REXBURG— Mike Wallace is a guy with ambition and a passion for bowling. He started bowling professionally six years ago. Wallace says he loves the 80s aesthetic of the neon lights and arcade sounds of a bowling alley. He decided to take a chance and play more seriously.
“At the time I was making money from working fast food, and I decided, no, let's just buy myself a nice bowling ball and shoes and a bag and all that,” Wallace said.
Wallace made friends with regular bowlers and watched professionals in videos play. But it wasn’t until he came to BYU-Idaho in 2021 when his performance improved. He was excited that the school had a small bowling alley on campus.
In 2025 Wallace bowled his first 300 score in Idaho Falls. A 300 is when a bowler rolls 12 consecutive strikes in a single game. Wallace says if it wasn’t for the BYU-Idaho bowling alley, he would have never achieved that accomplishment.
Wallace also started the first student bowling league. He posted it on the Rexburg Facebook page and people signed up. The student bowling league has played every semester since.
“I've gotten a lot of people interested in trying it out and they end up buying their own bowling ball and bag and all that. It's really nice to see, you know, people like actually, taking the next step and trying something new,” Wallace said.
He says his next goal is to get a 300-sanction score. Wallace explains to achieve that he would have to be with an official league sponsored by The United States Bowling Congress. Idaho Falls has a sanctioned USBC league.
“It'd be nice to bowl 300 during a tournament or at some point I'll be joining one of their leagues out there,” Wallace said.
In a sanctioned 300 game, the USBC officially records it and gives the bowler their own ring. Wallace says a 300 is not the end. The highest bowling achievement is a 900 series, meaning bowling 300 in three consecutive games.
“And basically, I've noticed that once you bowl 300, you're not really scared anymore to get to the really high scores,” Wallace said.
Wallace is grateful for BYU-Idaho’s bowling alley for being affordable, having quality lanes and a friendly staff. Wallace expressed gratitude toward the opportunities in bowling the school has given him.