Prior to the Billiard Education Foundation being formed, junior billiard programs were created and produced by the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) to aid in the promotion of the sport, beginning with the Junior National 9-Ball Championships, begun in the late 80s.
By 1994, this segment of the sport had expanded faster than expected and at the suggestion of Jerry Briesath, Mark Cord, and Shari Stauch, the BEF was formed as a 501(c)(3) foundation, with two principle goals in mind — A) to continue Junior National competitions that adhered to WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association) standards that would allow American winners to compete in world junior events and B) to establish scholarships for junior participants, both through competition and through academic prowess.
Today, key programs of the BEF include the annual BEF Junior National 9-Ball Championships, annual Junior State Qualifiers, annual selection and support of juniors competing in the WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championships, academic scholarships and awards, Pool in School programming and curriculum development, and junior instruction in partnership with the Professional Billiard Instructors Association.