University of Iowa athletic director, Gary Barta, called head wrestling coach Tom Brands into his office last Friday. The View from Section GG has just learned the details of that meeting.

AD Barta

“Tom, congratulations on your team winning another NCAA Championship. We at the University are all proud of you.”

Coach Brands

“Thank you. We’ve got a bunch of guys coming back that all want to work to win individual championships. Nothing’s going to be handed to us, but if we work toward those individual championships, team title number 23 will take care of itself.”

AD Barta

“Well, Tom, that’s why I called you in – there isn’t going to be a 23^rd championship. Effective July 1 the University of Iowa will discontinue wrestling as a varsity sport.”

Coach Brands

“You can’t do that – not at Iowa! The fans won’t let you. The alumni won’t let you. Heck – Gable won’t let you!!!”

AD Barta

“Tom, there is really nothing I can do. As you know, Governor Culver has mandated 6% budget cuts across all state agencies and institutions. University President Mason has said that these cuts must extend to the athletic department.”

Coach Brands

“But, we’re by far the most successful athletic program this school has ever had. Why not cut back on the Carver Hawkeye Arena renovation plans. We only cost you about a million dollars a year. You should be able to cut enough out of that $47 million project to save us.”

AD Barta

“Actually, we need those renovations more than ever. Our biggest donors have decided that if they’re going to be forced to watch mediocre basketball, they at least should be able to do it in luxury seating.”

Coach Brands

“Why us – why not women’s rowing?”

AD Barta

“You know we can’t even discuss that, Tom. I’m sorry, my decision’s final. That is – unless you can raise $5 million by July 1…”

Of course this meeting never actually happened and almost any college wrestling fan in America would say that it never could happen. Therein lies the problem. College wrestling fans take too much for granted.

Lost in the excitement of the past month’s qualification tournaments and NCAA championships was the news that two more Division I programs were eliminated. It’s true that the handwriting had been on the wall for both for a while. Wagner College in Staten Island was the smallest DI program in the country and had not been competitive for a while. Portland (OR) State University had been battling Academic Progress Rate (APR) issues that threatened the well-being of the school’s other teams.

Does anyone really care? The reaction on internet wrestling fan sites has been – frankly – “Oh, well.” Where’s the outrage? Why no “Save (insert name here) Wrestling” websites or t-shirts? Why no letter writing or email campaigns? Are we just giving up? No – I suspect that many of us now recognize the truth – that those things don’t work. They just simply make us – the fans – feel like we’re participating in the battle.

Well – we’re not. Heck – most of us so-called wrestling fans never even attend meets.

Let’s mount a “Save College Wrestling” movement. Let’s be proactive with meaningful actions – not just with the goal of stopping the elimination of programs – let’s add more wrestling teams.

If you feel that the interpretation of Title IX is the culprit – do more than sign online petitions. Fight for more opportunities for girls and women to wrestle. Contribute to legal funds. Learn all of the facts about Title IX – don’t just spew reactionary hate.

Join your local college’s wrestling booster club. If it doesn’t have one – start one. Build support for the team. Commit your time and your checkbook. Work to get corporate donors/sponsors. Learn to sell the value of college wrestling to anyone that will lend you an ear for thirty seconds.

Unfortunately we choose to talk more about the schools that are dropping teams and not enough about institutions like Cal Baptist, Newberry, Limestone, Grand View and Jamestown that have recently added varsity wrestling. Baker University in Kansas is adding wrestling next season. Johnny Cobb, Brandon Slay and their group are continuing to work hard to bring intercollegiate wrestling to Texas. Is their a college in your community that should have a wrestling team? Why not spearhead the group that accomplishes that?

Jason Bryant and Kyle Klingman from Wrestling 411 like to talk about “a little from a lot” when trying to raise financial support for their efforts to bring a wrestling highlight show to television. I’ve been helping charitable organizations raise money for over twenty years and the “80-20” rule generally applies to fund raising just as it does in business. That is - 80% of the money comes from 20% of the donors. Eighty per cent of the work to expand college wrestling will come from 20% of the wrestling community. Won’t you be one of the elite that really makes a difference?

The most popular three days in American amateur wrestling starts Thursday in Saint Louis – the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. All other college divisions have crowned their champions like one long series of opening acts for the headliner.

WCWA           Oklahoma City University
NCWA            The Apprentice School
NJCAA           Iowa Central Community College

NAIA             Lindenwood University

NCAA DIII          Wartburg College

NCAA DII          University of Nebraska-Omaha

More people will fill the Scottrade Center for DI’s than attended all of the other intercollegiate championships combined. It is one of the very few championship events that is actually profitable for the NCAA.

Make no mistake – this is American wrestling’s big show – and once again I’ll be listening to Mark Ironside describe the action on the radio and watching the quarters, semis and finals on ESPN outlets. Business obligations will prevent me from attending.

