Matt Valenti Slated to be Penn Head Coach

[lisa morales]

Penn is dangerous and crime heavy, i.e. necessitating bars on dorm windows. 

[The Kid]

3 hours ago, Quaker118 said:

Valenti in the 2006 NCAA tournament: fall,fall,7-2,7-3,3-2 against super tough 2x runner up Fleeger. 
2007 NCAA tournament. 6-2,9-3,4-0,4-2,4-2 against future champ Scott. 
I would expect total ignorance from a Scarlet Night on anything related to Penn wrestling. I was at virtually every home match, NCAA tournament, and EIWA tournament that Matt participated in. Somehow he managed to score some points occasionally. But if he can develop national champs that win on riding time, I’ll be OK with that.

He gave Frey a helicopter ride from neutral at EIWA's.  What a great wrestler.

[NM1965]

Valenti was not an exciting guy to watch.  I hope Penn isn't as boring on the mat as he was. 

[NM1965]

9 hours ago, Quaker118 said:

As a former Penn wrestler and avid supporter of the program, I could not be happier to see Matt taking over the program. His wrestling credentials are impeccable, and I think he is going to elevate the Penn program to where all of us Quaker fans would like to see it again. He is smart, will be a great recruiter and his love for the program will translate well going forward. 

A question: how does a coach get guys to come wrestle for a program that doesn't offer athletic scholarships when they can get scholarships elsewhere? I don't get it. Maybe if the kids come from rich families they can send their kids to an IVY, but how many rich kids are good wrestlers? I know it's possible because Cornell has a great team and they are an IVY, but I just don't get why good wrestlers won't just accept a scholly elsewhere. 

[Le duke]

A question: how does a coach get guys to come wrestle for a program that doesn't offer athletic scholarships when they can get scholarships elsewhere? I don't get it. Maybe if the kids come from rich families they can send their kids to an IVY, but how many rich kids are good wrestlers? I know it's possible because Cornell has a great team and they are an IVY, but I just don't get why good wrestlers won't just accept a scholly elsewhere. 

1) Most Ivy schools have amazing student aid.

2) The knowledge that they’ll likely make a lot more money on the back end.


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[NM1965]

Just now, Le duke said:

1) Most Ivy schools have amazing student aid.

2) The knowledge that they’ll likely make a lot more money on the back end.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It must be some pretty amazing aid. Granted, the degree would be very shiny from an IVY. 

I remember a kid from Harvard winning a title about 15 years or so ago. When he was interviewed afterward he was yoked that he'd gotten an IVY education more than an NCAA wrestling title. 

[Gus]

2 hours ago, Elevator said:

I've never heard a bad word about him and think he has been much appreciated - do not think this is any knock on him.

I agree. It’s just very rare for a non-AA wrestler to take over as head coach for a solid program. 

[TampaRyley]

1 hour ago, lisa morales said:

Penn is dangerous and crime heavy, i.e. necessitating bars on dorm windows. 

Penn is crime heavy? Are you referring to Philly in general? Penn and Drexel are both in the University City district that has it's own security force that spend probably over half their time helping drunk undergrads get home safely. I had family that went there and it never felt dangerous whatsoever, even given the dumb shenanigans' we got up to on some late weekend nights.

 

NCAA's there last time was a blast and am looking forward to them again in Philly next year. Also look forward to seeing what Valenti can do taking over. A lot of great potential comes through that room.

[Antitroll2828]

1 hour ago, NM1965 said:

It must be some pretty amazing aid. Granted, the degree would be very shiny from an IVY. 

I remember a kid from Harvard winning a title about 15 years or so ago. When he was interviewed afterward he was yoked that he'd gotten an IVY education more than an NCAA wrestling title. 

Ivys offer pretty much full financial aid to anyone whose family falls below a certain income threshold .. if your family makes less than 85,000 a yr then Harvard aid covers everything 

Cornell is 60,000 and under 

Princeton is 100,000 - 63 percent of the student body apparently falls into this category 

[Antitroll2828]

13 minutes ago, TampaRyley said:

Penn is crime heavy? Are you referring to Philly in general? Penn and Drexel are both in the University City district that has it's own security force that spend probably over half their time helping drunk undergrads get home safely. I had family that went there and it never felt dangerous whatsoever, even given the dumb shenanigans' we got up to on some late weekend nights.

