InterMat Staff

Related: Teague Moore Interview American University will host the 47th annual All-Star Classic on Nov. 3, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. The classic will be held in Bender Arena on the campus of American University in Washington D.C. Bender Arena"It is the greatest wrestling that's going to happen in college this November," said American University head coach Teague Moore in an interview with Takedown Radio. The event will feature 20 of the nation's top division one wrestlers, participants will be selected here in the upcoming weeks and each wrestler will be announced as they commit. "Fans can expect to see high paced, action packed wrestling matches that many times have been the precursor to the year-end NCAA finals bouts," said Moore. The All-Star Classic will be the largest wrestling event in history to be held in Washington D.C. National Wrestling Coaches Association Executive Director Mike Moyer hopes that the magnitude of the event in combination with Washington D.C. having one of the strongest wrestling spectator bases in America will cause the event to have great success. "Sports fans and the wrestling public will have to recognize the current rise of this region's success," said Moore. "This event will change the perspective of wrestling for the DC area." The NWCA selected American University, a historically successful wrestling program, as the location for the event due to its partnership with the Greater Washington Wrestlers in Business Network. The solid corporate support that existed within the relationship made American University a solid choice, said Moyer. American University looks to use the attention their school will receive to show to the public and their student body the success that their wrestling program embodies. "My hopes are that the student body will see the excitement that wrestling can bring to sports fans," said Moore. "They will recognize the wrestling community's commitment to the sport when so many out of town sports fans arrive on our campus. This will continue to bolster our reputation as a nationally prominent program in the sport of wrestling." American University hopes to continue their recent success in this event. In both 2010 and 2011 recent graduate Ryan Flores won the 285 pound heavyweight weight class. Tickets will be on sale later in September. Tickets will be $25 for reserve seating, $15 for general admission and $10 for group purchases of 20 tickets or more. For additional information on this year's event visit the NWCA website at http://www.nwcaonline.com/NWCAWebSite/Events/nwcaallstarclassic.aspx. More information on the All-Star Classic will also be released as the event gets closer. NWCA was founded in 1928. The NWCA strives to promote and provide leadership for the advancement of amateur wrestling, primarily at the scholastic and collegiate levels.

On Saturday, 39 of 77 Division I head wrestling coaches voted in favor of a proposal to have the NCAA team championship decided by a 16-team dual meet event. Since the majority voted in favor of the proposal, it will now be reviewed by the NCAA Championships Cabinet during a three-day meeting that gets underway on Monday. If the proposal passes, it could go into effect during the 2013-14 season. NWCA president and Cornell head wrestling coach Rob Koll sent a letter on behalf of the NWCA Board of Directors to the Division I head wrestling coaches with the results of the vote and what needs to happen for the proposal to pass and go into effect. To: DI Wrestling Coaches Fr: NWCA President Rob Koll on behalf of NWCA Board of Directors Re: Vote on National Duals Proposal On behalf of the NWCA Board of Directors, I want to thank everyone for sharing your thoughts and concerns regarding the National Duals proposal over the past 4 weeks or so. All 77 DI head wrestling coaches did vote and the results are as follows: 39 in favor of moving forward with the National Duals proposal 36 opposed 2 abstained Please know we have listened closely to all concerns and they have been communicated to the NCAA Wrestling Committee (the committee that will shepherd the National Duals proposal to NCAA Championships Cabinet for review on September 11). In light of the recent DI coaches affirmative vote, we are going to maintain the NWCA's endorsement of the proposal but we will be sure to communicate the recurring concerns that many of you have expressed so they can be considered by the Championship Cabinet. This National Duals proposal still has a long way to go before anything is finalized. It will championed by the NCAA Wrestling Committee and NCAA staff members from this point going forward and will be thoroughly reviewed and discussed by conference commissioners, athletic administrators, NCAA staff members, and ultimately a group of Presidents. This vetting process takes time and I believe whatever the outcome might be, it is clear that many more coaches now understand the importance of being much more involved with the NWCA initiatives, our Board of Directors, and our committee infrastructure. In fact, I will do everything possible to facilitate an initial meeting with all DI coaches in Chicago (October 23/24 assuming that works with everyone's schedule) so we can begin talking about wrestling challenges, committee assignments, and so forth. In summary, our sport has many challenges in front of it. Now, more than ever, we need to be united and committed to rolling up our sleeves to develop viable solutions to our sport's greatest threats. I will communicate back to everyone with an update of what happens at the Championship Cabinet meeting next week.

Don't blink. After looking like it'd been killed by the NWCA, the proposal for the NCAA Dual Championships has been revived. NWCA executive director Mike Moyer told me Thursday night that the proposal was being shelved in favor of more discussion. Less than 24 hours later, Cornell head wrestling coach and NWCA president Rob Koll sent a letter to all 77 NCAA Division I head wrestling coaches asking them to vote on a revised proposal up or down by Saturday at noon ET. In addition to some general clarifications, the NWCA is offering to pay for the first $10k in travel expenses for first round teams forced to travel. Those monies would help defray some of the cost that could burden programs with limited funding. The NWCA also addresses future expansion and how team scores will be kept at the NCAA tournament. The Penn State staff has already voiced their opposition to these changes, calling it the "same proposal with a little bit of smoke." Should the majority of Division I coaches approve the plan (39 of 77) then the proposal will go forward to the NCAA Wrestling Committee for final approval. From there it will be handed to the NCAA Championships cabinet for review and a vote to be included as soon as the 2013-2014 season. Read the entire proposal for clarification on how this proposal will vary from the one brought forward in August. To: DI Wrestling Coaches Fr: President Rob Koll & DI NWCA Board Members Re: Update on Status of DI National Duals initiative We wanted to bring you up to speed on the status of the DI National Dual Meet Championship that was discussed at the 2012 NWCA Board meeting in Ft. Lauderdale. As our 2012 Board minutes reflect, the 8 DI board representatives (Rob Koll, Brian Smith, Mark Cody, Mike Rogers, Chris Ayers, Jim Zalesky, Tom Ryan, and Steve Garland) unanimously supported moving forward with the concept of an NCAA National Dual Meet Championship. The following day, we presented the concept to all DI coaches who were in attendance at the Convention and after a very spirited debate, there was widespread consensus for moving forward (many coaches did have concerns but nevertheless supported it). Since then, there have been numerous emails floating around from coaches who were both in favor and opposed to the concept. On Thursday, September 6, Mike Moyer and myself, in consultation with other DI Board members, disseminated an email to the 77 DI wrestling coaches suggesting that the NWCA should forward a memo to the NCAA Wrestling Committee suggesting that we “table” this initiative for another year just so we can have more time to educate coaches. Our primary concern is that we've come such a long way in galvanizing our coaching community over the past few years and we feared the very emotional responses stood to splinter our DI membership base. We indicated (to the NCAA Wrestling Committee) we would be forwarding a letter requesting that the NCAA Championship Cabinet table this proposal for another year. We then received a request from the Chair of the NCAA Wrestling Committee, Dave Martin to have a conference call on the morning of Friday, September 7 with the Division I members of our board before submitting our letter. This morning, the Division I NWCA Board Members (Tom Ryan and Jim Zalesky were not on the call) had a call with the chair of the NCAA Wrestling Committee, Dave Martin and Associate Director of Championships, Jeff Jarnecke to discuss new details regarding the National Duals proposal and ramifications for asking to table this decision. During this conversation we were able to address many of our constituents concerns regarding the current National Duals format and the ramifications of withdrawing our support. As a result of this dialog, we were able to find solutions to many of the major issues brought forth by our members. I believe the NCAA and the NWCA have set forth a strong blueprint for future growth for the National Duals while at the same time protecting the integrity of our individual national championship. The following is a list of changes and issues that were agreed upon during the call. The current 16 team model is the initial plan. Just like all other NCAA tournaments we hope to grow the tournament with an intermediate five year goal of adding 8 more teams. Should any of the 8 traveling teams in the first round need financial assistance, the NWCA will cover up to $10,000 of travel expenses covered (by the NWCA). The NWCA is permitted to promote the Individual tournament team score. This includes team trophy's, announcing the score at the venue. Furthermore the NCAA committee representative went so far to say that the NCAA would even be willing to generate the team score for us. It is the NCAA Wrestling Committees opinion that tabling this proposal will in all likelihood kill this legislation for the foreseeable future. The NCAA would continue to support the individual NCAA Championships (recognizing All Americans, per diems, etc……. Just not recognizing a team champion). Following this call, all Division I NWCA Board Members supported a strategy of conducting a formal vote later tonight among all 77 coaches to accurately access their support or opposition to this proposal knowing the expanded details as outlined above. I do not expect these amendments to placate everyone's fears but I do believe the vast majority of coaches voices have been represented through by the addition of this legislation. All that said, we need all 77 DI head coaches to cast your vote (the survey will be disseminated around 8pm est. tonight). We need this completed by noon (est) on Saturday, September 8. If the majority of the DI coaches respond favorably to this, we will proceed with our support of the NCAA Wrestling Committee (when they present this to the Championship Cabinet next week). If not, we will pull our support for the initiative and it will likely not be brought up in the foreseeable future.