Truth be known – I’ve probably attended far fewer Division I Championships than many fans – just seven. I know a couple of fans that haven’t missed in over thirty years. I first went in 1986 when a friend gave me his tickets for the first two sessions. I called in sick to work and had a great time. I don’t remember much about the wrestling – just about the excitement.

Most of the year I am a wrestling fan who favors the Hawkeyes. This week I’ll be 100% Black and Gold. Nationals have given me lots of great memories. In 1991 the final between Pat Smith and Tom Ryan was one of the best finals I’ve seen, but it was the following match that I remember most – when Mark Reiland hit that neck wrench and pinned Kevin Randleman. 1993 was the year of the comeback – Lincoln McIlravy and Troy Steiner scoring back-to-back come from behind wins in the finals and John Oostendorp knocking off Billy Pierce and Rulon Gardner to wrestle back for 3^rd.

The 1995 Championships began with the ecstasy of Jeff McGinness pinning his opponent in a pigtail match and Sandy Stevens announcing, “With that fall by Jeff McGinness, IOWA takes the lead!” They ended with the agony of waiting for Lincoln McIlravy to come back and accept his second place trophy after Steve Marianetti scored one of the biggest upsets in NCAA finals history.

The year 2000 brought another comeback. After upset losses by three Hawkeye number one seeds: Jody Stritmatter, Doug Schwab and TJ Williams, it looked like Iowa State was going to end the Hawks’ championship streak. Each of those three came back to finish third with Stritmatter and Schwab each scoring bonus points in three of their four consolation matches. Saturday night in the finals Eric Juergens beat Cody Sanderson in the only head-to-head finals matchup between Iowa and Iowa State. Every Iowa fan immediately became a Wisconsin fan as the Badgers’ Donny Pritzlaff faced the Cyclones’ Joe Heskett. Pritzlaff’s overtime victory sealed the team championship for Iowa.

2001 did bring the end (until 2008) of the Iowa championship run. My memories are of Minnesota winning the team championship with 10 All-Americans and no finalists and of the three former California high school wrestlers, Stephen Abas of Fresno State, Adam Tirapelle of Illinois, and Mark Munoz of Oklahoma State celebrating their NCAA titles together. The Hawkeyes crowned two champions, but it was Mike Zadick’s upset of the Cowboys’ number one seed, Reggie Wright, in the second round that brought the house down.

No – I didn’t forget 1997. That year tops all years for me – despite the weather and the aluminum UNIDome benches. The list of memories from that tournament is long – six finalists and five champions, Kasey Gilliss pinning ISU’s David Maldonado in the first round, the McIlravy/Bono overtime final, “Uke, Uke, Uke, Uke, Uke” and Gable pounding his crutch into the floor when Lee Fullhart won his championship are some of them. The two that will stay with me forever, however, are Dan Gable’s high school coach, Bob Siddens, presenting Dan with his last team championship trophy and – of course – Jesse Whitmer’s improbable championship run. “Strongest man in the world!”

I envy those of you who are headed to St Louis. I hope you all come back with great memories. ....

They’re almost here – the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships begin this Friday in Cedar Rapids. Almost inevitably, at some point in the tournament, some wrestler is going to fight off his back and win a match. Great comebacks are a part of any sport, but there’s something about a competitor fighting through adversity on the mat that is particularly inspiring. In my days as a Hawkeye fan I’ve been luck enough to witness some great comebacks – Lincoln McIlravy over Gerry Abbas and Terry Steiner over Troy Sunderland in the 1993 NCAA finals were back-to-back wins that raised my blood pressure to dangerous levels.

My all-time favorite such win was when Cedar Rapids native Mark Ironside mounted a furious final period comeback in the 1996 NWCA All-Star meet to defeat Cary Kolat 9-8. Kolat had been ranked number 1 in the country and was considered almost invincible. From that turnaround match Mark would go on to win two NCAA titles and The Hodge Trophy.

Last summer Cedar Rapids experienced the worst natural disaster in our history. Epic flooding left thousands homeless and closed hundreds of businesses. We’re now fighting off our backs. When you come here this weekend you’re going to find a community that loves wrestling, wrestlers and wrestling fans. Our sons and daughters have contributed to the sport’s history – Hall of Famers Jim Zalesky and Barry Davis won championships at Cedar Rapids Prairie High School. Announcer Sandy Stevens got her start calling meets when her husband, Bear, was the Cedar Rapids Kennedy wrestling coach. Television broadcaster par excellence, Tim Johnson, wrestled here at Coe College.

We’re glad you’re coming here to support these outstanding student athletes and we hope you enjoy your stay. No one welcomes you more than those businesses that are fighting to get off the mat and succeed. Almost any business that you can reach by walking from the US Cellular Center is a recovering flood victim, but here’s a partial list of those that have re-opened and are waiting to serve you.

