bowling league vs conference

bowling league and conference both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
bowling league	Yes	No	No	No
conference	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, conference is a hypernym of bowling league; that is, conference is a word with a broader meaning than bowling league:

bowling league: a league of bowling teams
conference: an association of sports teams that organizes matches for its members

Other hypernyms of bowling league include league.

bowling league (noun)	conference (noun)
a league of bowling teams	a discussion among participants who have an agreed (serious) topic
	a prearranged meeting for consultation or exchange of information or discussion (especially one with a formal agenda)
	an association of sports teams that organizes matches for its members