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account. Do you want to read a past mailbag? View archives. What a week for wrestling fans. After announcing in early August that they'll be pursuing a dual meet team champion within the structure of the NCAA, the NWCA saw a full-scale rebellion the last few days. Leading the charge has been Penn State head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson, who has been nothing short of enraged since first learning of the idea while coaching Jake Varner to an Olympic gold in London. The debacle has seemed to end with the NWCA pulling support for the change by sending the NCAA wrestling committee a memo asking them to withdraw the proposal, which they will likely do. However, the event has left some scarred and some motivated for change. Emails circulating among the coaches remain pretty positive about what transpired this past week. Like a bad fight between lovers, this coaches throw-down might be just the venting process they needed to kiss, makeup, and start growing the sport. You asked more detailed questions about the process and I answered, but I'm holding off on a full rundown until after the committee meeting, which takes place early next week. Mailbag time! Today's Forecast: Cloudy with a chance of wrestling. Q: When you were wrestling, was there animosity on your team about scholarship guys not pulling their weight? Did anyone ever talk trash in the room "you're on scholarship and I am kicking your ass?" Does the scholarship scenario between individuals on teams cause dissension at all? Is it talked about? How were scholarships broken up when you were in college? -- Wild Bill Foley: I don't think it was ever screamed, but there was certainly some tension among peers regarding perceived worth as measured against output. The scholarship guys at U.Va. were rarely underperforming the team average, but on occasion teammates on substantial aid were unable to produce big results, while their lesser-paid backups were winning significant matches. Foley in collegeAs a walk on I was put in this position against one of the program's big-time recruits. I earned the spot in my sophomore season, but as late as February I was held out of a major dual meet because the coach thought it was entirely possible my wins were flukish.. Frustration certainly builds for walk-ons, but take it from the coach's perspective. He's placed ten percent of his program in an 18-year-old kid's hands. When that investment is floundering he's warranted to be hesitant in shelving the scholarship kid in favor of a backup -- it's a risk of ruining his investment. It can be clear cut that the backup is better, but most of the time due to injury and the length of the season it takes a while for one wrestler to outdo the other, and if you have an investment in one corner and a walk-on in the other, it could be seen as better business to throw good time and energy at bad money. When I wrestled at Virginia we were a partially-funded program. Then the university went through a manic six months where they tried to cut our program, but instead chose to fully fund us and everyone else. That cash helped level the money game on the team and coach was able to accommodate the producers on the team who were probably being under-compensated for their performances. Q: If the dual match format becomes the official NCAA championship event, could you see college coaches lifting wrestlers redshirts to give themselves more flexibility in duals? -- Eugene L. Foley: The discussion of the new format generated plenty of what-ifs in regards to a coach's plan for redshirts. Like with much of the proposal there are way more questions than answers. In football you can dress a redshirt and pay for him to show up on the sidelines. (They're the chubby kids wearing the No. 99 jersey and chewing on unmolded mouthpieces.) If the football player never gets his pants dirty, then he maintains his eligibility, if he's called in to do even one play then it's a goner. ("Coach, you have 105 guys on the roster and you need me to go in on punt return?") You might be able to do this in wrestling, especially for duals, but I know that you can't pay for redshirts to travel to tourneys, and because I coached in the Ivies and can't remember college, I can't tell you for certain. Maybe there's a preexisting prohibition? Assuming there is a rule against paying for redshirts to travel on duals, then I'd think the home team in the first round would have the advantage of pulling redshirts off the bench. But which redshirts would hold their weight down, and keep cutting in the very slim chance they get pulled from the stands to save the team? You'd have to weigh in an hour before. Like I said, plenty of what-if's. Probably too many. Q: I personally don't think the dual meet champ and then tourney champ is a good idea. I think more could be done to promote the existing NCAA tournament ... and smartly promote the existing various conferences (Big Ten, etc.) in conjunction with that. But if you have to do it, then do top three from each conference. That creates your tournament bracket. I think the key is more focus on the NCAA tournament. Promote it better. Have MMA stars attend to watch the finals ... good hype. Have unique exhibition matches. Bring a Russian or two over. Have them wrestle folkstyle against graduated All Americans (not competitors for existing year) ...now THAT would be something. -- Mr. Juice ... Q: I'm still having a hard time trying to comprehend what the NWCA is trying to fix! The individual tournament is a one-hundred percent success! Why is the NWCA trying to screw with it? Dual meet tourneys at the high school level are not well attended. Why would college be any different? The only college duals that are well attended are when there are great (and several) head-to-head matchups (same with high school). Fans of the eighth-seeded team will not travel to watch their boys get hammered by the No. 1 seed. On another note, I was involved with college coaching for seven seasons (Division II) and the NWCA is not very popular with my friends that are still sitting in the corner chairs. It is felt that the NWCA forgot the fact that they are an association for coaches and now is a group of fellas in Manheim that is in bed with the NCAA and likes to dictate to the coaches. I feel it is time for Moyer to go! -- Jeff B. Foley: I let these two questions run together because they are essentially coming from the same angle of 'Why change a good thing?' Wrestling needs money and we are dying a slow death. That realty should prompt change, but what change is still unclear. I suspect we'll see a revamped regional duals system brought forward next year with more data and more answers to difficult questions. Brian Smith and Mike Moyer (Photo/NWCA)Look, I blame the coaches for this foul-up, not Mike Moyer. He is just the representative and was doing what his membership and committees told him they wanted. Did all of them really want it? No, of course not, but they had a chance to be at the table and denied that chance. It reminds me of "The Other Guys" when the lowly cop keeps asking everyone to vote on the new hedge fund strategy for the police pension, and everyone ignores him only to later find out it's going into a Ponzi scheme. The NCAA isn't running a Ponzi scheme and the NWCA was only doing what they were charged to do, so it was a bit troubling to see that some coaches, Cael included, were so vehemently against the proposal at such a later date. He might have had great points, but they needed to be expressed much earlier. Let's see where this goes in the future. I think the NWCA is about to find that they'll have a much more active membership base. Q: I know the sun is just coming up, but what would it take for Penn State to be known as the greatest wrestling program of all time? -- Rick Foley: Penn State will need to win 10 straight NCAA title to outdo the Hawkeyes. They'll then need to win another 15 in streaks of five, six, or seven. Do you think that's doable over the next 30 years? Q: How big are clouds? -- My 6-year-old nephew Foley: The single greatest failure I have shown as a human is the inability to actualize the real size of cloud. To be specific I'm talking about large towering puffy clouds (you might just call them cumulus or cumulus congestus. I just can't find the right way to scope out one of these clouds without one of my senses being severely distorted. From the ground most clouds look MASSIVE, they block my tanning neighbor's source of light for hours at a clip. When clouds lumber by and from a distance look like they might be the size of mall in Gaithersburg, Md., but that all changes once you are on a plane IN THE SKY. Once I'm jetting by at 450 mph enjoying an oversized single serving bottle of cabernet I always think the clouds look like nothing more than a few hundred feet of marshmallow fluff. My wish is that one day a single cumulus (or cumulus nimbus) cloud will descend slowly from a distant mountain range and past the practice fields for the Steelers to measure in 100 yard increments. I could then understand -- I mean KNOW -- just how big they are. Outside of that, and the easy-does-it Google search, I'll never find true understanding. Never. Well, maybe. And yes, I realize that had nothing to do with wrestling. Q: I tuned in to the Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech football game just in time to hear one of the announcers make the assertion that he'd like to see the game played without pads. After a few inquiries to friends who actually follow the game, I learned that the announcer who made said comment was an NFL superstar before becoming an announcer. Is it possible that this guy gets it? What a compelling statement, especially given the recent hullabaloo over concussions in football. Is football finally getting the long, hard look from the outside that it has needed for so long? -- Joe S. Foley: I was reading a Facebook post at the Safari Coffee shop in Chicago when suddenly the fallacy of football became clear. The moment was sudden, like I knew a truth that few others had grasped. It was like the ray of divinity Jake and Elwood felt in Blues Brothers "THE BAND!" "DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT?!" I can and will write about the bullshit of football every week. The game as it's played now is unsustainable and leads to marked effects of the health of youth players and adults. When it comes to forward passes, tackling (wrestling at a run) and strategy, I'm totally sold. When it comes to watching 350-pound men blindsiding defensive backs on punt returns, I think it's disgusting. It's a game of meaningless brutality and staid, nasty old men profiteering on the labor of a poorly represented working class. There are literally books worth of serious incriminations to be leveled against organized football and I can't cover them all. Played without pads, football would return to some normalcy (and yes I know that players used to die in those massive 15-person scrums). The normal behavior I seek is one where there is self-preservation trumping the desires of coaches and fans to see a player rattle another's cage, or as my defensive back's coach in high school said, "Knock off his little man." Rugby has beautiful tackling. Sure, the guys get some concussions, but they are dealing solely with their own natural movements, and because technique matters the pace is slowed and becomes safe. I'm not a fool. Americans are paying for the car crashes, the moments where the retired buffoons who sit in pinstriped suits on Sundays from the comfort of the studio can yelp and holler about big hits. We don't watch NASCAR in celebration of their accomplishing a ding-free 500 miles. It's the drama of the impact. Americans want simple brutality and football and the NFL packages it better than anyone, including the turncoats in the booth who know the dangers firsthand. I'm going to stop writing about this to leave you with a must-read by J.R. Moehringer from last week's ESPN the Magazine. I was first introduced to Moehringer by a professor in J-School who rightly thought I'd love his memoir "The Tender Bar." I was taken with his writing five years ago, and the feeling remains after he expertly outlines football's problems in the future. Please, I beg you, don't get distracted. Don't go watch a cat video on YouTube. Give yourself 23 minutes and learn up on this debate surrounding football. Learn about where this discussion is headed. Learn about the deaths and the harm this game can cause to children. J.R. Moehringer's "Football is dead. Long live football." Q: With recent movie redux in the spy genre I pose this question for you. Who wins in a four-man round robin bracket consisting of James Bond (your choice of all Bonds, personally I'd still go with Connery), Ethan Hunt, Jason Bourne (I would allow a last-minute substitute with the new spy in that series Aaron Cross) and Carl Hauser (again, your choice with Arnold or Colin Farrell ... I'd pick Arnold). Taking into consideration all the competitors' talents using 007's spy gadgets, Hunt's gadgets and Cruise's already-established sprinting abilities, Jason Bourne's supreme training, and genetic enhancement and Arnold's roided-out brute strength (or Farrell's drunk Irish boxing skills if you go that route), I challenge you to determine the Olympic-styled gold, silver, and bronze medal winners. In the words of Mills Lane: "Let's get it on!" -- Michael S. Foley: Can you believe I haven't seen "The Dark Knight Rises" or "The Bourne Legacy?" We will revisit this next week once I spend an afternoon catching up on these movies. "No, honey, I'm not being lazy. "The Dark Knight Rises" has EVERYTHING to do with wrestling!"