Restaurants and Bars

DC’s River Walk (lunch, dinner and adult beverages)

Sub King (lunch)

Austin Blue’s BBQ (lunch)

The Coffee Emporium (fine coffees, breakfast and lunch)

Brick’s Bar and Grill (lunch, dinner and adult beverages)

Deb’s Ice Cream and Deli (lunch and sweet treats)

Victor’s Place (breakfast and lunch)

Blend (very fine dining and adult beverages)

Little King Deli (lunch)

The Blue Strawberry (breakfast, lunch, fine coffees and beer)

The Cedar Rapids Piano Lounge (entertainment and adult beverages)

Quiznos (lunch)

Gringo’s (lunch, dinner and adult beverages – owner is also local MMA promoter)

Retail

Downtown Drug (for that necessity you forgot at home)....

Smulekoff’s Furniture ....

Smulekoff’s is one of the oldest businesses in Cedar Rapids. One of the most surreal TV images from the flood was of items, believed to be from their store, floating downstream in the floodwaters. Through a monumental effort they were one of the first businesses to re-open. Their spray-painted, “We’re back” sign was inspirational to many. I know you’re not coming here to buy a couch, but give them a visit and see what hard work and a sense of community can accomplish.

Other attractions

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Czech Village

Cedar Rapids has a strong Czech and Slovak heritage. Czech Village is an area that celebrates this heritage. One of the hardest hit areas of the city, it is a short drive from downtown. Joens Brothers Interiors, Czech Village Antiques and Vitame Vas have re-opened for your shopping pleasure. Al’s Red Frog will gladly serve you one of the best cheeseburgers in town with a cold beer. The National Czech and Slovak Museum is closed, but has a temporary exhibit and bookstore at Lindale Mall on the northeast side of town. Just outside of Czech Village is Chappy’s Safari Lounge – another flood damaged business that just recently re-opened.

Re-located victims

The damage was so great to some downtown businesses that they chose to re-locate. One such business is Penguins Comedy Club. Penguin’s will be featuring TC Hatter and Marcianne this weekend. Now located at the Clarion Hotel, they are close to all of you staying on the southwest side. You can get there in time for the Saturday late show after finals. Have a beer and a lot of laughs.

Please enjoy Cedar Rapids. We’re glad you’re coming and we look forward to seeing you again at the 2010 Division III Championships.

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During the 2008 NCAA Division III heavyweight wrestling finals, announcer, Sandy Stevens pointed out that the two combatants each had 3.85 GPAs. Champion Dan Laurent from UW-La Crosse is majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology and Wartburg’s runner up, Brian Borchers majored in mathematics. Both were academic All-Americans. Borchers won an NCAA post graduate scholarship and is now working toward his PhD in math at the University of Iowa.

Laurent was named biochemistry student of the year and is working to return to Cedar Rapids to defend his heavyweight title March 6^th and 7^th. Dan and his coach, Dave Malecek, were kind enough to take a few minutes to share some thoughts on the life of a Division III student athlete.

I asked Dan, who was a two-time Division I Wisconsin state qualifier (placing third in 2005) from Mishicot High School, why he wanted to continue wrestling in college.

“After my high school career, I didn’t feel like I was finished with sports.  I felt like my wrestling skills were still improving and I wanted to know just how good I could become.  To me, the only logical choice was to continue competing as I furthered my education.”

To Coach Malecek this is the beauty of Division III athletics.

“I truly believe that at the DIII level, the athlete is competing because they love the sport and they love to compete and compete at a very high level. With no scholarships, they are there for the right reason which is the quality of education they are getting. That is the main reason that I love coaching at this level is that you get the athletes that are very focused on education and then the icing on the cake is that they get to compete and be on a team.”

What’s a typical day like for a student athlete who is excelling both in the classroom and on the mat? Here’s Dan’s description.

“Well, this can vary a lot depending on my class and practice schedule for any given day.  As a heavyweight, my day typically revolves around eating.  I wake up, cook breakfast, and hurry to class.  Some days I don’t have time to come home for lunch so I pack some food.  I go to lectures and labs all day, then wrestling practice at 4 p.m.  I return home after, cook some supper and start studying.  Usually I’ll eat again before I go to bed and start all over again.  Other days we will have practice at 6:30 a.m. which really makes for a long day.  I’ll admit, every once in a while if I don’t have too much homework, I’ll just chill and watch TV most of the night.  Everyone needs a break sometimes.” 

How has wrestling contributed to Dan’s education?

“Wrestling, besides serving as a necessary diversion from classes, has also helped me to focus more zealously on my academic goals.  There are times when schoolwork becomes overwhelming and wrestling provides a time to ‘relax’ and relieve some stress.  However, there are other times when wrestling makes it more difficult to perform as a student, mainly due to time constraints.  I’ve found that with less time to study, it helps me to utilize the time I do have more effectively.  Overall, wrestling has helped me stay goal-oriented and kept me out of the trouble that a lot of college students find themselves in as a result of too much free time.”   

