My apologies if this has already been covered someplace else, but I haven't seen it. The NCAA has recently modified the at-large process of qualifying for the NCAA tournament. In addition to needing at least two of the existing six criteria to be considered for an at-large berth, wrestlers must participate in at least two matches at their conference tournaments.
The NCAA has already cracked down on the "arranged" injury defaults by requiring that real wrestling take place; now a wrestler must do that twice in the qualifiers in order to be eligible for at-large consideration.
The existing six criteria remain unchanged; wrestlers need at least two:
● .700 Win %
● Top 33 RPI
● Top 33 CR
● .700 winning percentage against all competition
● One win against a wrestler receiving an earned position (pre-allocated)
● Qualifying event placement one below number of pre-allocated spots
I've been thinking about whether this makes it easier or harder to grab an at-large position. Maybe Seton Hall Pirate will weigh in with his opinion. If injured wrestlers who have earned pre-allocated spots don't enter their conference tournaments, those spots will be freed up and so there will be more at-large positions available. But there will be more healthy wrestlers competing for the at-large spots, so it may balance out.