Zain Retherford grew up a Penn State fan, attending Nittany Lions wrestling meets and football games since he was young. Soon the 17-year-old Pennsylvania native will go from Penn State fan to Penn State athlete after giving a verbal commitment to Nittany Lion head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson. Zain Retherford defeated Zane Richards to win a Junior National freestyle title at 132 pounds this summer in Fargo (Photo/Dave Jedlicka, jedicheetah.com)Retherford, who attends Benton High School, chose Penn State over Iowa, Oklahoma State, and Lehigh. He had already taken an official visit to Lehigh and canceled his upcoming visits to Iowa and Oklahoma State. "Penn State was close to home and I thought I could get the job done there," said Retherford, who projects as a 141-pounder in college. Cael came to my house and offered me something I couldn't refuse." Retherford is the second InterMat Top 100 recruit from the Class of 2013 Penn State has landed. Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area, Pa.), the nation's 35th-ranked senior, committed to the Nittany Lions in mid-July. After being ruled ineligible this past high school season because of his transfer to Benton, Retherford has put together one of the most dominant years ever for a high school-aged wrestler. He won the NHSCA Junior Nationals in April, FILA Cadet Nationals in June, Junior Nationals in July, and FILA Cadet World Championships in August. Pennsylvania's Zain Retherford did not lose a period in Fargo (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)"I didn't get to wrestle this last season, so I had a lot of drive," said Retherford. "I didn't have a goal during the season, so I wanted to get my goals accomplished in the summer. My main goal was to do as well as I could in Fargo, learn as much as I could in freestyle, and to just get as big and strong as I could. So there was a lot of motivation I guess you could say." Retherford begins his senior year with his sights set on winning everything in front of him. "I have been in the Super 32 three years in a row," said Retherford. "I haven't won it yet. That's a goal of mine, to win it my senior year, and also win the state tournament in March. I think Benton got into Ironman too. I want to win all these tournament and go undefeated all year. I also want to keep pursing the international style. I like it a lot."

Fight Now USA Presents Takedown Wrestling from the Brute studios in Des Moines, Iowa at 1460 KXNO. Takedown Wrestling is brought to you by Kemin Agrifoods! This Saturday it's Takedown Wrestling Radio. Join Scott Casber and Brad Johnson this Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. CT/10 a.m. to noon ET. This week's guests: 9:03 Joe McFarland, Michigan head wrestling coach 9:20 Dan Wirnsberger, Bucknell head wrestling coach 9:40 Jim Andrassy, Kent State head wrestling coach 10:03 Mark Perry, Illinois associate head wrestling coach 10:20 Mike Chapman, author, writer, wrestling historian 10:40 Kevin Dresser, Virginia Tech head wrestling coach Fans, athletes, coaches: This is your sport. Join in the conversation live. Ask questions. Call 866-333-5966 or 515-204-5966. Takedown Wrestling is available on radio on AM 1460 KXNO in Iowa, online at Livesportsvideo.com, or on your Blackberry or iPhone with the I Heart Radio App. (Click on KXNO under Sportsradio.)

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Former University of Iowa All-American Luke Lofthouse has joined the Iowa wrestling staff as interim strength and conditioning coach. The announcement was made today by UI head coach Tom Brands. A 2011 All-American, Lofthouse first joined the Iowa wrestling program in 2004. He was a letterwinner during the 2004-05 season, earning the coaches’ appreciation award while competing at 174 pounds. He then took a two-year hiatus from the program to complete a Mormon mission to Africa from 2005-07. Luke LofthouseLofthouse returned to the program and redshirted in 2007-08 before making his way back to the mat in 2008-09, when he was again named the recipient of the coaches’ appreciation award. The following season he posted a 5-3 Big Ten dual record at 197 pounds while competing for the injured Chad Beatty. In 2011, Lofthouse earned the starting spot at 197 pounds and went on to earn All-America honors by placing fifth at the 2011 NCAA Championships. That year he posted a 25-7 dual record, a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships, and was named the team’s most dedicated wrestler. “This is a great opportunity for me and my family,” said Lofthouse. “I committed to this program a long time ago, and I’m thrilled to be able to continue that commitment in this new role. I want to thank the entire coaching staff for the opportunity. Iowa has a great history of wrestlers and coaches, and to say I’ve been on both sides is pretty exciting.” A native of Avon, Utah, Lofthouse was a member of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club in 2012. He and his wife, Allison, currently reside in Coralville, Iowa. He is a 2011 graduate of the University of Iowa.

Cornell coach Rob Koll and Northwestern coach Drew Pariano were guests on this week's episode of Cheap Tilt Radio hosted by T.R. Foley and Mike Riordan. Koll and Pariano discuss the proposed change to how the NCAA team champion is crowned. Do you want to listen to a past episode? View archives.