What does Coach Malecek think of Dan’s accomplishments?

“I have been very fortunate to have a young man like Dan on our team. He leads by example not only in the wrestling room, but in the classroom also. I have never met someone so serious about academics and so organized and I have been around many student athletes in the past 15 (years) and Dan is by far the most dedicated one.”

After watching just one period at last year’s Division III Championships, I knew I was going to like Glenn Geesman, the heavyweight from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His aggressive, attacking style of wrestling appealed to the Hawkeye fan in me. It turns out this was no coincidence. MIT’s coach Tom Layte patterns his coaching after Iowa coach Tom Brands.

Glenn was leading in his first round match against second-seed, Kyle Bilquist, of Delaware Valley when he tried a high-risk move and got reversed to his back. After that loss he dominated his way through the consolations including an 8-1 win over Bilquist in their rematch and a 39 second fall over number one seed Trevor Hiffa from Oneonta State in the third-place match.

Unlike Dan Laurent, Glenn Geesman did not intend to wrestle when he went to MIT. According to Coach Layte, “I always encourage my wrestlers to talk to their classmates and friends to find anybody with a wrestling background. This happened with Glenn. He came in and talked to me his freshman year, but wouldn’t come out for the team.”

Glenn joined the team his sophomore year and struggled a bit. He started to focus more on wrestling last year and then had the solid run at last year’s national tournament. Coach Layte admires Glenn’s work ethic and praises his ability to learn quickly. “He’s come a long way.” What is equally impressive to coach Layte is the environment in which Glenn has made this improvement. “The academic workload at MIT is like no other place in the country. We only practice two hours a day because of all the time our athletes have to spend in class, labs and the library.”

The role of sports in education is often questioned and criticized. In these challenging economic times, far too many institutions are considering the elimination of athletic teams as a cost saving measure. Wrestling has been a component of higher education for 2500 years and the lessons it teaches are needed now more than ever. To quote UW-La Crosse coach Malecek, “I feel the main value taught is discipline. With trying to be a student athlete you cannot cut corners and you have to be disciplined with not only your training, but your studies. I also feel that mental toughness comes into play as a big part of the whole college experience. … It also teaches you how to overcome adversity.”

I hope both Dan and Glenn qualify for this year’s Division III Championships on March 6^th and 7^th in Cedar Rapids. I’ll be there to watch them. Please join me. Let’s give these young student athletes the acknowledgement they deserve.

Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference NCAA Championship Site

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The Iowa wrestling program features “Hometown Heroes” at every home meet. It’s a simple concept – they mention wrestlers from the same or neighboring communities in Eastern Iowa and thank the fans from those communities that support their “hometown heroes” and Iowa wrestling.

According to an Andy Hamilton article in Saturday’s Iowa City Press-Citizen dozens of people drove 50 miles from Davison, MI Friday night to watch their hometown hero – Brent Metcalf – wrestle. There were autographs and photo sessions. Brent did not let them down – winning by fall.

They weren’t the only fans driving Friday night to see a local favorite compete. The entire middle school wrestling team from Aledo, IL traveled over 100 miles to Cedar Rapids to see Division III #2-ranked 125 pounder, Clayton Rush, wrestle for Coe College against arch rivals, the Cornell Rams. They got to see Clayton score 6 points for the Kohawks, but not in the manner they hoped. Cornell forfeited at 125.

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The 1979 Gilbertville Don Bosco team will be honored at this year’s Iowa high school wrestling championships on the 30^th anniversary of becoming the only team in Iowa history to qualify an entire team for the state individual tournament. The Dons are famous not just for their long history of success (producing Iowa NCAA champ, Daryl Weber and multiple time All-American from the University of Minnesota, Mack Reiter), but for the support they receive from Gilbertville and the other small towns that feed the school. Undoubtedly hundreds of Don Bosco fans will attend this year’s event – both to honor the 1979 team and to cheer on the qualifiers from this year’s top-ranked 1A squad.

All across America there are rural and suburban communities that are famous for their wrestling traditions – Lakewood, OH; Waterloo, IA; Brandon, FL; Davison, MI and right now – Monroeville, OH. Towns, neighborhoods and schools rally around their wrestlers, past and present. This is how the sport continues to thrive in those areas.....

This is great for the, roughly, 40% of American middle and high school students who have the opportunity to wrestle interscholastically. For the 60% who don’t – primarily in our largest cities – something more is needed. Beat the Streets has succeeded in bringing middle and high school wrestling to many of the schools in all of the boroughs of New York City. Yes – this has largely been done through the hard work of Al Bevilacqua and Michael Novogratz and with public school system support. However, I wonder if their isn’t a neighborhood unity feeling that contributes as well.

