All-American Distribution

[Wrestleknownothing]

There has been a lot of talk about how NIL and/or transfers are bad for non-revenue sports. I am of the laissez-faire school of thought on the topic. But as a measure of "health" I like to look at things like the distribution of honors like titles or All-Americans. Presumably the more schools that have an All-American the better for the sport and its survival.

Based on that, this year does not look so bad. NIL started in earnest in the summer of 2021, having its first impact on the 2022 season. The transfer portal was launched in the fall 0f 2018, having its first impact on the 2019 season, but it really began to be felt in the 2021 season. 

While the general trend in the number of schools is downward (highs used to be in the low 40's, now they are in the low 30's), this year marked the joint highest number of schools with an AA since 2016.

For the health of the sport, it would be good to see that number consistently above 35 with occasional spike to 40. However, that may be tough with around 80 participating schools. When 40 was more the norm there were between 100 and 150ish participating schools.

 

Looking at the AAs as a percentage of participating schools tells a similar story, I think. It would be good to see that number up around 50% (~40 schools).