TitleIX is ripe for reform

Don't SEC teams have maybe half as many men's teams, though? Or if the 16 figure is across both genders, can we trust that Oregon State won't cut men's wrestling and add yet another women's team? I'm not trying to deflate our group's optimism regarding Oregon State. But I remember how much it saddened us all when its in-state rival Oregon dropped our sport. If there are vulnerabilities for Oregon State U. wrestling, we want to be proactive to try to satisfactorily address them ahead of time.

They certainly used to be competitive at that level: __ The Cal State Bakersfield men's wrestling team appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament thirty times, with their highest finish being 3rd place in the 1995–96 school year.[22] Prior to Division I, the Roadrunners wrestling team won eight Division II titles, including five consecutive from 1979 to 1983. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_State_Bakersfield_Roadrunners __ Perhaps the overall university would not drop down to D2 though? Might a single team at a D1 school be allowed to drop down, however? At any rate, I wonder if conference affiliation is a necessary condition for qualifying for the NCAA D1 tourney... Admittedly, though, having a post-season championship tourney to look forward to every year is motivating. Getting to qualify for the NCAAs is, too...

It's encouraging that Bakersfield is still surviving at the NCAA level. Anyhow, can a D1 men's wrestling team qualify wrestlers for the NCAAs even without being a member of a conference? I vaguely recall that it's possible, but that the odds are substantially reduced without a conference affiliation. Maybe that can be changed to help schools like Bakersfield continue chasing the dream of producing NCAA All-Americans? Cal. St. Bakersfield achieved greatness decades ago at the D2 or maybe the D1AA level.

Speaking of the west coast, what of the Pac 12, especially in wrestling? This article's a couple of weeks old and isn't too optimistic: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/pac-12-on-brink-of-collapse-how-college-footballs-premier-west-coast-conference-fell-behind-in-realignment/

Now that you mention the potentially intriguing Northwestern avenue, I did think of former Northwestern assistant coach Andrew Howe earlier today: https://nwhof.org/national-wrestling-hall-of-fame/champions-database?wrestler=3032 I think I read that he's running a wrestling school nowadays. I'm not recommending him for the job (or advocating that he not get it); I'm just mentioning him.

While wishing Coach Koll all the best at his alma mater UNC, it's worth asking: what of Stanford wrestling's future? Stanford's recent NCAA champion Shane Griffith's at Michigan now, as a grad. student: https://mgoblue.com/sports/wrestling/roster/shane-griffith/24926 But what if he opted to coach in California now that there's an opening? I realize that coaching experience is good to have. OK, maybe vital to have. But who could add more instant enthusiasm to the crusade to keep the Stanford wrestling program alive? Who could recruit better than someone who knows what it's like to wrestle at AND ATTEND Stanford? If that option's not viable (and I admittedly do not know Shane), who is? Current assistant coaches are listed here: https://gostanford.com/sports/wrestling/coaches In no way is my enthusiasm for Shane's candidacy meant to belittle those assistant coaches' abilities to contribute, perhaps even at the head coaching level. I know none of these folks. Meanwhile it's worth asking the alumni (obviously), and the incoming recruits: https://gostanford.com/news/2023/7/27/wrestling-class-complete.aspx As well as those on the roster: https://gostanford.com/sports/wrestling/roster Meanwhile, with the change in athletic directors at Stanford, that's a known unknown... I don't pretend to have the answers. I bet you have a worthwhile opinion though. Please share it, if you like. Hopefully Stanford wrestling can & will survive?

Stanford's recent NCAA champion Shane Griffith's at Michigan now, as a grad. student. https://mgoblue.com/sports/wrestling/roster/shane-griffith/24926 But what if he opted to coach in California now that there's an opening? I realize that coaching experience is good to have. OK, maybe vital to have. But who could add more instant enthusiasm to the crusade to keep the Stanford wrestling program alive?

West Virginia Wesleyan recently became custodian of Alderson Broaddus' academic transcripts. I see that they don't have wrestling (yet): https://WesleyanBobcats.com/ When UNO (Nebraska: Omaha) abruptly dropped wrestling, a team emerged (like a Phoenix) in St. Louis, MO. https://maryvillesaints.com/sports/wrestling Might this be a possibility at West Virginia Wesleyan?

UVU's president is reportedly a mega-fan of the men's wrestling team. I'm surprised she hasn't championed adding a team for women yet...

Of potential interest: Oklahoma demonstrates consistently that being a southern state (which Oklahoma arguably is, geographically) does not preclude wrestling excellence. But I've read that only about a third of high schools in OK have wrestling. Nevertheless, wintertime is cold in OK, as it is in North Carolina. So indoor sports are of use. Maybe it's what goes on the other 8 months of the year that enables states up north to excel, though? The longer it's cold, the more folks spend time on indoor sports, I guess. Then again, states like Minnesota get so much ice & snow that it's not easy training or competing during winter months and such.