 

NCAA's there last time was a blast and am looking forward to them again in Philly next year. Also look forward to seeing what Valenti can do taking over. A lot of great potential comes through that room.

Philly has gotten substantially worse since 2011 and the surrounding areas have been hit with a crime wave since 2020 and it keeps pushing out further out ,me and the mrs used to go to Philly every fall for years until 2021 then it wasn’t worth it . I plan on going to ncaas next year but intend on staying NJ and just driving to the arena everyday , and I say that as someone who grew up and worked in shitty areas my whole life and has a CC permit in PA. The ncaa being so close for the first time since 2016 is literally the only thing that could get me to go to Philly nowadays 

[TampaRyley]

4 minutes ago, Antitroll2828 said:

Philly has gotten substantially worse since 2011 and the surrounding areas have been hit with a crime wave since 2020 and it keeps pushing out further out ,me and the mrs used to go to Philly every fall for years until 2021 then it wasn’t worth it . I plan on going to ncaas next year but intend on staying NJ and just driving to the arena everyday , and I say that as someone who grew up and worked in shitty areas my whole life and has a CC permit in PA. The ncaa being so close for the first time since 2016 is literally the only thing that could get me to go to Philly nowadays 

Duly noted and unfortunate to hear.  

[NM1965]

2 hours ago, lisa morales said:

Penn is dangerous and crime heavy, i.e. necessitating bars on dorm windows. 

That's why they have such tough wrestlers, the bad wrestlers are all killed by muggers and burglars. 

[BuckyBadger]

16 hours ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

Once again they look to replace the current head coach with a former coach that has taken a significant amount of time from coaching and coincidentally works in the same department on campus. 

If I was Pearsall, I'd be pretty upset. Considering the same move bookends his time there it shouldn't be that surprising. 

That they tried making a change by bringing in an outsider and did not like the result. I guess it was just a matter of time before Matt was brought back. Who else could they trust to run the program? 

Keeps the donors happy. 

It is pretty odd that Pearsall was the associate head coach and Valenti hasn’t even been on the wrestling staff.

i don’t remember the details, but what was the similar situation that happened with Tirrapelle? I know he became head coach when Reina stepped down, but then I think he was pushed out so Reina could come back?

[MinnesotaMustang]

I think he will do fine at UPenn, but it is incredibly strange to me that someone could go from not coaching (but working in athletic department) to the Head Coach. 

[Elevator]

13 hours ago, lisa morales said:

Penn is located in a Democrat war zone city.  Very difficult to recruit anyone willing to put up with the criminal element surrounding their campus.

Just under 60,000 applicants for an incoming class of 2,420 - acceptance rate of 5.8%.  Home addresses from 97 nations and 48 states. 

https://www.thedp.com/article/2024/03/penn-regular-decision-results-class-of-2028

But by all means do your own research as to how hard its been to get students interested in Penn!

[Voice of the Quakers]

3 hours ago, BuckyBadger said:

It is pretty odd that Pearsall was the associate head coach and Valenti hasn’t even been on the wrestling staff.

i don’t remember the details, but what was the similar situation that happened with Tirrapelle? I know he became head coach when Reina stepped down, but then I think he was pushed out so Reina could come back?

Penn coaching timeline:

- Reina steps down first time, Penn hires Zeke Jones as HC from WVU.

- Zeke leaves in the middle of his 2nd season for Colorado Springs, Penn promotes Rob Eiter to head coach.

- Rob - great guy, love him - doesn’t work out. Penn hired younger Tirapelle.

- Younger Tirapelle REALLY doesn’t work out. Reina returns from athletic administration to right the ship.

- And now, Valenti steps down from athletic administration to step in for Reina.

i have a lot of thoughts about what’s going on at Penn, but for now I will just say I believe Matt is going to be a very good head coach for Penn.

Edited April 5 by Voice of the Quakers

[Antitroll2828]

20 hours ago, wrestle87 said:

That's awesome, he comes from deep and early jersey wrestling royalty roots.  I'm not sure if Kittattiny is as good as they were when he was there, but I believe that makes Matt the 3rd wrestler coming out of the Edge to be an Ivy league coach now, the other two being Tanelli and Grey.  

Matt has the background and toolset to really push the level of Penn's program.  

