If you’re like me, when someone mentions “bowling”, you get a flood of memories. For me, those memories include things like past birthday parties for my kids, the casual/only slightly ironic Friday night out with friends, and the ill-fated league I joined with my college classmate my junior year. Hey, the beer was cheap and we made cool shirts.

For Peter Murray, the new CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association and Head of Media for Lucky Strike Entertainment, those memories, and the fact that almost all of us share some version of them, are key to his plans to grow bowling into a global sports juggernaut.

Murray certainly has the experience needed to pull it off. Prior to the PBA, he was the driving force behind the epic growth of the Professional Fighters League, which he helped transform from a regional MMA backwater and into a global media property. He sees bowling in much the same light: a popular sport that’s been underexposed and is prime for a cultural makeover.

In our conversation, Pete and I talk about his journey from cage matches to bowling lanes. We dive into the opportunity he sees for the sport, what strategies he’ll carry over from his time at the PFL, how the new HBO series “Born to Bowl” is already impacting the game, and much, much more.

The former almost NYPD cop also shares what skills he thinks carry over most from policing to running a pro sports enterprise. So stay tuned for that.