Their athletics website remains functional (for now): https://GoBattlers.com Their women's wrestling team was just getting underway, so contents are admittedly thin there...

You've raised a legitimate point although perhaps a small group of administrators ran the place into the ground, financially speaking, while the student athletes (70% of the students, reportedly) were busy studying and playing sports. Abuse of authority can take endeavors off course, but sometimes turnarounds are achievable and worthwhile.

I wonder how that goal can be achieved... Incidentally NC State had an NCAA individual champ nearly a decade ago who apparently went to high school in North Carolina. I don't know if he transplanted in from up north, though...

Thanks for that info. Here's more on Coach Lange: https://www.iowawrestlinghalloffame.com/inductee/lowell-lange

I just saw the following statistic at an unofficial source: 70%+ of the student body at A.B. University were student athletes... _ Wow!

Clemson had a dang fine D1 team 'til closure, which happened during the mid 1990s (I think the same year as it did at the College of William & Mary in almost neighboring Virginia). Georgia Tech. had a team until maybe the mid-1980s. I've read until later but I didn't see much evidence for that elsewhere.

UNC (admirably) prides itself on supporting folks from NC. I've read in the past that 85% of UNC students are from NC. My guess is that they reach out to folks of limited economic means more consistently than Cornell or Stanford. Tax dollars subsidize UNC but I bet it's like U.Va: only 7% of the overall academic budget (last I looked, long ago) comes from tax dollars. Donations are strong as folks feel UNC's really a part of their community. There have been some impressive wrestlers coming out of UNC over the past several decades.

You've raised a legitimate point. They originally chose A.B. University for a reason though (or several), and maybe the school's worth saving. It's collapse was rather abrupt in some ways.

As an update, judging from the Save A.B. University page linked below, there still does not seem to be much of a drive to rescue the university. Energies are being focused on assigning blame and vowing retribution for politicians, instead. https://www.facebook.com/groups/806042444565059 It's been said that unlike neighboring Virginia's Sweetbriar College (whose alumnae saved the school from seemingly sure closure a few years ago), A.B. University lacks the wealthy alumni and political influence that A.B. University's alumni and other fans seem to believe are necessary to rebound. It would have been inspirational to see wrestlers take the lead with helping A.B. University bridge off of its back.

It seems like he graduated from Bama in '76 with a degree in education.

The Crimson Tide apparently produced this eventual h.s. coach whose ripple effects continue mainly in Florida, but also beyond... https://flasportshof.org/fshofmember/russ-cozart/ I do not see Alabama mentioned on that page but I think I read (a decade ago or so) that he's a Bama alum. I didn't recall any major team accomplishments by Bama, though, so I merely asked (rhetorically) if they sucked. Producing Coach Cozart is a remarkable accomplishment. As for Auburn... some teams would be thrilled to have such a rankings history. Perhaps someday wrestling will return there at the NCAA level. I'm not holding my breath though, admittedly.

Presumably UNC's recruiting and alumni donation bases would become much better, though, if Coach Koll spent time there like he did in Ithaca, NY and at Stanford. Admittedly, though, UNC wrestling's been relatively healthy since Coach Coleman Scott began spending time there nearly a decade ago.

Did Alabama and Auburn suck when they were NCAA D1? Doesn't seem like it, according to this: http://johnnythompsonnum1.blogspot.com/2017/09/solving-mystery-that-was-sec.html I don't know what percentage of their line-up was actually from the Southeastern USA, though. But hopefully more local recruits could participate nowadays if they reinstated their D1 programs. That seems to be a recipe for survival and hopefully success, as well. Admittedly a D1 team that I've watched closely over the years lost momentum when recruiting so many from the Southeastern USA nearly a decade ago. Or maybe the cause of the decline was the loss of some on the coaching staff. We need to engage the entire country if we want to have a better chance of keeping wrestling as an Olympic sport.

Coach Koll seems like a pioneer on a crusade to keep wrestling alive and increasingly rebounding to its health of yesteryear. Maybe that's why he attended UNC in the first place despite his strong ties to Pennsylvania (where plenty of schools could have given him a scholarship). Anyhow, UNC helps keep NCAA D1 wrestling alive in the Southeastern USA. That's very helpful to wrestling seemingly even in the other divisions. Hopefully UNC's success can spread and inspire the revival of former ACC programs such as Clemson & Georgia Tech. I'd mention the S.E.C., too, but I gather that a member school merely needs around 7 teams to comply. My point is merely that Coach Koll's returning to UNC makes sense even when leaving Cornell might not seem to have. That said, if Coach Koll can keep building wrestling at Stanford, that would be helpful. We want to keep the sport strong coast-to-coast. Football money seemingly won't be so plentiful there for the foreseeable future though. A master fundraiser is needed. Coach Koll seems like an excellent leader for that roll.