminder. VUBowl was responsible for three of the original varsity bowlers, including last year’s Student-Athlete of the Year at Vanderbilt. While the Williamsons were welcomed back to campus by a crowd, I am awake in the middle of the night writing my thoughts down because my contempt overwhelms my instinct to sleep.

The women earned their title and deserve the recognition. I want to make clear that I in no way seek to disparage their accomplishments. But they are Vanderbilt students, and I believe they recognize my intentions. My solace is in exposing the mismanagement of the athletic department by Student Life. Perhaps, to them, it is worth disenfranchising one alumnus. After all, I took my chemical engineering degree and taught high school. They won’t be missing any donations from my meager salary. But students give their heart, energy and $160,000 to Vanderbilt. How will Vandy serve you when the “bubble” bursts?

Joshua A. Melton is a 2003 graduate of the School of Engineering.