"Drury brings college wrestling back to the Ozarks" was the headline for the news story in the local newspaper, the Springfield News-Leader , published Wednesday. The story went on to report, "It ends a college wrestling drought in southwest Missouri that dates back to 1994, when then-Southwest Missouri State dropped the sport."
In Drury University's press statement, Director of Athletics Mark Fisher said, "We're very excited to announce the addition of wrestling as another alternative for Drury students to compete at the intercollegiate level. We believe a Drury wrestling program will help fill a need for a potential college destination for a southwest Missouri area that's rich in wrestling tradition and talent at both the high school and youth levels. It will provide many of those student-athletes with another opportunity to further their careers and get a great education at Drury while doing so."
The university is in the process of accepting applications for the head coaching job. The program will host home matches at Weiser Gym.
Drury will become the sixth Great Lakes Valley Conference member to offer intercollegiate wrestling, joining Maryville, Truman State, Indianapolis, McKendree and Wisconsin-Parkside. With the addition of Drury, the conference will now have the required six member schools needed to hold a conference championship event in future years.
Drury University is a four-year private school located in Springfield, Mo. in the southwest portion of the state. Founded in 1873, Drury has approximately 5,500 students. The school's new wrestling program -- as well as existing Panther sports programs -- will compete in NCAA Division II.
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