The response from the wrestling community was instantaneous and unanimous: outrage, sadness and a demand for an answer to the question, "Why?" For those of you who have not experienced it, it's tough to describe the dedication of the wrestling community. While the sport's popularity may not rival that of basketball or baseball, the loyalty of its fans is second to none.
For several years, Greensboro has been strongly pushing its image of being a "Tournament Town." If UNCG cancels its wrestling program, you can say goodbye to three wrestling tournaments: the Southern Scuffle, the Super 32 Challenge and the N.C. High School Athletic Association's state championships. All three tournaments are held at the Greensboro Coliseum and their annual net economic impact for the city is an estimated $6.7 million.
"Losing these tournaments would significantly hurt our business," says Kenny Giard, owner of the Corner Bar, located on Spring Garden Street within a half-mile of the coliseum. "We depend strongly on coliseum traffic, and the wrestling alumni have supported us for years."
In a UNCG press release, the athletics director said, "While UNCG will not have a team, we anticipate the Southern Scuffle can still be a successful Greensboro community event." To think there could still be a tournament after shutting down the team is laughable. Does Record also expect to host the Southern Conference tournament in 2012?
College coaches all across the country are united in their consensus of their boycott of UNCG's Scuffle. North Carolina high school coaches have spoken up and said they would no longer support the Super 32, and although the high school championships is not an event that can be boycotted, there is a strong demand for another host city.
Record has described this effort as "misplaced anger." Anyone who thought that this issue would just "blow over" is remarkably mistaken. Isaac Newton said, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Well, this is the reaction that the often overlooked wrestling community has shown.
If you visit any high school wrestling tournament in the country, there's a good chance you will see some vendor selling cliched wrestling T-shirts with a common theme, "Never Give Up!" Not surprisingly, this is the unofficial mission statement of the wrestling community regarding this decision.
Officials at UNCG claim that this is strictly an economic decision, that the $308,000 budget can be better spent. If this is truly an economic issue, then why should the city of Greensboro throw away millions so that the university can reallocate (not save) 2.9 percent of its athletic budget?
For 18 years UNCG wrestling fans have rooted for the team to get a "major decision." Now we need the city of Greensboro and its officials to make a "major decision" to help keep this outstanding program alive and undo this tragic mistake.
Every year the wrestling program tries to break records. It seems that this year, Record broke the program.
The website saveUNCGwrestling.com has the latest information on how you can help support and save this great program.
Keith Ritter is a former UNCG student and former captain of the Spartan wrestling team.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now