Mercyhurst Going D1

[Winners Circle]

https://www.mercyhurst.edu/news/mercyhurst-university-marks-new-era-athletics-move-division-I

LFG!!!

[Idaho]

Nice.... I love this... but with hesitiation....do they end up like a lot of others that go D1 then get axed or sent back to middle school? 

[TexRef]

5 minutes ago, Idaho said:

Nice.... I love this... but with hesitiation....do they end up like a lot of others that go D1 then get axed or sent back to middle school? 

It doesn't look like they have a conference for wrestling...sad. 

[Idaho]

Do they have to transition for a couple years? 

[Kerouac]

2 minutes ago, Idaho said:

Do they have to transition for a couple years? 

Yes. Believe a situation that Bellarmine is just now coming out of into the SoCon.

[Winners Circle]

1 hour ago, Idaho said:

Nice.... I love this... but with hesitiation....do they end up like a lot of others that go D1 then get axed or sent back to middle school? 

I think we're all holding our breath on this aspect of it.

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

Very small school, being in PA I’m hopeful they will stick around with all the talent and competition to be had in state. 
 

I will be happy for the news, rather than pessimistic for their future. 

[wrestle87]

Sweeet, more the merrier, let's keep it going. 

[macwoodfleet]

I know for a fact that Mercyhurst funded their scholarships for other olympic sports at a pretty high rate.

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

1 hour ago, macwoodfleet said:

I know for a fact that Mercyhurst funded their scholarships for other olympic sports at a pretty high rate.

What does this mean? 

[Winners Circle]

1 hour ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said:

What does this mean? 

On the surface it means they 'care' about the olympic sports, at least enough to be aggressive about making sure they have scholarships.

[TNwrestling]

6 hours ago, Idaho said:

Nice.... I love this... but with hesitiation....do they end up like a lot of others that go D1 then get axed or sent back to middle school? 

Hopefully, with them being in PA, they're able to recruit better than other schools who've made this jump then got dumped not long after. 

[Dakota]

They can be really good, I wish them the best. Sucks they have to wait 4 years to get in the tournament. Great news for PA wrestling!

[Idaho]

16 hours ago, TNwrestling said:

Hopefully, with them being in PA, they're able to recruit better than other schools who've made this jump then got dumped not long after. 

I agree.... there are plenty of good kids in the East that could improve the roster. 

[Tom formerly Tofurky]

I hope it works for them. Mike Wehler seems like a really good dude.

However, with them being a Catholic University, what is the cost for a school to move from Division II to Division I?

Mercyhurst has an enrollment of somewhere between 2,500 to 4,500 (the data isn't clear), and with an all-in cost of just south of $60,000 a year (this year), and an endowment of around $40 million, they may have to look at "trimming the fat."

[ThreePointTakedown]

Aren't they a D3 school? Do they offer scholarships at all? If not, would if, that, or how they fund scholarships even make sense? 

[Jason Bryant]

Aren't they a D3 school? Do they offer scholarships at all? If not, would if, that, or how they fund scholarships even make sense? 

The school’s athletics department is going from D2 to D1. Yes, they have been offering scholarships.

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

13 hours ago, Tom formerly Tofurky said:

I hope it works for them. Mike Wehler seems like a really good dude.

However, with them being a Catholic University, what is the cost for a school to move from Division II to Division I?

Mercyhurst has an enrollment of somewhere between 2,500 to 4,500 (the data isn't clear), and with an all-in cost of just south of $60,000 a year (this year), and an endowment of around $40 million, they may have to look at "trimming the fat."

I’m biased, but they can remove 2 men rowing teams, a women’s rowing team, men+ women’s water polo, and women’s bowling before they start to look at wrestling.

 

 

[Greenwave]

Will they be looking to bring in a D1 coach

[Winners Circle]

1 hour ago, Greenwave said:

Will they be looking to bring in a D1 coach

Not sure. But seems like the coach they have is doing a pretty good job. They finished 4th at D2s and had a Natty Champ. 

[1032004]

On 4/4/2024 at 12:24 PM, TexRef said:

It doesn't look like they have a conference for wrestling...sad. 

EIWA with the Ivies leaving?

[Winners Circle]

5 minutes ago, 1032004 said:

EIWA with the Ivies leaving?

Either that or MAC you'd have to assume.

[ThreePointTakedown]

6 hours ago, Jason Bryant said:

The school’s athletics department is going from D2 to D1. Yes, they have been offering scholarships.

Gotcha. 

[Tom formerly Tofurky]

3 hours ago, Greenwave said:

Will they be looking to bring in a D1 coach

Mike wrestled for Lock Haven back in the day. He's a well respected guy in the sport and is able to coach student-athletes beyond D2.

[Tom formerly Tofurky]

2 hours ago, Winners Circle said:

Not sure. But seems like the coach they have is doing a pretty good job. They finished 4th at D2s and had a Natty Champ. 

https://hurstathletics.com/sports/wrestling/roster/coaches/mike-wehler/2762