 Kittatinny is still competing every year for group titles ,Valenti high school coach Gill is still there in his 40 or 50 something year but they don’t have the top level talent they used too, maybe they have a placer every other year or so, no state champs since Valenti brother in 08 and he’s also the last D1 AA from Kitt , He AAed for Virginia in 11 or 12

[Elevator]

14 hours ago, NM1965 said:

A question: how does a coach get guys to come wrestle for a program that doesn't offer athletic scholarships when they can get scholarships elsewhere? I don't get it. Maybe if the kids come from rich families they can send their kids to an IVY, but how many rich kids are good wrestlers? I know it's possible because Cornell has a great team and they are an IVY, but I just don't get why good wrestlers won't just accept a scholly elsewhere. 

Many wrestlers who can get athletic aid (often fractional portion of 9.9 NCAA scholarship limit spread across a roster of 25+ and many programs not fully funded w/ 9.9) at other schools may get more and lower net cost from grants and overall financial aid award.  Admissions might be as big of a hurdle as economics than the lack of straight athletic aid for recruiting top wrestlers to elite universities. 

Of course, NIL $ can make quite a difference - but I have not seen any data on how much has been paid. 

The summer jobs, mentoring, and employment opportunities from elite schools also are part of the overall economic equation were there is an edge - and it can be a big edge.   It is a well worn path from Ivy athletics to high paying jobs in NY & Northeast - maybe some to California too.    

Edited April 5 by Elevator

[ThreePointTakedown]

17 hours ago, Gus said:

Does Pearsall have the credentials to take over this type of program? I know they are not a top tier program, but they are very solid. I think Valenti is a significantly higher profile hire than Pearsall would have been. 

I would think offering him the AHC position should indicate their level of trust with the keys to the car if the HC were unavailable for one reason or another. Seems more like lip service at this point. Also, not unexpected considering the recent history of the program. 

Kind of like, I imagine, how Matt felt when he was passed over for HC job the last time.  Knowing how he felt, not staying on the staff for long should tell you a bit about his feelings, I can't imagine Pearsall is kept around. If he stays, I would be shocked. Stranger things have happened.  

[ThreePointTakedown]

5 hours ago, BuckyBadger said:

It is pretty odd that Pearsall was the associate head coach and Valenti hasn’t even been on the wrestling staff.

i don’t remember the details, but what was the similar situation that happened with Tirrapelle? I know he became head coach when Reina stepped down, but then I think he was pushed out so Reina could come back?

It was Eiter, but ya. 

[lisa morales]

Look for Mark Hall to move on.

[ThreePointTakedown]

1 hour ago, Voice of the Quakers said:

Penn coaching timeline:

- Reina steps down first time, Penn hires Zeke Jones as HC from WVU.

- Zeke leaves in the middle of his 2nd season for Colorado Springs, Penn promotes Rob Eiter to head coach.

- Rob - great guy, love him - doesn’t work out. Penn hired younger Tirapelle.

- Younger Tirapelle REALLY doesn’t work out. Reina returns from athletic administration to right the ship.

- And now, Valenti steps down from athletic administration to step in for Reina.

i have a lot of thoughts about what’s going on at Penn, but for now I will just say I believe Matt is going to be a very good head coach for Penn.

Would love to see your thoughts. 

I've been a Tirapelle fan since his brother was at Stanford and love to see such a solid family as ambassadors of the sport. Considering sheer number and quality of athletes each HS, they coach at now, has put out in the last 20 years, they are not enemies I would want to make. I felt that what happened to Alex at Penn was shady. Maybe he was sold an unrealistic expectations or maybe ambition got the better of a first time HC. But something doesn't make sense the way things played out. Or they do, in that a big donor got cold feet a new AD panicked and did the easier thing.  

A thing that, by the numbers did not pan out. Now they are trying the same plan hoping for the same but different result. Satiate worried donors and pray an old name can spark an uptick in results. 

Fast forward 7-8 years, do they try it again? Who is left in the barrel to scrape up? Or does Brandon finally get a chance to take over, he's been out of college wrestling long enough to qualify.  

Who would apply for that position, knowing how they've treated every outside hire in the last 20 years? (a question to be asked in 2032ish)

[Voice of the Quakers]

17 minutes ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

Would love to see your thoughts. 