Let’s look at Detroit. They have no varsity high school wrestling – and they are facing financial challenges that are among the greatest in the country. Is there a city in America whose youth have a greater need to learn the lessons of wrestling? Couldn’t we find one local Boys and Girls Club or other neighborhood-based youth organization that would start a kids wrestling program? And couldn’t that organization have the kind of leadership that would work to get the closest 2 or 3 middle schools to develop teams and compete with each other? And couldn’t those neighborhoods rise up and demand  varsity high school wrestling? And couldn’t someone from those neighborhoods convince someone like Mitch Albom to contribute to the growth of wrestling in Detroit? If we work at it couldn’t we get high school wrestling participation up to 500,000 kids – one urban neighborhood at a time? And if we did that – how could our colleges and universities ever consider eliminating their wrestling teams?

Iowa home wrestling meets have been even more enjoyable this year. Watching Dan Gable’s grandkids run around the floor of Carver Hawkeye Arena in singlets and headgear has added a cuteness factor that hasn’t always been there in the past.

The University of Iowa offered a family ticket package last Friday night for the Hawkeye dual with Bucknell. Perhaps fearing that attendance might be off a little, the University ran a “Family Four Pack” promotion – 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs and 4 sodas for $40. The influx of smaller kids was noticeable – especially when you saw the line waiting to get Herkey’s autograph.

I don’t know why we don’t do more of this. Many colleges make an extra effort to get more of their own students to attend meets, but it seems like some don’t go after families the way they should. Children get too little exposure to wrestling. They have almost no opportunity to see it on television and high school gyms are generally not “kid friendly”. College arenas should be the perfect venue for a kid’s first look at the “world’s oldest and greatest” sport.

Encouraging family attendance lays a solid foundation for the future of the sport in a couple of ways. First, potential competitors get to see real role models – athletes who work hard on the mat and in the classroom. When they see someone like Brent Metcalf or Jake Herbert or Darrion Caldwell compete they have the opportunity to see how exciting the sport can be.

“Starting them young” may also help build our future support base. The same family has sat two rows in front of me at Carver for 20 years. I have literally watched the kids grow up. They’re still filling those seats.

Four high school wrestlers have sat behind me for the last couple of meets. They’re pretty typical teenagers and sometimes you wish they wouldn’t say some of the things that they do, but, they thoroughly enjoy the meets. Perhaps a side benefit of starting the college season later would be that high school athletes would have more opportunities to see the next level in action.

The challenge for building youth attendance doesn’t have to lie exclusively with the colleges and universities. Fans can play a role. It doesn’t cost that much to buy tickets for youth groups, kids’ wrestling clubs or high school teams – and you can always find someone to take them. It’s one way all of us can help build the sport.

By the way – this young lady will attend her first Hawkeye meet next season.

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I was introduced to college wrestling by a Division III wrestler. I’ve told the story many times – a friend of mine competed for Augustana College in Rock Island, IL and asked me to ride with him to Ames to watch Dan Gable wrestle. The first meets I attended after that trip were at Augustana. It’s almost forty years later and now I’m watching Dan’s grandkids run around the floor of Carver Hawkeye Arena in singlets and headgear during Hawkeye meets. I’m also still watching Division III college wrestling. The NCAA Division III Championships are just 5 ½ weeks away so I thought I’d share some random thoughts about wrestling at our smaller colleges.

It could be a tight race

Going into this season many fans thought that Wartburg would easily defend their NCAA team title. Coach Miller’s squad returned three national champions and seemed to strengthen the lineup when Mark Kist transferred from Iowa State. When St Johns upset perennial powerhouse Augsburg early in the season it appeared that Wartburg was head and shoulders above the closest competitors. Augsburg’s win over Wartburg in the finals of National Duals changed all of that thinking. The battle for the team championship in Cedar Rapids may just be much tighter than expected.

All the news, all the time

Andy Vogel is the head wrestling coach at Gettysburg College. He also created and maintains www.d3wrestle.com. It is a highly informative site with current Division III results, rankings and news. There are videos, a photo gallery and a discussion forum. Andy’s selection of a Wrestler of the Week is my favorite feature. He recognizes wrestlers that you might not normally hear about.

Where’s the anger?

Norwich University recently announced the elimination of its wrestling team. The NWCA and USA Wrestling have launched efforts to get the Norwich administration to reconsider the decision. There was some minor grumbling on internet wrestling forums in the first few days after the announcement. But since then fan interest has faded. Why the fan apathy? Is it because Norwich is a D3 school? If so, why should that matter? Twenty-seven student athletes are losing a part of their educations. Or – are we simply tiring of the struggle to save intercollegiate wrestling? Please don’t give up on Norwich so easily. Contact their administrators and urge them to reconsider this decision. Here is updated contact information:

President Richard Schneider
Norwich University
158 Harmon Drive
Northfield, VT 05663

pres@norwich.edu
1-802-485-2065
Executive Assistant Mrs. Judy Bailey


General Gordon R. Sullivan (Ret.)
Chairman of the Norwich University Board of Trustees
Association of the United States Army
2425 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington VA 22201


abelyea@AUSA.org
email of the General’s personal aide Ms. Ann Belyea
703-907-2609

Why not go on the offense?

