By BILL SNIER
FAIRLAWN — Tom Clark made two things abundantly clear during the Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions:
- The Profesional Bowlers Association will return in 2026.
- There has to be a way to build equity on the lanes between left-handers and right-handers in events.
The PBA’s current commissioner has been with the organization since 2008, when he was hired away from his position as United States Bowling Congress chief marketing officer.
The Syracuse, N.Y., native was involved in print journalism for nearly 10 years before branching out into the bowling industry.
He took over as PBA commissioner in November 2011 following the retirement of Fred Schreyer, being promoted from his role as deputy commissioner.
“This year has been pretty rough,” the 55-year-old Clark said during an exclusive discussion with snieronbowling.com during the TOC at AMF Riviera Lanes recently.
“There have been a few more player issues this year, and a lot of that has to do with the uncertainty with where we’re going to be next year. It has made it rough,”
The biggest hurdle is the PBA’s television deal with FOX, which ends following this season. The network deal originally was negotiated by Clark in 2018.
“I’ll never say never until it’s over. But the indications are heading that way,” Clark said. “That’s disappointing to me because I love FOX. One of the best things I ever did was to sign on with them. It gave the PBA a jolt when we needed it.”
But new ownership under Lucky Strike Entertainment (formerly Bowlero) is taking things in a different direction.
“We have new ownership and a new direction. We’re looking for different ways to monetize, and we’re always trying to build to create more prize money and more revenue,” Clark said. “We can’t keep doing the exact same things and expect it to change.
“We have to understand sometimes when things just aren’t going exactly your way.”
Clark said nothing has been finalized as far a a future broadcast deal, but “I feel more positive about the eventual outcome than I have in a long time.”
“There are a lot of interested platforms and a lot of people making offers,” Clark said. “So the way it’s shaking out, I’m as positive as I can be that there is going to be a Tour, we are going to have all our big events and we’re going to be on in places where people can watch us.
“I feel better about that than I did even a month ago.”
Clark was not specific about who has been discussing broadcast deals, but he was asked if CBS Network — which broadcasts the Professional Women’s Bowling Association major events and will be airing the USBC Intercollegiate singles and team tournaments in the coming weeks on tape delay — was a possibility.
“CBS has been a great partner for many years, and I think whatever it takes out there, there will always been an element of the PBA on CBS,” Clark said. “They really like bowling and I really like those guys. I did four different deals with them over the last 15 to 20 years. I expect they will be involved.
“BowlTV will remain with the early rounds, but hopefully, we will be on a network somewhere for the finals.”
With the TV contract still up in the air, it also has created a delay in setting a 2026 schedule much to the players’ consternation.
“It’s been a problem because the Tour is locked into a TV schedule and how we set it up,” Clark said. “I feel it will be similar to this year, with the main tour mostly in January and February and some of the other things — the World Series of Bowling, playoffs and PBA League — following that.
“People seem to like those events, so it’s just a matter of where they continue. To many people, the schedule is already late. But I’m not driving the bus on all of this. I’m just rooting it along and helping where I can. Everyone knows it’s an urgent matter. We need an answer, and I think that will be coming fairly soon.”
Clark also said he feels the game, as a whole, must be examined for potential future changes.
“It’s time to get a group together to look at all the parameters of the game and see if these tournaments are the best formatted to where we are bringing out the best we have to offer every week,” Clark said. “The last couple of weeks are a prime example. It’s the age-old issue of right versus left.
“Last week (during the Players Championship) there were more righties and this week (TOC) it’s more lefties. I’m not comfortable with that.”
Format changes or better use of lane machines are two examples Clark cited.
“I want to improve how the game is played … to make it more fair,” Clark said. “That’s really it.”
A player controversy also hit the PBA during the Players Championship when one of its most recognizable players — Australian two-hander Jason Belmonte — was involved in an alleged vaping incident.
According to PBA rules, competitors may not use any type of tobacco product or nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes, for example) while competing (including Pro-Ams). It is considered a conduct violation that leads to tournament disqualification.
Sean Rash, who was inducted into the PBA’s Hall of Fame last week, reportedly contacted PBA National Tournament Director Tony Lanning about the incident although he did not witness it personally.
Clark verified that “action has been taken, but it always has been a private matter in these types of instances.”
But he admitted disappointment with the timing of the controversy.
“It’s really disappointing … and it was incredibly overblown is the way I say it,” Clark said. “Especially coming at this part of the season with the Players Championship and Tournament of Champions on big FOX and kids bowling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. And then there was the hall of fame.
“All that stuff makes it all very puzzling. It did not have to blow up like it did (on social media).”
But with the regular tourney schedule over, the main questions are what is next for the PBA Tour?
The PBA50 Tour begins May 4 in Florida and has 19 events lasting into August, including World Series of Bowlings for both the PBA50 and PBA60 tours (in Columbus).
“I just want to reiterate that I feel really positive about our future,” Clark said. “Hopefully, that will involve a national network.”