Simpleman424 Posted October 12 Posted October 12 If you are a university who’s has a has a football team that is consistently Top 25 or so there’s really no excuse not to have a wrestling program as well. The money will be there, the fan base will be there and everyone wants to see these rivalries/familiar battles carry over into other sports. You want to bring more recognition and attention to the sport you have to ride the coat tails of college football.
Ragu Posted October 13 Posted October 13 (edited) My dream list would be Syracuse, for the love of god please UCF, I think this would be the best bet for a FL team LSU, Geaux Tigers Oregon, uniform central baby any D1 Texas team (Texas, A&M, TTech, Houston, etc) UCLA or USC Washington And bring back ODU, Cleveland St, and Boise State Edit: Immediately thought of Tarleton St and Liberty which I feel are super close to potentially happening but who really knows Edited October 13 by Ragu 2 https://x.com/RaguWrestle
Nak21 Posted October 13 Posted October 13 First off, GREAT topic! Thank you! I’d first off like to see a lot of programs we had 20-40yrs ago, come back. NE - Syracuse, Boston University, Wilkes. SUNY Albany and Stony Brook make the jump to match Bing U and Buffalo. SE - bring back Clemson. SEC get in the game - Tennessee, UGa, Bama, Kentucky, Vandy, Florida, someone in Mississippi, LSU. TEXAS! And A&M! Florida State. Midwest - Colorado, Colo St, someone or both someone’s in Kansas. Bring back BYU. West - pipe dream and ship has sailed, BUT Big 10 f-ed up not making the newbies add wrestling (and Hockey) - looking directly at you Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC. Add Washington St back too. California in general, with the level of wrestling there, it’s criminal more of the UC and Cal State system don’t have more programs. That right there would add 25+ back or in and get us up over 100 teams. It’s a start. Let’s hope! 2
ScottishSteel Posted October 14 Posted October 14 On 10/12/2026 at 1:17 PM, TexRef said: BYU won't bring it back. They don't compete on Sunday and as a member of the Big 12 most duals are on Friday & Sunday, along with tournaments. On another note...Cael's dad Steve, applied for the BYU job when it was open. BYU went with Mark Schultz instead. Steve said that his boys woukd never go to BYU! BYU never invested in the program, as they were never fully funded and only had 1 part time assistant coach for the majority of the time. The Big 12 accommodates the "no Sunday" thing in baseball, softball, soccer, etc. That is not a barrier to entry to having a wrestling program 1 Irrationally proud former WPIAL wrestler No Scotland, No Party . . . Go Beavs
rsotelo Posted October 14 Posted October 14 Make it so that EVERY Big10 school is required to sponsor a wrestling program. 2
kschlosser Posted October 14 Posted October 14 10 minutes ago, rsotelo said: Make it so that EVERY Big10 school is required to sponsor a wrestling program. Do you think Michigan State or Wisconsin would change anything if they finished 18th in the Big Ten back to back years or do they take their lumps and stand behind their men?
Tyler Perry Posted October 14 Posted October 14 4 hours ago, Nak21 said: First off, GREAT topic! Thank you! I’d first off like to see a lot of programs we had 20-40yrs ago, come back. NE - Syracuse, Boston University, Wilkes. SUNY Albany and Stony Brook make the jump to match Bing U and Buffalo. SE - bring back Clemson. SEC get in the game - Tennessee, UGa, Bama, Kentucky, Vandy, Florida, someone in Mississippi, LSU. TEXAS! And A&M! Florida State. Midwest - Colorado, Colo St, someone or both someone’s in Kansas. Bring back BYU. West - pipe dream and ship has sailed, BUT Big 10 f-ed up not making the newbies add wrestling (and Hockey) - looking directly at you Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC. Add Washington St back too. California in general, with the level of wrestling there, it’s criminal more of the UC and Cal State system don’t have more programs. That right there would add 25+ back or in and get us up over 100 teams. It’s a start. Let’s hope! Hate to break it to you, Colorado is NOT Midwest 1
trojanhorse Posted October 14 Author Posted October 14 If you analyze this topic by conferences, it only makes sense that the Big 10, Big 12, and ACC make more schools have wrestling. Big 10, 4 schools would add - USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington Big 12, 12 schools would add if all, so half would be great - BYU, Texas Tech, Utah, Baylor, Arizona, Houston, Cincinnati, UCF, Kansas St, Colorado, Kansas, TCU. My picks here would be Arizona, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Colorado, and Kansas St. I know it is only 5, but they are either in a location with a natural rival or close proximity to opponents to minimize travel. ACC, 11 schools if all, 5 would be great - BC, Cal, Clemson, FSU, GT, Louisville, Miami, ND (other than football, they are an ACC member), SMU, Syracuse, Wake Forest. My picks here would be Cal, GT, Louisville, ND, Syracuse, and WF (yes another Div 1 program in the state of NC) Again, natural rivalries and proximity to opponents would make it easy for them to sponsor programs and keep costs down. So, in my warped mind, 15 new/revived programs added into the mix.