That’s right – why not work to ADD wrestling programs – especially at the Division III level? A December New York Times article cited a recent survey of 371 private colleges and universities. Approximately “two-thirds said they were greatly concerned about preventing a decline in enrollment”. According to statistics from the National Wrestling Coaches Association published in the current issue of WIN Magazine, the average operating cost of a Division III wrestling team is $71,700 per year and the average squad size is 24 athletes. Tuition at private 4-year institutions averages $25,000/year (source: www.collegeboard.com). Over a quarter of a million American high school students wrestle, but there are less than 10,000 intercollegiate varsity wrestling roster spots. I suspect that many more high school wrestlers would continue on at the college level if the opportunities existed.

If a school attracts 24 new students because they have the opportunity to continue to compete, that equates to an additional annual income of $600,000 for that school. Startup costs are less than those of many other sports and facility requirements are not extravagant. Smart schools would be adding wrestling teams – not dropping them. NAIA-affiliated schools seem to be figuring this out, ala California Baptist, Grand View and Baker University. Why can’t the smaller NCAA affiliates follow the NAIA trend? Why not try?....

Cedar Rapids championship update

Flood recovery continues. Red and white “We’re Back” signs continue to pop up all around the downtown. Several restaurants and bars within walking distance of the US Cellular Center have re-opened. ....

Penguin's Comedy Club will be featuring TC Hatter and Marcianne the weekend of the championships. Penguin’s is now located in the Clarion Hotel and you’ll have time to get to the late Saturday show after finals.

 The Iowa Conference now has a website available for the championships. You can visit it at

http://www.iowaconference.com/ncaawrestling/2009/....

I will again be hosting a reception at the Cedar Rapids Marriott, Thursday March 5 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. Please join me and your fellow wrestling enthusiasts for food, beverages and lots of wrestling talk.

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I occasionally have to pretend to work for a living. I’m self-employed, so many people think that I get to set my own schedule. Wrong!!! My clients determine when I work. I have fast approaching deadlines on a couple of projects that require a lot of computer time. I spent this weekend toiling away – and listening to radio programs in the background.

Saturday I got caught up on the Thursday 1/15 broadcast of Wrestling 411 and Sunday I listened to KXIC airing the Iowa vs. Oklahoma State dual meet. There’s a week-long cosmic thread that runs through these two events. As the old radio announcers used to say, “Return with me now to an era long ago and far away – last weekend in cyberspace.”

There was much complaining on college wrestling forums far and wide about ESPNU not broadcasting the finals of National Duals live. Making the matter worse, the finals could not be live streamed on Live Sports Video. LSV had done a magnificent job of showing the earlier rounds, but the ESPNU contract apparently prohibited a live webcast of the finals. This led to online discussion of why wrestling can’t get better total coverage and more live TV exposure.

I read many theories – some even made some sense. Then, Saturday on Wrestling 411, I heard Jason Bryant launch himself into a couple of “rants” on the subject that made perfect sense. I hate to paraphrase because I always misinterpret some key point and give it a meaning never intended by the speaker so please listen to the show. It’s archived on their website.

Kyle Klingman, Jason’s broadcast partner, took off on a “rant” of his own – this one about the prevalence in college wrestling of “3-2 matches”. You know the kind – one takedown and then lots of blocking off. Again – listen to the program to hear Kyle’s points.

Now for Sunday – and the Cowboys against the Hawkeyes. These are the two most storied programs in the history of American wrestling – 55 NCAA team championships between them. Once again – lots of online whining about a lack of TV coverage or free internet streaming. After listening to the meet, I’m actually glad that it was not on television. Based on Mark Ironside’s radio commentary, watching the proverbial “paint dry” might have been more exciting than some of the matches in this meet. Both teams seemed equally guilty. I could only imagine what Kyle Klingman might be thinking.

There are those who seem to think that the media owes the sport better coverage – that they don’t give the sport or its fans enough respect. Well – respect has to be earned. But even that isn’t the real issue. There just has to be a larger potential audience before there will be better coverage.

Let’s look at some hard facts. Too many college “fans” don’t even attend wrestling meets. Fewer than 5,000 were in the seats Sunday in Stillwater to watch these two legendary programs compete. According to a comment made by Jason during one of his rants – about 4,000 people watched the free live streaming of the “non-final” rounds of National Duals. These are not the kind of numbers that attract advertisers.

So what’s to be done? Fans can start by becoming more active in their support of wrestling and of the outlets that are working to give it greater exposure. Go to meets and take a friend. Be willing to pay when someone invests time and money in bringing you an event.