I've been a Tirapelle fan since his brother was at Stanford and love to see such a solid family as ambassadors of the sport. Considering sheer number and quality of athletes each HS, they coach at now, has put out in the last 20 years, they are not enemies I would want to make. I felt that what happened to Alex at Penn was shady. Maybe he was sold an unrealistic expectations or maybe ambition got the better of a first time HC. But something doesn't make sense the way things played out. Or they do, in that a big donor got cold feet a new AD panicked and did the easier thing.  

A thing that, by the numbers did not pan out. Now they are trying the same plan hoping for the same but different result. Satiate worried donors and pray an old name can spark an uptick in results. 

Fast forward 7-8 years, do they try it again? Who is left in the barrel to scrape up? Or does Brandon finally get a chance to take over, he's been out of college wrestling long enough to qualify.  

Who would apply for that position, knowing how they've treated every outside hire in the last 20 years? (a question to be asked in 2032ish)

I do not want to trash Alex or the Tirapelles. I thought the hire was a good one at the time - Alex was a high academic achiever himself, had coaching experience at Stanford, and there was the possibility of opening up recruiting channels in CA.

By any and every metric, Penn’s performance on the mat under Alex was poor. Team morale was terrible. And, I don’t think Alex ever embraced the ecosystem at Penn (BTS to PRTC).

Regarding the alumni, the large and small donors (I am a longtime, but small, donor.) largely speak with one voice. There was no panic regarding Alex - everybody knew things were not working and a change had to be made. Recruiting and results improved immediately upon Roger’s return. We may not be where we quite want to be - Penn had Top 10 results at NCAAs in Roger’s first stint, and Cornell has since raised the bar for Ivy League wrestling expectations- but we hope for continued improvement under Matt. 

 

[Tigerfan]

15 hours ago, NM1965 said:

A question: how does a coach get guys to come wrestle for a program that doesn't offer athletic scholarships when they can get scholarships elsewhere? I don't get it. Maybe if the kids come from rich families they can send their kids to an IVY, but how many rich kids are good wrestlers? I know it's possible because Cornell has a great team and they are an IVY, but I just don't get why good wrestlers won't just accept a scholly elsewhere. 

From what I understand, coaches at non-ivy schools tend to recruit top guys who are also top students, and then grease the non-athletic scholarship decision makers so that most, if not all, expenses get covered with as little money from the 9.9 as possible. It is exceedingly rare for a recruit to get over 60% from the purely athletic scholly side. So I imagine ivy schools get most kids academic aid that would equal or even exceed anything anyone else is willing to give them athletically. The end result is if you’re a blue chipper, you’re getting a full ride (or close) no matter what school you choose. 

[ThreePointTakedown]

38 minutes ago, Voice of the Quakers said:

I do not want to trash Alex or the Tirapelles. I thought the hire was a good one at the time - Alex was a high academic achiever himself, had coaching experience at Stanford, and there was the possibility of opening up recruiting channels in CA.

By any and every metric, Penn’s performance on the mat under Alex was poor. Team morale was terrible. And, I don’t think Alex ever embraced the ecosystem at Penn (BTS to PRTC).

Regarding the alumni, the large and small donors (I am a longtime, but small, donor.) largely speak with one voice. There was no panic regarding Alex - everybody knew things were not working and a change had to be made. Recruiting and results improved immediately upon Roger’s return. We may not be where we quite want to be - Penn had Top 10 results at NCAAs in Roger’s first stint, and Cornell has since raised the bar for Ivy League wrestling expectations- but we hope for continued improvement under Matt. 

 

Fair points. 

What was the time line of the RTC and the Tirapelle's hiring? I could've sworn it was around the same time for both. 

Tough situation to be brought into. Learning everything about a new program and balance the exec, athletes, and supporting donors of a new RTC. 

As much calming insight as you've offered I'll bet there is more to it. Bringing a former HC back after 12 years out of the sport(was he a volunteer for a year? 11 years) is ludicrous on its face. There were obvious concessions that RR was given to right the ship that were not offered to Tirapelle and its laughable that anyone will try to explain it away as 'not panicked'. Huge recruiting classes were brought in the next few years. I wonder if there were Title IX implications for the department? If not, how could those changes in roster size be accounted for? Were extra Warton opportunities offered to potential recruits? Those spots are coveted by every team in the department. Were there backroom deals done to shift those around for a time a la Varsity Blues that broke at a similar time? Someone with knowledge of the system and the right relationships would be a great person to get things moving in the right direction. 

How did the conversation start, to get Matt on board with coming back after nearly 10 years? Similar circumstances or different?