Related Content: Pros and Cons College wrestling coaches and fans are still weeding through the calculus of what an additional championship event might mean for the sport of wrestling at the Division I level. That discussion has allowed for several key pieces of information about the sport's current financial circumstances to be released. Below is a compilation of new and previously unreleased information. The NCAA earns between $200k-$500k each season from the Division I wrestling tournament. However those earnings have been stagnant for almost a decade, with only a small uptick in profit last season due to lower-than-normal travel costs. The concern of the NCAA and NWCA is that the rising cost of travel (estimated at more than ten percent per year) will eliminate that profit within the next five years and potentially run at a deficit in seven. According to one coach Big Ten coach the current vote in the conference stands at 4-7-1 (For-Against-Undecided). Several other coaches have said they believe the nationwide numbers to be split evenly between For and Against. These numbers are difficult to validate, but they seem to be anecdotally valid, for every Cael Sanderson there's a John Smith (below). Three Division I head coaches submitted letters to the NWCA in endorsement of the proposed change. Oklahoma State head wrestling coach John Smith, Missouri head wrestling coach Brian Smith, and Cornell head wrestling coach Rob Koll sent letters to all 77 head coaches and various administrators. Below are excerpts from their letters. John Smith coaching at this year's NCAAs in St. Louis (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)John Smith (Oklahoma State) on what Oklahoma State is risking in a dual meet championship format: "Oklahoma State wrestling is risking a lot considering the success we have had under the current format. But, after weighing the positives and the negatives, I have concluded that the creation of the National Dual Meet Championship is the greatest way to expand the future of our sport. We will have two major events: the Individual National Championship and the National Dual Meet Tournament. We will gain exposure for the sport of wrestling as well as generate increased income to help other NCAA sports. We will also increase the relevancy of the dual meets on campuses." Brian Smith (Missouri) on answering to the business of college sports: "Good or bad, college athletics is a business. Having two revenue-making tournaments run by the NCAA only helps us in the eyes of the decision makers. "Yes, there are many details to work out, but I don't believe we can remain the same. We have to take a risk to improve our sport and get it out to the mainstream. If we choose not to do this, I promise you another sport will fill these weekend slots. I would rather take a risk and fail than to sit back and watch programs continue to decline." Rob Koll (left) believes wrestling has "absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain" with new championship proposal (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Rob Koll (Cornell) in spirited defense of the proposal, progress, and answering the naysayers: "It pains me to hear coaches at these schools speak as if the present will always be the future. If it were true (that when nothing changes, nothing changes), we would not have only 77 DI programs remaining. We must be willing to embrace change or we are guaranteed to continue down our current road of failure. "Our wrestling community thinks too small; the fact that it is hard for many within our ranks to believe we cannot host two major events is frightening. If history has taught us anything, we should appreciate that protectionism is a failed concept. We have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by going down this road. If it fails, we can always go back to our current system. But if it succeeds, we have the opportunity to expose millions of new fans to our great sport." One Big Ten coach sent out a plan that called for a more expansive regional system that would include nine regional sites. Below is the outline. "The nine regional winners plus seven runner-up teams (at-large bids) would comprise the 16 final NCAA schools that would compete for a National Duals title. The at-large bids would be based on strict RPI/strength of schedule determinations. Teams would be seeded based on their current year RPI/strength of schedule at the regionals/nationals." NCAA yearly schedule would look similar to this: Nov. 7-Dec. 31 Open tournaments/various non-conference duals. Each school would be required to have four non-conference (Division I) duals before Dec. 31 of each season. Jan 1-Feb. 15 Conference duals. If you have a large conference, eight duals will take place within your conference. Small conferences would incorporate four or five duals and you would be required to find appropriate non-conference duals to reach eight total duals in this time frame. Feb. 23/24 or March 1/2 Individual conference championships. Team score will be kept to determine conference champions. March 7-9 Individual NCAA tournament. Team score will be kept to determine official NCAA champion. March 15 or 16 Regionals. +2 pounds per weight class. March 22/23 National Dual championship. Top 16 teams. +2 pounds per weight class. Several more Division I coaches have sent emails that stated concerns that varied from their discomfort with the "lack of information" and "short time frame" of the proposal to coaches who clarified that this has been on the NWCA agenda for more than five years. The coaches and fans are engaging in a very spirited debate, but it doesn't seem to matter. The Championships Cabinet is considering this on Sept. 10 and unless the coaches were to settle firmly behind a vote to not change the current system and then draft a letter, the committee is going to vote without any further information. Editor's note: It has come to our attention that the letters written by the coaches were edited by a third party to include mention of ESPN's potential involvement. InterMat chose to run the coaches quotes without the ESPN quotes due to the possible misrepresentation of the coaches' opinions.

Related: Stanford Wrestling Schedule STANFORD, Calif. -- The Stanford wrestling program and fifth-year head coach Jason Borrelli have announced its schedule for the upcoming 2012-13 season. Stanford will wrestle in 22 duals and compete in some of the nation's most competitive collegiate tournaments. Stanford begins the season on Nov. 3 at the Menlo Duals, where it will face Simpson, Menlo College and Cal Baptist. The Cardinal’s home opener will be Friday, Nov. 9 as it welcomes Northwestern to The Farm. Stanford will also host Big Ten foe Michigan on Sunday, Nov. 18. Stanford closes out the month against South Dakota State and Missouri in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday, Nov. 24. The Cardinal will compete in two tournaments during the month of December. First up is the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 16. Stanford will also compete in the prestigious Midlands tournament in Evanston, Ill., held Dec. 29-30. The Cardinal opens the New Year with the Stanford Duals on Jan. 6. The Cardinal will host Arizona State for a Pac-12 dual, and take on Penn and Rutgers. Stanford then heads to the East Coast to take on Brown, Maryland and Harvard in College Park, Md., on Jan. 12. The Cardinal will square off with American on Jan. 13 in Washington, D.C. After returning to The Farm, Stanford will host Air Force and Cal Poly and travel to Corvallis, Ore., for a Pac-12 dual against Oregon State. The Cardinal will close out the regular season with duals against Utah Valley, Boise State and CSU Bakersfield on the road. Stanford’s final home duals are against San Francisco State on Feb. 8 and Central Michigan on Feb. 16. The Pac-12 Championships are scheduled to take place in Tempe, Ariz., on March 3. The NCAA Championships will be held Mar. 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa. All dates and times are subject to change.

TEMPE -- The Arizona State University wrestling program has named fourteen-year coaching veteran Lee Pritts as its newest assistant coach, ASU head coach Shawn Charles announced today. Lee PrittsConsidered one of the top recruiters in the country, Pritts joins the Sun Devils after spending the past two seasons in Raleigh with the North Carolina State program. He will coach alongside Charles and fellow assistant coach Brian Stith for the upcoming 2012-13 season. Prior to his time at NC State, Pritts spent nine years and two stints at the University of Missouri. He also worked three years as an assistant at Old Dominion. “We are proud to announce that we are hiring Lee Pritts to the team to help us build the program into one of the prominent ones in the country,” Charles said. “He is probably one of the top five recruiters in the country, is constantly identifying talent and Arizona State has one of the best backdrops to recruit kids to. It is really just a perfect match.” Pritts forged a reputation as one of the top recruiters in the country during his first stint at Missouri (1998-2004). He built on that reputation at Old Dominion and again in his second stint at Missouri. His recruiting skills paid immediate dividends at NC State. With Pritts spearheading NC State's recruiting efforts, the Wolfpack brought in a 14-man class two seasons ago that was a consensus top-10 class consisting of numerous high school All-Americans and/or multiple-time state champions. The Sun Devils look forward to seeing what that recruiting prowess can bring to the desert. “I’m excited and this is an unbelievable opportunity. I worked with Shawn at Missouri and I can't wait to work with him again,” Pritts said. “It's a special place here in Tempe with an unbelievable atmosphere." "Not only is the athletic department successful on the field or on the mat, but the university graduates just about 80 percent of its student-athletes and that’s something that really impressed me.” Pritts began his career as an assistant to Tigers head coach Brian Smith and helped to turn around the Tiger wrestling program, recruiting some of the best high school athletes in the nation and molding them into NCAA All-Americans. In 2004, Pritts left Missouri and became an assistant coach at Old Dominion University, where he helped build two top-10 recruiting classes. During his three-year tenure at ODU, the Monarchs sent nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. In 2008, James Nicholson, whom Pritts helped to recruit, became the first Monarch All-American in 13 years. Pritts returned to Missouri at the start of the 2007-08 campaign and in three years helped coach seven Tigers to a total of 10 All-America honors. During that stint at Missouri, Pritts actually coached alongside Charles During the summer of 2009, Pritts coached Tiger heavyweight Dominique Bradley to a FILA Junior World Freestyle Championship title. Earlier in the year, Bradley took gold at the FILA Junior World Team Trials held in Colorado Springs, Colo., earning a spot on the United States Junior Freestyle National Team. During his time as a coach, Pritts has put together quite the resume of prospects, many of whom have gone on to successful careers beyond their times at the collegiate level. Among those: Max Askren (184) - three-time All-American (2008, 2009, 2010), NCAA champion (2010), Co-Founder if Askren Brothers Wrestling Scott Barker (184-197)- two-time All-American (2002, 2003), NCAA runner-up (2003)? Matt Pell (184-165) - two-time All-American (2005, 2007), Coach Ben Askren (174) - two-time NCAA champion (2006, 2007), four-time All-American (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), Olympian, MMA (Bellator), Coach Raymond Jordan (184) - two-time All-American (2008, 2009), Coach Jeremy Spates (149) – All-American (2004), Assistant Coach at Cornell University Tyron Woodley (165) – All-American (2003, 2005), Strikeforce Kenny Burleson (157) – All-American (2004) Michael Chandler (157) – All-American (2009), Bellator Lightweight Champion Darrius Little (141) – All-American (2012) Mark Ellis (HWT) – NCAA Champion (2009), All-American (2009, 2010), Missouri Coach Pritts attended Eastern Michigan University, where he wrestled at 118 pounds. He was a two-time team captain and made three appearances in the NCAA Championships, earning All-America honors in 1996. In addition to his collegiate accomplishments, Pritts qualified for the 2000 Olympic Trials. Pritts was coached by Smith during his high school career at Western High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Pritts is married to the former Krista Kapeller and has two children, Briggs, age 7, and Kelbi Gracin, age 4.

