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Last week's comments about Carl Adams and why Boston University dropped wrestling caused quite a reaction. Fans of the program and former wrestlers were passionate in their defense of Adams and the job he was doing to groom his wrestlers to both graduate and become productive members of their communities. It was a pleasant outpouring that while tiptoeing the line of civility ended up producing constructive discourse.
The comments had merit, but they reminded me of my favorite NCAA coaching moment. It was 2006 and Navy's John Cox had just lost a heartbreaking 13-11 match to Eric Tannenbaum in the All-American round. Cox, distraught at his inability to score late, had run into the hallway beneath the stadium, thrown his headgear against the wall and let loose a brief, tear-stricken string of curse words. Just then Navy head wrestling coach Bruce Burnett walked by in his black suit, face stoic and hands gently locked behind his back. He walked a few feet from the still angry Cox and asked in a calm voice, "Where was all that energy a few minutes ago, John?"
Harsh. But I imagine it was effective at motivating Cox to create something positive from a negative moment. Nothing was going to change the outcome of his match, so there was the decision to be angry, or to learn from the mistakes he made that day on the mat and improve. According to Burnett, Cox suffered from a brief mental lapse that led to inactivity on the mat, and eventually a missed opportunity. For Boston University wrestling and their supporters the decision to cut the program came after their acceptance of the status quo. In the spirit of Coach Burnett, where was all this energy five years ago?
The wrestling community needs to be proactive in finding solutions to the ongoing cuts to our sport. We are not being protected by athletic administrators, or alumni donations, and we are not free from criticism because our kids are nice and our work ethic top amongst a peer group. Wrestling needs to differentiate itself from other sports by supporting bold new ideas. Talking with fans, marketing matches and engaging the alumni base are the bare minimums and might not be enough to save every at-risk program.
Wrestling needs to create unique change. To do that we need the young fans -- those just entering the workforce, and filled ideas about social media and future modes of connectivity -- to feel like they have a say in the future of the sport. As they tend to do, times have changed, but where before that change was individual behaviors and institutional transgressions like Title IX, we are now faced with shifting modes of communication. The young ones can help us be leaders in utilizing new technology for the enhancement of our sport.
For the first-time ever, next week's mailbag will have a theme, "The Big Idea." Take time to draft a new idea in 250 words or less and send it in. They can be rule changes, or a wholesale overhaul to the NCAA. Whatever you choose to promote, make sure it's bold.
On to your questions ...
Q: Why does the NCAA tournament qualify 33 wrestlers at each weight class instead of the much more logical 32?
-- John B.
Foley: We finally have an answer!
According to a member of the NCAA Wrestling Committee the number to think about is 330, not 33. When the new qualifier system was put in place and the at-large selections were no longer chosen by conferences the overall number of qualifiers (330) became evenly distributed across the ten weight classes. That number of qualifiers is determined by a percentage of how many Division I school have wrestling. Though there has been some contraction the number of qualifiers is, for now, safe.
Q: I read a blog response in SI that said wrestling's arrogance is the reason for this possible elimination in 2020. I don't agree with that, but I do know that some of the freestyle and Greco rules are confusing and singlets are something that even some wrestlers do not like, so change is probably a good thing in some areas. Have you heard of any potential rule changes that are being discussed by FILA? Do you think some of these international rule changes, such as going to fighter shorts will be implemented in high school or college in the future?
-- Dan A.
Foley: I think you meant this article.
We are arrogant. The leadership of International wrestling is completely out-of-touch with what makes the sports world spin clockwise. I'm not trying to belittle the fuddy-duddy group of septuagenarians for their lifelong commitment to the sport, but we need a serious infusion of uncorrupted forward thinkers (see above).
Wrestling is excellent at acting high-and-mighty about being the oldest sport on the block, but when it comes time for inclusion we totally balked on adding a few more women's weights. We could have changed the rules, updated the singlets, added a women's style or done any number of other projects, but we instead sat by as leadership grew roots, and fresh ideas were left to rot and decompose.
Perhaps the best anecdote is that until 31 days ago FILA didn't have an active Facebook or Twitter account. FILA and its supporters must've figured that wrestling's cave sketches and parchment scribblings were enough to protect the sport from the push of modern communication.
Based on the above rant, I have no hope that any of the discussed rule changes (fight shorts, five minute matches, removal of Greco in favor of something watchable) will ever actually happen. Here is your outline of rule changes that have been implemented. To give you some contrast, in 90-percent of traditional standing style of wrestling the rule is as follows: First to touch their knee or hand to the ground loses.
Any takers?
More specifically to the inquiry about fight shorts and rash guards, this idea needs to be passed this year by the youth leagues, high school associations and the NCAA. Why wait? There is no reason. None. Figure out the details on the length of the shorts and garments and make them optional by team for the next three years. After which point it's mandatory. Not only do you create an entire market of clothing you immediately increase team sizes at the middle school and high school level.
Multimedia Halftime
Wrestling is competing against seven other sports this May in St. Petersburg. We are presenting the IOC with our outline for improvements and presenting arguments about healthy lifestyle, profitability and global reach.
Here is what we're facing from just one of our competitors. And remember almost every member of the executive committee has played, or still plays squash.