Let’s face another hard fact. Sometimes college wrestling can be boring. Maybe I’m wrong, but the frequency of Kyle’s “3-2 matches” seems to be growing. In today’s college wrestling world there are fewer than twenty athletes who provide the kind of entertainment that will entice the average sports fan into watching wrestling. Jake Herbert, Brent Metcalf and Darrion Caldwell come to mind immediately – but then you have to start thinking about it. You can talk all you want about “keeping good position” and “hand fighting” – to the occasional viewer that translates into reaching for the remote. More action will translate into more viewers. For that we must rely on the sport’s coaches and athletes.

Now for a non-wrestling aside. My youngest daughter attended Cedar Rapids Regis High School (now defunct) and played sports there, so I attended a lot of athletic events. A couple of Regis alums had a pretty good day Sunday – Kurt Warner leading the Arizona Cardinals to his third Super Bowl appearance and Zach Johnson winning the PGA’s Sony Open. Go Royals!

The NWCA National Duals just might be my favorite wrestling event. The current format exposes a wrestling junkie to performances by the best intercollegiate student-athletes at all levels and of both genders. Most fans attend to support their favorite team – sometimes missing much of the spectacle. This year’s National Duals exemplified all that is great about college wrestling – and the wrestling community. Here are some random observations.

It seems almost impossible to avoid unpleasant weather when attending a wrestling event of any kind in Cedar Falls. This year was no exception. By the time I got our house completely dug out of the snow Saturday and felt it safe to travel I had missed the Hawkeyes’ first two meets. Even with the adverse Saturday weather, attendance at the UNI-Dome almost hit 16,000 – topping last year. The event continues to grow in popularity. Is 20,000 an attainable attendance figure? I think so.

This is a well run tournament. UNI athletic director Troy Dannen, coach Brad Penrith and their entire staffs are to be congratulated. The announcing team faced a daunting task of keeping fans apprised of the action on 18 mats (Saturday) and 6 intercollegiate divisions without slighting anyone. They were more than up to it. Every endeavor of this scope has dozens of people behind the scenes who make it work. I really don’t know who is responsible for what, but it sure seemed like Tammy Tedesco from the NWCA logged a lot of miles on the floor of the dome this weekend.

The Hawkeyes were tough. The Big Red from Cornell came to Cedar Falls to wrestle – and wrestle they did. Cornell held the lead in the finals after 165 but Iowa won the last four matches to retain the Division I National Dual championship for another year. Dan Erekson’s pin at heavyweight was an exclamation point at the end of the tournament.

I’ve followed Justin Kerber’s career since he wrestled for Emmetsburg High School. The son of 4X Iowa high school champ and 3X Hawkeye All-American, Jeff Kerber and the nephew of Hawkeye great and Olympic gold medallist, Randy Lewis, Justin would have seemed a natural to wrestle for the University of Iowa. Instead he chose to follow his own path and join coach Rob Koll in Ithaca. An academic All-American, he helped Cornell “upset” Iowa State in Sunday morning’s semi-finals.

The first time I ever saw Minnesota’s Brock Lesnar wrestle was at National Duals in Iowa City several years ago. His strength, physique and dominating performance created quite a buzz. When one reporter asked him how much he could bench press, Lesnar replied, “whatever I want”. Current Golden Gopher 125-pounder, Zach Sanders, is at the complete other end of the weight spectrum. I stood near him late Sunday afternoon and he just might be one of the smallest college wrestlers I’ve ever seen. With his “baby face” he looks about 15 years old. As was the case with Lesnar, National Duals afforded me my first opportunity to see Sanders wrestle. Don’t pay any attention to his size and facial features – this kid is going to be a good one. He is a skilled takedown artist with power on top that belies his size. I’m really looking forward to three years of battles between Zach and Iowa’s blue chip freshman, Nate Moore.

Augsburg’s cumulative score after the first two rounds in Division III was 110-0. Then, in the finals, they scored two falls in the last four weights to upset number one ranked Wartburg. They may be setting up one heck of a team race at DIII Nationals in Cedar Rapids this March.

I spent a lot of time watching the women wrestle. It’s a little disconcerting switching back and forth from watching folkstyle to watching freestyle – but it can be done. It’s pretty clear that there are opportunities to add women’s wrestling at more colleges. With 5,000 girls wrestling in high school, and that number growing, there is room for growth in roster spots and scholarships. Jamestown College of North Dakota is fielding a women’s team for the first time. With athletes from states like Hawaii, California and Michigan, they’ve attracted a full roster of wrestlers and were competitive in this tournament. I especially enjoyed watching Mason City’s Tiffany Sluik score a fall to help Jamestown to one of their victories. It was also heartening to see Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann in the stands supporting the women’s teams. Oh, by the way, Oklahoma City University kicked the snot out of the rest of the field to win the women’s division.