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- After posting one of the most successful seasons in recent memory, the University of Wyoming wrestling program hopes to reach new heights in 2012-13 as the Cowboy schedule was released Tuesday. Wyoming (10-3 in dual action and 6-0 versus Western Wrestling Conference opponents in 2011-12) will begin this season with a rugged test as UW hosts perennial power Boise State. The Broncos take on the Pokes on Nov. 1. Two days later, UW hosts its yearly tournament, the Cowboy Open, and then nationally ranked Nebraska visits Laramie on Nov. 11. All this happens after UW officially opens practice just weeks before, on Oct. 10. Wyoming, which was ranked as high as No. 7 in the nation last year, finished 19th at the NCAA Championships last season. "Stiff competition is going to come at us fast," Wyoming head coach Mark Branch said. "We don't have a lot of time between our Oct. 10 start date and our first dual. "We've been trying to get Boise State on the schedule since I got here and we want to make sure we are ready to compete well. We moved the Cowboy Open up a week so we only have a few days to get prepared for a very competitive tournament and then we host a second marquee dual the next weekend against Nebraska. I can't imagine a tougher first semester schedule but that will definitely help prepare us for the conference schedule and postseason tournaments." The path doesn't get any easier, as the Cowboys hit the road to take on Oklahoma and Oklahoma State on Dec. 7 and 8, respectively, and head to Nevada for the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 16. There is a possibility that the Cowboys could take part in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which will be Nov. 30 through Dec. 1, but no final decision has been made. The home slate after that includes Oregon State (Jan. 13) and North Dakota State on Jan. 26. The Pokes have road dates with Northern Colorado (Jan. 30), Northern Iowa (Feb. 10) and the NWCA National Duals in Columbia, Mo., on Feb. 16. There will be three neutral-site duals: at Oklahoma in Arkansas City, Kan., at South Dakota State in Spearfish, S.D., and versus Air Force in Cheyenne, Wyo. The dual versus Oklahoma will take place in a location just minutes away from Branch's hometown of Newkirk, Okla. "I'm excited about that – to showcase my team to the community I grew up in, but more so than that, we're taking opportunities to expose wrestling to different areas," he said. The last dual of the season will be versus Air Force in Cheyenne. Though technically a home dual, the Pokes will take on the Falcons in a different city in an outreach effort for the state's wrestling fans. "We're excited about going to Cheyenne, making it easily accessible for more of our fans to come see our program," Branch said. Fans will have a chance to see postseason wrestling in Laramie this season, when UW hosts the Western Wrestling Conference Championships/NCAA West Regional on March 9. The WWC teams, including Wyoming, will participate in the tournament to determine NCAA Championship spots. "It's a great advantage to host," Branch said. "We have a team with a lot of unknowns. We lost some veterans last year so it's a great time to host it. We've won the conference the last three years and we don't want it to end. "Anytime you can stay in the comfort of your own surroundings, it helps you focus on your preparation. I think we're going to have a great crowd. We want to put a spotlight on this event and make it great, and are hospitable when they come here. But when we get on the mat, we're not planning on being very hospitable." To cap off the season, the NCAA Championships will be March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa. 2012-2013 Cowboy Wrestling Schedule Nov. 1 Boise State Laramie, Wyo. 7 p.m. Nov. 3 Cowboy Open Laramie, Wyo. All Day Nov. 11 Nebraska Laramie, Wyo. 1 p.m. Nov. 17 Nebraska-Kearney Open Kearney, Neb. All Day Dec. 7 Oklahoma Arkansas City, Kan. 7 p.m. Dec. 8 Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla. TBA Dec. 16 Reno Tournament of Champions Reno, Nev. All Day Jan. 4 Utah Valley Orem, Utah TBA Jan. 6 Cal Poly Duals San Luis Obispo, Calif. TBA Jan. 13 Oregon State Laramie, Wyo. 2 p.m. Jan. 19 South Dakota State Spearfish, S.D. TBA Jan. 26 North Dakota State Laramie, Wyo. TBA Jan. 30 Northern Colorado Greeley, Colo. 7 p.m. Feb. 10 Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa 2 p.m. Feb. 16 NWCA National Duals Columbia, Mo. TBA Feb. 21 Air Force Cheyenne, Wyo. 7 p.m. March 9 WWC Championships Laramie, Wyo. All Day March 21-23 NCAA Championships Des Moines, Iowa All Day

TEMPE -- Funeral services have been announced for former Arizona State NCAA wrestling champion Eddie Urbano. The services will be held at the Del Angel Funeral Home on Sunday, Sept. 9 in Tucson, Ariz., located at 7 East University Blvd., 85705. Viewing services are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with a prayer to follow at 2 p.m. A memorial fund has been set up through Wells Fargo for those wishing to donate towards the funeral services. The information is as follows: Eddie Urbano Memorial Fund Wells Fargo Bank #1459188015 Eddie was a two-time All-American at Arizona State at 150 pounds in 1984 (3rd) and 1985, when he became just ASU's second NCAA Champion in school history and the first since Curley Culp in 1967. Eddie was the first NCAA Champion for legendary ASU coach Bobby Douglas, and set the groundwork for the team's first and only NCAA Championship in 1988. Urbano was a two-time Pac-12 Champion at 150 pounds as well. Eddie started a stream of talented wrestlers making their way to ASU from Tucson as he posted a career record of 105-17-1 with the Sun Devils. Those 105 victories rank Eddie 17th on ASU's all-time wins list despite only competing for three years as a Sun Devil. He finished his career with 52 dual victories, good for 11th in ASU's all-time record books. As a senior, he helped ASU win the Pac-10 team title and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Eddie was inducted into the Arizona State Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Eddie also earned a junior college national title during his time competing at Pima Community College in Tucson. A Tucson native, Eddie became one of the first native Arizonans to win an NCAA Championship (Culp came out of Yuma, Ariz.). Eddie was a state champion in high school at perennial powerhouse Sunnyside High School and is part of an elite history at that program that has served as a pipeline for numerous Sun Devil talents through the years. After his time at Arizona State, he became the 1988 Olympic Trials runner-up at 68 kg. Following that, he went on to couch across the state and the city of Tucson, helping numerous individuals go on to achieve their collegiate wrestling dreams.

