Former158

Any new program should be mens and womens---this is the future. Division 1 Texas Florida and Florida State Georgia Notre Dame USC UCLA Berkley University of Washington Oregon--come on Phil Knight SUNY- Stony Brook Colorado Syracuse Division III- Lots of options for enrollment driven schools- If you can prove 30-40 tuition paying students would come, the program pays for itself---even if each student gets a 50% scholarship---see

Not sure it is any different than other sports where celebrities and the rich elite pay to play. Dupont was certifiable and USA Wrestling said nothing for years---this seems very different, especially the absence of severe mental illness. While I am no fan of billionaires , if Valencia makes a buck helping him out and Zuckerberg supports wrestling---it is the world we live in and more power to them. Zuckerberg could fully endow 50 new wrestling programs and not feel the slightest difference. If I had billions, I would support lots of programs and wrestlers.

Here is a question for next week. If the Olympics doubled the number of weight classes to 12 but combined Freestyle and Greco, would this be good for wrestling long term? I think the average fan has a hard time watching and learning the nuances of 3+ styles. I would be in favor of it if UWW and USA wrestling got behind it and I can imagine a version of Freestyle which rewards and creates more situations for Greco wrestlers to succeed.

There certain is a risk, though the point is that wrestling can connect across these divides (ie, Russia and Iran) in ways many other sports cannot. RAF and USA wrestling can benefit from these events with stories about the diplomacy side in publications which would never cover wrestling. A great way to promote/market the sport, however I am not suggesting Tehran should be next. Hopefully someday soon when this war is over.

With RAF heading to Moscow next month---I don't think we talk enough about how Wrestling events can be a great form of cultural diplomacy. I remember the US being the first sports team to visit Tehran after the 1979 revolution in 1998 and being really well received. I hope the Moscow event can also be a show of solidarity we see between wrestling communities as I know I gained alot of respect for Iranian fans/wrestlers during the Goodwill Games in NYC. Their fans were so organized and knew way more than the average American. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-feb-27-me-23606-story.html Here is hoping RAF can create some good news in Moscow.

Typical troll---Women's wrestling will save the sport in the long term---especially in the U.S/collegiate level. Having so many different styles and specialties does not help. 1 style world-wide would be best

If UWW moved to 12 weights for the Olympics, I would be in favor of a merge with Greco and figure out a way to reward throws/upper body more. What if back exposure from neutral was worth 5 (with 6 for high amplitude), and some more par terre opportunities for passivity (shot clock or par terre choice?) Imagine a team at roughly 55 kg 57 kg 60 kg 63-kg 66 kg 70 KG 74 kg 78 kg 83 kg 88 Kg 93 kg 100 kg 125 kg

Or if Henry Cejudo would have went in after his Gold Medal?---this might be the one

I think Cary Kolat or Jimmy Carr (1972 FS Olympian as a 17 yr old Junior in HS). With their wins via college and world level athletes during their time, it was something that just was not happening then. No discredit to all the phenoms of the last decade, but I think it would have to be someone who was so far above all other recruits. Still can't believe what the young ones are doing today.

And what about the fans who bought tickets for Final X---seems like we should be given a free option to see the rescheduled events if possible. I don't blame the athletes, but USA wrestling could have better fan outreach.

This is my point, a free paper view would be the least they could do. If it were FLO or some other platform, they might even gain subscribers as a result. A bad business deal

I am looking forward to Final X on Friday but bummed by the rescheduling of two of the series match ups for men's and women's FS. While I understand the context and don't blame the athletes, it does seem like ticket holders should get access to these rescheduled matches for free (via pay per view or a free in-person ticket). Since there is no replacement for 20% of the final matches......there should be some show of support for the fans who are traveling and bought tickets to the event. It is a missed opportunity to keep the fans engaged in my mind. I'd take some free food in Newark or something......USA wrestling should do better. https://www.themat.com/news/2026/june/15/2025-world-medalists-blades-welker-woods-receive-medical-delay-for-final-x-series

Sacred heart is an interesting model. I don't know how many D1 schools make their case on enrollment. They could definitely be one as at a small private D3 school, 6-8 paying recruits is a year is all you need, even if they all have 50% scholarships

https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sports/college/iowa/2016/07/01/iowa-hawkeyes-sports-camps/86573960/ This older article suggests a few 100,000s annually is generated to the university from all sports camps (assuming its more now). The final piece of the puzzle is endowed funds and donations. The Hawkeye Wrestling club took in 1.37 million in FY24, though much of this goes to fund Freestyle/elite athletes (at least 790k) https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237302974/202522879349301472/full. However we don't know what annually operating budget funds come from gifts, endowment or how Hawkeye wrestling club funds may offset some regular operating, etc. I would exclude huge capital gifts for Wrestling only facilities but they should be off-setting some operating from gifts, which would still show up as a budgeted expense in the figures. When put together with camps, media and conference share money, I think we are getting close to breaking even....though only at the absolute top institutions. To be fair, D1 wrestling is not profitable as the model for profitability is D3 through tuition and enrollment enhancement---see

Great find on this data. However by the figures cited directly football and basketball at Iowa are projected to lose roughly 23 million next year. The biggest figure cited is the conference and media contracts worth 92,683,000. We would need to parse out how much of the conference and media money should go to wrestling, though likely not 1.95 million. The outlier is camps which may generate 10,000s extra.