Q: Any chance Kyle Dake goes Greco? I know he's the ultimate competitor, but the chances of him beating Jordan Burroughs are remote and he has had a lot of success there. He would definitely bring some star power to a part of our sport that has struggled recently.
-- Josh D
Foley: I guess it's a possibility. As you know, Nick Simmons switched styles and went up a weight to compete in Greco. Less competition and he has four years to make the Olympics. Maybe Dake would take the same tact if he doesn't find himself beating Burroughs anytime in the next two years.
Q: When are we going to get the scoop on Matt McDonough i.e. was he injured at NCAA's/before NCAA's? I was sitting next to some Iowa dude at a local brew pub in Des Moines after McDonough lost in the quarters. He said McD has a "torn pec." I was also told McD injured his labrum at some point during the season. What do you know about all of this?
-- Matt R.
Foley: I've heard girlfriend. I've heard grades. Maybe we should let the little guy reconstruct his life. He's been in the spotlight for a few years and whether it was any or all of the above reasons, or that he was cutting too much weight for too many years, it's of no consequence. McDonough was one of the best 125-pounders in NCAA history and should be celebrated.
Besides, he seems disinterested in making excuses.
Q: Do you think a version of the freestyle pushout rule would be applicable to folkstyle? What do you think the effects would be?
-- John B.
Foley: Ooh, I like where your head's at, but wrestling on the edge has been pretty incredible to watch since the rule change allowed action to continue even if there is only a toe in-bounds.
Were the pushout rule brought it I think that anyone playing the edge would be pulling off these maneuvers in order to squirm points out of referees.
Q: What is your outside view of the state of the WVU wrestling? What went wrong this year (3-10/4th out of 4 in Big 12)? What needs to happen to bring the program back?
-- IndyWVU
Foley: The Big 12 is a tough conference, but the team has been trending poorly for the last three years. Coach Turnbull, like Rande Stottlemyer, has been in place for several decades and a change at the top would probably serve to perk up recruiting and potentially earn the Mountaineers some much-needed hardware.
As a side note, my uncle played tennis at WVU and always reminds me that no matter how good things look for the basketball or football team, they WILL find a way to screw it up. Maybe that's a known characteristic of WVU, but since he mentioned it I can't stop seeing all their almost-made-it moments.
Let's hope that they start to see a programmatic turnaround in wrestling.
Q: Obviously for years PA high school wrestling has been high on the national scene, but it wasn't until Cael Sanderson took over Penn State that the state has had a true national power. With the retirement of Rande Stottlemyer, hiring of Jason Peters, the move to the ACC and a great incoming class, is this Pitt's opportunity to finally be a perennial top 10 team? It seems with all the talent in the state there's no reason why they shouldn't be. Your thoughts?
-- Jason R.
Foley: Facts:
Jason Peters is the man.
The ACC is becoming a premier conference.
Pitt has fan support and alumni involvement.
The team placed two wrestlers in 2013.
There isn't much more to write. Pitt is in position to make a jump in the rankings and have another 30 years of success under Peters. As a wrestling fan, and an ACC alum I'm even more excited about Pitt's move with Peters on board.
Go Hoos.
Q: Back in the mid '90s I read what I thought was a great article in WIN magazine by John Smith. In this article Coach Smith outlined a change in our season. He stated that we should start in January and end in April or May. With this change we would no longer battle the "Holiday Season," the clogged airports, March Madness, Frozen Four, and some travel conditions would improve.
I am not a big fan of change, but I thought this was a brilliant idea. If we look back to the mid-'90s and would have implemented this idea then we would have had a better opportunity to garner more television time. We would not have been going head-to-head with March Madness, college baseball, and the Frozen Four has picked up some momentum.
What are your thoughts about changing our season?
-- Nick M.
Foley: Absolutely sold on the idea. Your post explained to perfection what wresting needs to do in order to become a premier sporting event.
Looking at the calendar, this weekend is the Frozen Four and the Masters, which means the NCAA is pretty busy and ESPN is choking up on their sand wedge. The third weekend in April is the start of the NBA playoffs, but that isn't until Saturday.
My vote is the third weekend in April. Second? All in favor, reply "Aye!"
Of course we'd have to completely re-imagine the course of the season and eliminate, or restrict the major mid-season tournaments. Or … those tournaments (Midlands and Southern Scuffle) could be our Daytona-like kickoff to the season.
There are a million other things to consider, which I would write about, but I need to go watch the Masters.
Q: The Big Ten is the ONLY conference where EVERY MEMBER SCHOOL sponsors wrestling. I just wonder how much pressure the Big 12 schools with wrestling or the conference is putting onto the schools that do not sponsor wrestling. It is not a secret of how Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue, and Penn State to name a few are able to maintain wrestling and still be Title IX compliant. You can't tell me that there is not a coach that would not want to spend their winters in Texas or Kansas. I have heard from a non-reliable source that the Big 12 is extremely lax and does not really care if other schools have wrestling. Your thoughts?
-- Nick M.
Foley: All conferences not named the Big Ten are lax in regards to membership and required sports. Wrestling is far outside their interests. Conferences align, realign, and realign again all in the name of profit. The schools want to create television channels that will create massive monies off the backs of their unpaid players. It's brilliant, but until wrestling creates a profitable audience base in the Big 12, I doubt the conference would ask member institutions to add new programs.
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