With the high school wrestling season' start approaching, InterMat will be taking fans across the United States of America on a tour of scholastic wrestling. From now until the middle of November, InterMat will introduce fans to the top high school senior wrestlers in the 49 states with scholastic wrestling. From Alaska to Florida, and Maine to California, fans will gain exposure to future college and senior level stars. Arizona keeps trying to gain more respect nationally and did a good job of it this offseason with quality results in nearly every event. Whether it was the Arizona Cadet National Dual team going 6-2 with in Daytona Beach, Fla., in June, getting five All-Americans in Fargo, or having a FILA Cadet double champion in Garrett Ryan, progress was certainly made. Although Ryan has since left for Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), the state has some quality talent preparing for their final high school season Here is a look at the top seniors in 2012-13 ... Honorable Mention: Eric Jeong (Rio Rico), Dajour Reese (Caesar Chavez), Efren Hernadez (Carl Hayden), Marshall Varner (Horizon), Raul Moraga (Sunnyside), Mike Kaledgian (Red Mountain). 1. Dalton Brady (Chandler) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: 126/132 Projected College Weight Class: 125 (Committed to Arizona State) Dalton Brady (Photo/Jason Skoda)Analysis: Dalton is the most decorated wrestler to come out of Chandler High School and is rarely challenged in state. He has a 115-1 record heading into his senior season. He avenged his only controversial loss to Safford's Trey Andrews his sophomore year. He is a three-time Arizona state champion. At the national and international level, he was third at 2010 FILA Cadet Nationals in freestyle, 2011 FILA Cadet National champion and fifth place at 2011 FILA Cadet World Championships. Words From the Corner: "Dalton is an awesome young man. Dalton trains year-round to perfect his skills. He is always looking at ways to improve his skills, never satisfied or complacent. His work ethic and attitude influence his teammates to step-up their performance. Pound for pound, I believe Dalton is the most technical and best wrestler in the state of Arizona and one of the best in the country. Dalton has a bright college future ahead of him." -- Vidal Mejia 2. Alex Bambic (Desert Vista) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: Class 182 Projected College Weight Class: 184/197 Alex Bambic (Photo/Darryl Webb)Analysis: Bambic got serious about the next level when he dropped from 215, where he wrestled as a freshman and sophomore, down to 197 last year. He is expected to drop even lower -- down to 182 -- and take on the better athletes in his quest for a third Arizona title. Bambic is 104-18 in high school career. Bambic has fared well at the national and international level, finishing eighth in the 2012 Junior Freestyle Nationals, third at the 2012 FILA Junior World Team Trials at 96 kilos, fifth at the 2012 FILA Junior Nationals in Greco-Roman, first at the 2011 USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals at 220 pounds, and a gold medalist at the 2011 FILA Cadet Pan Ams in Greco-Roman. Words From the Corner: "Alex is always working to get better and there is no letdown. He is willing to do whatever it takes to improve." -- David Gonzalez 3. Seth Monty (Mountain View) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: 145/152 Projected College Weight Class: 141-149 Analysis: This is not your typical Arizona wrestler as he comes from Michigan and his physical, constant movement style shows it. He has a 106-18 record at the high school level and is a three-time state placer, two-time finalist who is looking for his second state title after winning in 2010. He did really well at the national level, finishing as a FILA Junior All-American after beating a couple of college competitors. He has spent time in the Michigan wrestling room and has benefited from it. Words From the Corner: "He is a fierce competitor and he is always finding new ways to motivate himself." -- Bob Callison 4. Ben Andrew (Mesa) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: 220 Projected College Weight Class: 220 Analysis: Had a junior year, including the preseason leading up to it, in state when he beat four state champions (and lost to some of them as well) on the way to becoming a Division I state champion. It was a big leap for someone who didn't place as a sophomore. The progression should continue this year as the athletic and powerful Andrew builds off last year's success, which included representing the state at 220 pounds in the Boarder Wars at Arizona State. Words From the Corner: "He was pretty hungry after not placing at state as a sophomore. He felt like he hadn't done enough and worked really hard to make sure he didn't feel like that again." -- Bobby Williams 5. Marky Lopez (Rio Rico) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: 145 Projected College Weight Class: 141 Analysis: Some wondered where Lopez stood in the state's rankings coming from a smaller, but very respected program. The two-time state champion performed well in Virginia Beach, finishing in third place at the NHSCA tournament as a sophomore and missed All-American status by one match as a junior. He is a great student with a 4.167 GPA. Words From the Corner: "Hard worker. He trains year-round to stay on top." -- Brad Beach 6. Sergio Miranda (Sunnyside) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: 120/26 Projected College Weight Class: 125 Analysis: Miranda is the epitome of a wrestler from Sunnyside, the state's top program. He competes for six minutes, is tougher than a overcooked steak at the Waffle House. He is a two-time state placer (third as a freshman, fifth as a junior) with a 91-22 career record and was a NHSCA All-American after finishing seventh. 7. Curt Done (Highland) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: 138/145 Projected College Weight Class: 141 Analysis: Done is a three-time state placer, two-time finalist who won state as a sophomore. He got caught in the finals as a junior and was pinned, but it wasn't indicative of his season. He is a methodical wrestler who keeps coming after his opponent. Words From the Corner: "He likes the hard matches instead of the chump matches because he wants to be pushed." -- Abel Figueroa 8. Matt Filbert (Ironwood Ridge) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: 152/160 Projected College Weight Class: 149-157 Analysis: Filbert will be the top wrestler for Division II power Ironwood Ridge after being a nationally ranked junior in 2011. He failed to place at state as a sophomore while wrestling with mono but came back to win it all at 152 in Division II in 2011. He is a powerful wrestler who has great hips and is fundamentally sound. He went 4-2 at The Clash in Minnesota. Filbert hasn't wrestled much at the national level as he wants to attend one of the academies on his own merits so he has been to West Point and Annapolis for leadership programs. Words From the Corner: "He used to have horrible nerves to the point where he wasn't going to wrestle. Once he got control of that, he reached the next level and he should only get better." -- Tim Berrier 9. Jesse Morales (Marcos de Niza) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: 138/145 Projected College Weight Class: 141 Analysis: Morales is a two-time state champion in Division II that can also put a Flowing Wells championship on his resume after winning Arizona's top regular season tournament. He wrestles with a toughness that can't be taught and has good mat awareness. Squeaked out a state quarterfinal win, 6-5, and then cruised to second state title. 10. Isaac Camarillo (Cibola) Projected 2012-2013 High School Weight Class: 126/132 Projected College Weight Class: 133 Analysis: Camarillo is a two-time state placer after finishing fifth as a sophomore (112) and third as a junior (126). He went 84-11 the last two seasons. Camarillo also has had some success nationally as a three-time Pocatello placer, second at the America's Cup at Clovis (Calif.).

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account. Do you want to read a past mailbag?

By now the word is out that starting in 2013 massive changes are possible for the NCAA wrestling season. The process has received plenty of attention over the past two weeks from the wrestling media and coaches who are active on Twitter (mostly opinions and conjecture). But where does the issue stand as of today? What do NCAA coaches really think? And what could this all mean for the future of Division I wrestling? There are large differences in opinions, but where coaches and fans agree is in recognizing that the sport of collegiate wrestling could use a boost in revenue and positive media attention. The sport needs cash to survive and since that is tied directly to television appearances, there is a need to create a new event. Where the camps split is whether two events will actually help all programs, or only a few select teams with resources. The NWCA and coaches who outwardly support the change of schedule are encouraged by the idea that ESPN will cover two major events. The big picture will to them be richer and full of opportunity. The other group of coaches (I've been told about one in three college wrestling coaches oppose the proposal) think that there is too much risk in creating another championship, and that the bloodletting of college programs is nearing its reational endpoint. Mike Moyer (left), executive director of the NWCA, is a strong proponent of the National Duals becoming NCAA-sanctioned (Photo/Austin Bernard, Tech-Fall.com)Deciding whether or not to endorse the new plan is essentially a question about the risk and reward. Should college wrestling risk it's premier event in March (and the possibility it becomes slightly watered down) for the potential revenue of a dual meet format? Will the fans, viewers and advertising dollars follow wrestling to both a dual meet and individual tournament? Many of the coaches I contacted believe that if they all agree on which direction they'd like to head, they could weigh heavily in one direction and influence the NCAA. Here are some of the pros and cons as told to me by several coaches and pronounced by the NWCA across several media platforms. First, new details about the proposal that we now know: How will individuals be chosen? Same, but "the results of the team portion of the championships would not count toward the selection criteria for individual qualification." The idea is to prevent those in the top sixteen from having an added RPI advantage heading into wild card selection. How will teams be selected? Overall win/loss percentage (must wrestle at least 12 dual meets) Strength of schedule Team RPI Results versus common opponents Head-to-head competition Significant wins/losses Coaches' rank Some questions and concerns Won't this proposal eliminate 30-plus teams from ever competing in the NCAA Championships as they can't meet the funding of the top programs, and won't that disincentive athletic directors Will the NCAA actually sanction two events? According to some coaches, they believe the NCAA tends to look at issues in terms of social equality (Title IX) and adding another NCAA championship, even if it's divided, could push for elimination of the individual tourney -- wrestling's proudest tradition. Will ESPN choose to cover the Dual Team Championships? Is there a market? Will ESPN be contractually obligated to cover both events? If the dual team tourney is darkened by ESPN, will another outlet be allowed to cover it? Will the NCAA cover all the travel expenses for teams to travel to regional sites on short notice, and to the main event? (The first round teams are expected to cover their own expenses, and the NCAA will cover the main event.) What happens to the teams outside of the top sixteen teams? Where will they wrestle? Does they eliminate dual meets that have traditionally warmed teams up for the conference tourney? Will fans be able to show up to the events with only two weeks notice? The sum total of ten starting wrestlers determines the eight wild cards. What if my team lineup isn't set? How will this affect medical redshirts? Potential upside Another event will provide more attention for the sport by providing a second national event. More attention means more money and profit sharing will be discussed as a viable option, potentially helping lower income schools. Individuals understand team competition and would better be able to follow who makes it to the next round of wrestling and why. The dual team format will allow for also-rans to have a chance in any given weekend, to win a national championship. (Virginia Tech made it to the finals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals last season, but placed 11th at the NCAA tournament.) Parity would create interest at the local level and pull in local media, local sponsorship and fan support. Dual meets matter during the season. This would create higher interest in the outcome of matches and thus drive more interest and create a "spectator base." Individual tournaments and championships don't create income for local programs and don't have a lot of interest, but the dual meet format is going to feed back into the program during the regular season by creating captivating and meaningful events. Growing the base is essential to maintaining long term viability. Another NCAA tournament means two opportunities for performance evaluation by athletic directors. Some years your favorite college will have a good team, and other times they might only have a few good individuals. This format allows for exemplary performances to athletic directors. -- The NCAA Championships cabinet will take another look at the proposal on Sept. 10. The NWCA has sent a clarification document, which should provide more insight and answers. Once that becomes available, InterMat will be sure to post and provide context.

Fight Now USA Presents Takedown Wrestling from the Brute studios in Des Moines, Iowa at 1460 KXNO. Takedown Wrestling is brought to you by Kemin Agrifoods! This Saturday it's Takedown Wrestling Radio. Join Scott Casber and Brad Johnson this Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. CT/ 10 a.m. to noon ET. This week's guests: 9:03 Rob Anspach, Hofstra head wrestling coach 9:20 Jared Platt, New Jersey Fight Factory/Pursuit Wrestling 9:40 Steve Martin, Old Dominion head wrestling coach 9:50 Ty Barkley, Max Muscle Sports Nutrition Update 10:03 Jim Heffernan, Illinois head wrestling coach 10:20 Chris Weidman, UFC middleweight contender/former Hofstra wrestler 10:40 Brendan Buckley, Cal Poly head wrestling coach 10:50 Maureen Roshar Wildrose Casino and Resort Listen on radio, on computer, your Blackberry or iPhone with the iHeartRadio app.