Speaking of Sara McMann, I still can’t get over being such a goober fan when in the presence of Olympic greats like Sara, Bill Smith, Doug Blubaugh and Ben Peterson.

Every year I adopt a team outside the normal group of schools I follow (Iowa, Iowa State, UNI, Coe and Cornell College). This year I picked Southern Oregon because my daughter went to school there for a year. In the closest final dual of the night, they won the NAIA championship on criteria.

Newberry College from South Carolina is another great story. In only their third year of competition, the finished as runner-up in Division II to Nebraska-Omaha. They have 33 wrestlers on the squad – 25 of whom come from states with no Division I programs. With high school wrestling continuing to grow in popularity in the southeastern United States and a limited number of competition alternatives, I see only bright things in the future for Newberry.

However, my favorite story of this year’s National Duals had nothing to do with the competition. Midway through the final round Sandy Stevens announced that one of the young lady wrestlers had lost a gold ring and described the area where the ring was thought to be lost. It was an area open only to those with credentials and you could see a stirring among the coaches and athletes as they began to search for the lost ring. About ten minutes later Sandy came back on the mic to say that the ring had been found by one of the coaches. It was a great way to finish the weekend.

Countless bloggers, journalists and broadcast outlets are presenting "year-in-review" analyses. Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling can be included among those with his Top Ten Stories of 2008 on themat.com. No idea is too trite to steal, so I'll join in with a couple of observations about this past year.

A tale of two programs

The University of Oregon actually announced the elimination of varsity wrestling in 2007, but much of the legal battle took place in 2008. The Save Oregon Wrestling movement is still alive, but has lost the most significant court decisions. I'm not sure what the next steps are – perhaps to follow a path similar to Stevens Institute of Technology and develop a strong club program with an eye toward future reinstatement. The University will have to hire a professional educator as athletic director before there is real hope for the return of the Ducks to the mat.

In May, 2008 Arizona State University announced that it, too, would be dropping wrestling. This was particularly distressing because the Sun Devils are one of the very few schools to ever win an NCAA Division I team championship – and the only one west of the Rockies. Backers of ASU wrestling, including Art Martori, quickly raised millions of dollars to fully fund the continuation of the sport and it was reinstated only ten days after the elimination announcement.

The lesson here seems fairly obvious. It is the vital to the continued existence of college wrestling at every level that a school's boosters engage potential donors long before the "hammer is dropped". You just can't sell enough tee shirts to save a team after the fact.

The emergence of a celebrity?

Henry Cejudo's Olympic gold medal was Gary Abbott's top story of the year – rightfully so. Is there more to this than just the victory? Are we seeing a new "face for wrestling"? Henry was very charming on his Tonight Show appearance with Jay Leno. The "chicken suit" story is now famous throughout the wrestling world. He has also appeared on programs in a variety of media outlets, including Univision. What's next for Henry? Well – Dancing with the Stars is the rumor.

When so-called broadcast "professionals" can't come up with a better image of amateur wrestling than Hulk Hogan, it's time we had someone rise to celebrity status.

A negative perception perpetuated

Not all of the news from Beijing was positive. Weight management issues hampered the American performance. This wasn't just bad for the medal count – it was bad for wrestling. Nothing keeps kids out of the sport like the perception among parents that unhealthy weight loss is rampant among wrestlers. The past few years of work by the NWCA and others to eradicate that stereotype was virtually nullified by the examples set in China by our wrestlers.

Severe and rapid weight loss is too much a "badge of honor" among wrestlers and the wrestling community. Real growth in the sport – especially among girls and women – will not occur until this culture changes.

The crowd

Last month 15,955 fans attended the Iowa/Iowa State dual meet, breaking the NCAA record for such an event. In fact this was one of the largest crowds ever to attend any non-football intercollegiate athletic event that wasn't an NCAA championship.

So what's the big deal? I've read statements from wrestlers and coaches along the lines of, "It's about the two wrestlers on the mat, we don't need a crowd."

There are those who believe, as I do, that increasing the fan popularity of the "world's oldest and greatest sport" will be critical to its long term survival as an intercollegiate sport. There is another segment that believes that attendance is an unfair yardstick to impose upon wrestling – that lacrosse and soccer are not held to these standards, why should wrestling be? In a just world that's a reasonable question – but life isn't always fair.

Why not aspire to greatness?! Why perpetuate the belief that wrestling is a "cult sport"? Why not believe in the greatness of the sport? Why not believe that the average sports fan can learn to love wrestling as much as you do – as I do? Come on – take a friend to a meet.

There were many more stories in 2008, some of which will play out in 2009 and beyond. Let's keep our eyes on Terry Brands returning to Iowa City – does that mean anything other than the Hawkeyes have a new assistant coach? Is MMA helping or hurting the future of amateur wrestling – especially at the international level? Will the current economy hasten the departure of even more college wrestling programs? Regardless, it will be interesting.