Jim L Posted October 14 Posted October 14 On 10/12/2026 at 2:28 PM, Former158 said: ... Division III- Lots of options for enrollment driven schools- If you can prove 30-40 tuition paying students would come, the program pays for itself---even if each student gets a 50% scholarship---see No scholarships for DIII sports. This seems like adding wrestling should be a win for DII schools, but I don't see many programs being added.
TexRef Posted October 14 Posted October 14 1 hour ago, trojanhorse said: If you analyze this topic by conferences, it only makes sense that the Big 10, Big 12, and ACC make more schools have wrestling. Big 10, 4 schools would add - USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington Big 12, 12 schools would add if all, so half would be great - BYU, Texas Tech, Utah, Baylor, Arizona, Houston, Cincinnati, UCF, Kansas St, Colorado, Kansas, TCU. My picks here would be Arizona, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Colorado, and Kansas St. I know it is only 5, but they are either in a location with a natural rival or close proximity to opponents to minimize travel. ACC, 11 schools if all, 5 would be great - BC, Cal, Clemson, FSU, GT, Louisville, Miami, ND (other than football, they are an ACC member), SMU, Syracuse, Wake Forest. My picks here would be Cal, GT, Louisville, ND, Syracuse, and WF (yes another Div 1 program in the state of NC) Again, natural rivalries and proximity to opponents would make it easy for them to sponsor programs and keep costs down. So, in my warped mind, 15 new/revived programs added into the mix. When TCU joined the Big 12 they never even thought about adding wrestling. They added equestrian instead. The reasoning was that about 90% of the costs for it were covered by the students. If true, we will never see TCU field a wrestling team.
TexRef Posted October 14 Posted October 14 13 hours ago, ScottishSteel said: The Big 12 accommodates the "no Sunday" thing in baseball, softball, soccer, etc. That is not a barrier to entry to having a wrestling program It might not be a barrier now, but when BYU dropped wrestling, they were not in the Big 12 and they would not compete on Sunday. Period. They claimed they were not getting the interest they would like. It would be hard to draw top tier kids when your program doesn't even have a full time assistant coach. No real support for the team.
TexRef Posted October 14 Posted October 14 15 hours ago, Nak21 said: First off, GREAT topic! Thank you! I’d first off like to see a lot of programs we had 20-40yrs ago, come back. NE - Syracuse, Boston University, Wilkes. SUNY Albany and Stony Brook make the jump to match Bing U and Buffalo. SE - bring back Clemson. SEC get in the game - Tennessee, UGa, Bama, Kentucky, Vandy, Florida, someone in Mississippi, LSU. TEXAS! And A&M! Florida State. Midwest - Colorado, Colo St, someone or both someone’s in Kansas. Bring back BYU. West - pipe dream and ship has sailed, BUT Big 10 f-ed up not making the newbies add wrestling (and Hockey) - looking directly at you Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC. Add Washington St back too. California in general, with the level of wrestling there, it’s criminal more of the UC and Cal State system don’t have more programs. That right there would add 25+ back or in and get us up over 100 teams. It’s a start. Let’s hope! The University of Texas had wrestling and they will never bring it back and neither will the SEC. The only hope for a bigger school in Texas to add wrestling is going to be Texas Tech. We should start applying pressure to ESPN to make the SEC bring wrestling back to their conference.
2001Hokie Posted October 14 Posted October 14 21 minutes ago, TexRef said: It might not be a barrier now, but when BYU dropped wrestling, they were not in the Big 12 and they would not compete on Sunday. Period. They claimed they were not getting the interest they would like. It would be hard to draw top tier kids when your program doesn't even have a full time assistant coach. No real support for the team. Agreed on needing support. BYU athletics have gotten a huge boost in financial support recently, and they are extremely aggressive to achieving relative success. They definitely wouldn't half-ass re-entry. Whole ass or no ass. I just view them as quickly able to fund modest success in the Big 12. With the backing they have, becoming a top 20 team and top 3-5 in the Big 12 could happen quickly. Wrestling being heavy on faith-based athletes could be played up well too. No ties to the Mormon church for me, but I did a lot of work in Utah with a company borne out of BYU. You just have to press on their pride and show a quick potential for success, and they'll be interested. 1
rsotelo Posted October 15 Posted October 15 Today, I honestly believe that programs are not added because someone in the administration wants it, but more because some wealthy donor or donor group PAY for them to add a program.
MPhillips Posted October 16 Posted October 16 13 hours ago, rsotelo said: Today, I honestly believe that programs are not added because someone in the administration wants it, but more because some wealthy donor or donor group PAY for them to add a program. Admin has to want it. .
No BS Fan Posted October 16 Posted October 16 Vanderbilt would be one I'd like to see. Could you imagine NCAA's in downtown Nashville 1
Nevaeh Lavarias Pearl City High School, Hawaii Class of 2027 Committed to Kent State Projected Weight: 124
Braeden Simoneaux New York Military Academy, Louisiana Class of 2027 Committed to Wyoming Projected Weight: 184, 197
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