The 2013 Division II Winter National Championships Festival has been moved from Cleveland to Birmingham, Ala., because of challenges involving the hotel block in Cleveland. The Festival ? which will feature Division II national championships in men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s indoor track, and wrestling – will be conducted March 3-9, 2013, at Birmingham’s CrossPlex multisport facility. The dates and schedule of events will not be affected by the change of venue. The Gulf South Conference and the City of Birmingham will serve as co-hosts. “Birmingham will be a great host for our winter Festival,” said Pat O’Brien, president of West Texas A&M University and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. “Not only will our student-athletes get the opportunity to compete at a first-class athletics complex, we’ll be able to provide a quality Festival experience with the hotel arrangements and the proximity of the competition venues.” The Division II Administrative Committee, which O’Brien chairs, includes the leadership of both the Division II Management Council and Presidents Council. The committee authorized the change during a conference call Wednesday. Division II is the only NCAA membership division that conducts several championships at a common place and time. The two most recent Festivals, fall 2011 and spring 2012, were conducted in Louisville, Ky. About 1,200 student-athletes will compete in the 2013 winter Festival. The Gulf South Conference, which sponsors 14 men’s and women’s sports, is a premier Division II conference and a charter member of Division II. Birmingham is an experienced NCAA host, having staged the Men’s College Cup (Division I soccer) in 2011. That event will return to Birmingham this fall. “We’ve advocated bringing events to the Greater Birmingham Area for many years,” said Gulf South Commissioner Nate Salant. “This is a true sports mecca, and with the GSC in town since 1978, there is a lot of Division II history here. Visitors will find a warm, welcoming community with great hotels, terrific and diverse restaurants and springtime weather. “The state-of-the-art CrossPlex and Harris Arena at the CrossPlex are ideal venues, with plenty of parking and easy access. It’s the right size, right time and right place for Division II, and we look forward to seeing more Division II championships and sports festivals here in the future.” The competition venues at the CrossPlex feature a 200-meter banked track and a 50-meter Olympic swimming pool. Wrestling will take place at Harris Arena, a 5,000-seat facility in the CrossPlex that features chair-back seating. All competition venues are within walking distance of one another and within a 15-minute drive of the Festival hotels. “We are grateful to the Gulf South Conference and to the City of Birmingham for their responsiveness,” said Erin Lind, associate commissioner of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and chair of the Division II Championships Committee. “I want to stress, however, that we have no hard feelings toward Cleveland and appreciate their commitment to ensuring the Division II Festival’s success. Representatives there have expressed an interest in hosting future championships, including our Festivals, and we look forward to considering those possibilities.”

The NCAA wrestling tournament is one of the toughest sporting events on the planet. There are 330 wrestlers competing for 80 spots on the podium, and sometimes that means that some of the best in the sport miss their chance. We take a look at the careers of ten of the best wrestlers to miss earning All-American honors since 2001. The criteria isn't fixed, but how many times a wrestler made it to the round of 12 is often times the most influential piece of data, followed closely by highest postseason seeding and significant wins. High school records and expectations don't play a significant factor, though some selections were buoyed by these when combined with solid college careers. If you think I've missed any names -- and I'm sure I did -- please feel free to send an email or leave a comment. Honorable Mention: Noel Thompson (Hofstra), Cameron Wade (Penn State), Tucker Lane (Nebraska), Mike Benefiel (Oklahoma State), Luke Manuel (Purdue), Mitch Mueller (Iowa State), Trevor Stewart (Central Michigan), Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (Virginia Tech/Hofstra), Matt Azevedo (Arizona State/Iowa State) 10. Corey Jantzen (Harvard) The younger brother of Harvard NCAA champion Jesse Jantzen was always near the top of his weight classes ... when he was competing. Often injured and with time off the mat, Jantzen's career was puzzling to many on the outside. Jantzen sat out in 2010 and 2011, and medical forfeited in 2009. He was 0-2 at the 2008 NCAAs. His career ended at the 2012 NCAA tournament with losses at 149 pounds to Dylan Ness of Minnesota and Donnie Vinson of Binghamton. Nick Passolano celebrates after pinning Iowa's Cole Pape9. Nick Passolano (Iowa State) Passolano, who competed at 165 pounds and 174 pounds, was a four-time NCAA qualifier under Bobby Douglas at Iowa State. He registered some big wins in his college wrestling career, but was never able to find the NCAA podium in March. One of Passolano's shining moments as a Cyclone came when he pinned Iowa's Cole Pape in 36 seconds to break ISU's 30-dual meet drought to the Hawkeyes. Following his collegiate career, Passolano finished fourth at the 2005 U.S. World Team Trials in freestyle, and had wins over two-time NCAA champion Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State) and NCAA champion Luke Becker (Minnesota). 8. Patrick Bond (Illinois) He never made it to the round of 12, but Patrick Bond was one of the most talked about wrestlers to never earn All-American honors. The four-time NCAA qualifier seemed like a lock as a freshman in high school to place at the tourney, and by the time he ended up at Illinois (compliments of fellow Great Bridge High School alumnus Carl Perry) everyone expected he'd find the podium and possibly even the top of it. What makes Bond different than other high school to college flameouts is that he was highly ranked all four years and placed in the top five in the Big Ten each year, and had a legitimate shot at placing in every trip to NCAAs. Anyone who'd ever watched him wrestle could see that he had more talent than almost anyone he faced. But when it came time to chalk up four wins in March, Bond couldn't manage the task and tallied his best performance with a 2-2 showing in 2010. Bond's career was littered with highlights, including wins over Dallas Herbst (Wisconsin) and J.D. Bergman (Ohio State), as well as being ranked in the top 20 nationally for much of his career. JohnMark Bentley7. JohnMark Bentley (North Carolina) JMB was a total stud. In addition to compiling a 31-2 record as a senior, the Carolina wrestler was a three-time ACC champion and three-time NCAA qualifier. In 1998 JMB lost to Iowa's Jeff McGinness, a two-time NCAA champion, on the topside of the bracket, and dropped his second wrestleback match. In 1999 his dreams of wrestling through the consolation bracket were crushed when he was disqualified against an Oregon State wrestler. JMB's career ended in 2001 with a round of 16 wrestleback loss to Reggie Wright of Oklahoma State. There is an upside to all the disappointment. After college JMB got into coaching and is now one of the top college coaches in the country, turning around the Appalachian State program. Last season App State had two NCAA All-Americans, the team's best performance in over 40 years. 6. Cole Sanderson (Iowa State) Cole Sanderson, the second oldest of the four Sanderson brothers, was a tough matchup for anyone who stepped foot on the mat with him. He was a bit unorthodox and a very proficient scrambler. Sanderson qualified for the NCAAs four times, and was seeded in the top ten in three of those four NCAA tournament appearances. He lost in the NCAA quarterfinals as a junior and senior, and both years came up one win short of All-American honors, losing in the round of 12. Nebraska's Bryan Snyder knocked out Sanderson as a junior, while Penn's Yoshi Nakamura eliminated the Cyclone the following year. 5. Rollie Peterkin (Penn) A three-time round of 12 wrestler, Peterkin enjoyed an incredible career at the University of Pennsylvania, and were it not for Scotti Sentes of Central Michigan, Peterkin would probably have been a two-time All-American. In 2008 the 125-pound wrestler's round of 12 loss came in overtime at the hands of ODU's James Nicholson 5-3. Peterkin improved the next year, making it to the quarterfinals where he lost to Paul Donahoe of Nebraska 7-3, before dropping to the consolation bracket where he faced Sentes and lost. After taking the 2010 season off from NCAA competition, the 2011 NCAAs were shaping up to be Peterkin's best chance to place. The Penn wrestler had beaten No. 4 Lou Ruggirello at the Southern Scuffle and was seeded tenth heading in, but suffered a 7-5 first-round loss to the wrestler from Utah Valley. Unshaken, Peterkin climbed his way back, winning three straight in the consolations. But in the end it wasn't to be. Peterkin once again lost to Central Michigan's Sentes and ended his career without an All-American statue. Ralph DeNisco (Photo/Danielle Hobeika)4. Ralph DeNisco (Wisconsin) A two-time round of 12 wrestler at Wisconsin and a four-time NCAA qualifier, DeNisco was consistently ranked in the top 15 nationally. His NCAA journey started in 2001 at 184 pounds, where he went 1-2. His 2002 NCAA tournament was going much better until he ran into Lehigh's Rob Rohn and his cement mixer in the quarterfinals and lost by fall. DeNisco dropped to the round of 12 where he suffered a loss to fellow New Jersey native Tom Tanis of Rutgers (the last All-American for Rutgers). DeNisco was poised for a strong performance in 2003, but lost his pigtail match to eventual third-place finisher Josh Lambrecht of Oklahoma. From there he won four straight matches to put himself back in the round of 12 where he met up with Ben Heizer of Northern Illinois and lost. He finished his career in 2004 with a round of 16 performance. 3. Scott Jorgensen (Boise State) Best known for his current career as an MMA bantamweight, Scott Jorgensen started his combat sports career as a star member of the Boise State Broncos. Jorgensen was a three-time round of 12 wrestler, but dropped each of his All-American matches by decision. In 2005 he lost a close championship bracket decision to eventual champion Travis Lee (Cornell) before dropping his round of 12 match to Matt Sanchez of Cal State-Bakersfield. His other round of 12 losses were in 2004 to two-time NCAA champion Johnny Thompson (Oklahoma State), and in 2006 to Minnesota's Mack Reiter. 2. Ralph Everett (Hofstra) Few wrestlers of the past 15 years have played a more substantial supporting role to history than Hofstra's Ralph Everett. He started his history book career when he was the 100th consecutive win for NCAA wrestling great Cael Sanderson, which broke Dan Gable's record. Everett continued those record-making ways the next season when he became the first wrestler to beat Greg Jones at the 2003 NCAA tournament. Had Jones beaten Everett and continued on to win in the finals, he might have become a four-time NCAA champion. As it was he'd dropped down to the consolation bracket where he lost to Rashad Evans of Michigan State -- another wrestler who has made it big in MMA. As for Everett, he'd go on to lose 4-1 in the quarterfinals to Pitt's Carl Fronhofer before bowing out in the round of 12 to Curtis Owen of Arizona State 6-5. Everett actually beat me 5-4 at the 2004 NCAAs, but went on to lose a tight 2-1 match to Edinboro's Matt King in the quarterfinals. Next, he suffered an overtime tiebreaker loss in the round of 12 to Jake Klein of Nebraska. In summation: three-time NCAA qualifier, two-time round of 12, and the guy to end Greg Jones' dream of four NCAA titles. Scott Justus battles Purdue's Ben Wissel in a pigtail match at the 2003 NCAA tournament (Photo/Danielle Hobeika)1. Scott Justus (Virginia Tech) One of only a handful of No. 1 seeds to never place at an NCAA tournament, Scott Justus was a big, funky, and strong animal. When it came time to deliver he just wasn't able to convert those attributes into hardware. In addition to not converting on his top seed in 2002 -- he lost to Rowdy Lundegreen (Cal State-Fullerton). Justus was two-time round of 12 (2001, 2003) and a four-time NCAA qualifier. He was a quarterfinalist in 2001, beating eventual two-time NCAA champion Damion Hahn (Minnesota) before losing up top to Viktor Sveda (Indiana). In 2003 he lost his pigtail match but roared back to the round of 12 before losing a lopsided major decision to Princeton's Greg Parker. Justus is also a dead ringer for UFC light heavyweight Forrest Griffin.

This week Richard and John breakdown the long-awaited UFC 151 card featuring Jon Jones vs. Dan Hen ... Wait, what? Canceled? Anyway, no doubt Dana White and company were more than perturbed about having to cancel a pay-per-view event, but should the face of a major sports organization publicly throw one of its athletes under a bus when multiple people were at fault? Without much else to discuss, here is a full, honest breakdown of the UFC 151 fiasco and the ONE FC card taking place on Saturday, featuring a matchup of two former UFC champions that almost no one wants to see. Do you want to listen to a past episode? View archives.

T.R. Foley and Mike Riordan look forward to the 2012-2013 NCAA wrestling season and talk about the future of at-risk programs under the proposed change to Division I postseason. Do you want to listen to a past episode? View archives.

Mike Moyer and Brian Smith will go "On the Mat" this Wednesday, Aug. 29. NWCA executive director Mike Moyer with Takedown's Scott Casber at the 2011 NWCA All-Star Classic in Tempe, Ariz. (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)"On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. CT on AM 1650, The Fan. An archive of the show can be found on www.themat.tv. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments about the show. Moyer is the executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. He will discuss the proposed changes to the format of the NCAA wrestling tournament. Smith is the current head wrestling coach at the University of Missouri. He is the longest tenured coach at Missouri and is about to begin his 15th season.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Former Iowa State All-American Nick Fanthorpe makes the move over from resident athlete with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club to Assistant Coach (volunteer). Fanthorpe is in his first season as a collegiate coach, taking the place of former Lion All-American Aaron Anspach. Nick FanthorpeFanthorpe had a stellar career at Iowa State, wrestling all but one year for current Lion mentor Cael Sanderson. The Napierville, Ill., native left Ames with a 94-29 career record, including a 32-6 mark as a sophomore. That year, 2007-08, Fanthorpe placed seventh at NCAAs to become a Cyclone All-American. The year before, he ended his red-shirt freshman year in the `round of 12', just one win shy of AA status. He was a two-time Big 12 Champion as well and a three time Academic All-Big 12 first teamer. An outstanding student-athlete, Fanthorpe won Iowa State's Total Commitment Award four straight years, winning in 2007, 08, 09 and 10. Fanthorpe is married to the former Erin Witte, who serves as Penn State Wrestling's office manager. He graduated from Iowa State in 2010 with a degree in Community and Regional Planning. Penn State will begin the new season on Nov. 1 when it hosts its Intrasquad Scrimmage at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. Ticket information for the 2012-13 season is forthcoming very soon. The season ticket package will include seven home duals (the Intrasquad is a free event and the package does not include the Nittany Lion Open). For information on Penn State wrestling tickets simply call 1-800-NITTANY or check online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html . Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWRES and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Former University of Michigan wrestling standout and two-time NCAA champion Dave Porter (1966-68) passed away on Saturday (Aug. 25) in Grand Ledge, Mich., at the age of 66. Porter, who had been in poor health in recent years, was also a two-year Michigan football letterwinner as a defensive tackle. Dave Porter (Photo/Michigan Sports Information)Among the most decorated wrestlers in Michigan program history, Porter was a two-time NCAA heavyweight champion (1966, '68) and three-time NCAA All-American, placing third as a junior. He captured his first title in dominant fashion, using three takedowns and two near falls to defeat Minnesota State-Moorhead's Bob Billberg, 15-4, and become the program's eighth individual NCAA champion. A native of Lansing, Mich., Porter enjoyed several notable wins and rivalries against his hometown Michigan State Spartans. In his junior season, with U-M trailing by eight points with two matches remaining in the regular-season dual finale against No. 1-ranked MSU, Porter pinned the Spartans' Jeff Richardson in the last match to seal Michigan's 16-14 upset victory. He was immediately preceded in victory by teammate Pete Cornell at 190 pounds; Cornell was killed on July 26 in a cycling accident. Two of Porter's three career losses came in his senior season to Michigan State's Jeff Smith, who defeated Porter in the regular-season dual meet and the Big Ten Championships heavyweight final. Porter earned his revenge at the NCAA Championships, however, routing Smith 7-1 in the semifinal round. He went on to defeat Oregon State's Jess Lewis, 5-4, in the championship match. Trailing in the third period, Porter earned a reversal and sealed the decision with a late takedown. It was the only loss that Lewis suffered in his career. Porter pinned his way to back-to-back Big Ten heavyweight titles (1966, '67) and was honored as the tournament's most outstanding wrestler as a junior. He represented Michigan at the first two NWCA All-Star Classic competitions (1967, '68) and served as U-M team captain in his senior campaign. Over his three seasons, he contributed to a 29-3 Michigan dual record and three top-10 NCAA finishes, including a runner-up showing in 1967. Dave Porter (Photo/Michigan Sports Information)Porter posted a sterling 51-3 career record, including a perfect 17-0 mark as a sophomore, and registered 37 career falls. His .944 career winning percentage has stood as the Michigan program standard for 44 years. On the gridiron, Porter played defensive tackle during the 1966 and 1967 seasons, compiling 46 career tackles, four pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. After appearing in the North-South Shrine Game, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 1968 NFL Draft but tore a tendon and never played in an NFL game. After his Michigan graduation, Porter accepted a teaching and coaching position at Grand Ledge High School, where he remained until his retirement in 2005. Porter was inducted into the prestigious Michigan Hall of Honor in 1985 and is a member of the Michigan chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (inducted 2010) and Michigan Wrestling Association Hall of Fame (1986). A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, at Holihan-Atkin Funeral Home in Grand Ledge, Mich. Visitation will precede the service from 3-6 p.m. For more information, please visit the Holihan-Atkin website.