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.

It seems hard to believe every psu back up is on a full ride

The key to analyzing revenue is tuition and enrollment. How many students come to these institutions and pay to either participate in wrestling or be fans of the sport. Lets say a top program like Penn State can claim that they generate 100,000 in additional net tuition revenue (minus expenses) from their athletes who are not on full scholarship and can claim 200 additional students attended Penn State due to wrestling @10,000 net revenue per student. This would add 2.1 million to their economic impact at the university each year and may very well put them in the profitability range. This and camp revenue should also be factored in.

For D3---I would look to smaller private schools in the North East and Mid-West were demographic shifts are impacting traditional recruiting. Schools like St. Lawrence (former D3 national champ) who need to now diversify beyond traditional applicant pools might be well placed to revive a program. Look to the success of schools like Albion and Alma in Michigan as other small liberal arts colleges will happily replicate their enrollment success---or perhaps strong club sport teams can now make the jump https://ncwa.net/teams

Now that the season is over---lets talk beyond the portal to what does it take to add a college wrestling program? There is often talk here about premier expansion D-1 opportunities in power 4 conferences and other high revenue athletic departments. However, the future of the sport is not D-1, especially with NIL and the need for inflated football and basketball budgets. Without a major donor (10mil+), adding a competitive D-1 program with adequate scholarship, coaching and club level support, does not seem possible. While we need to strengthen existing D-1 programs with donations/camps, and other revenue, expansion is somewhere else If wrestling is going to expand at the college level it needs to be at the DIII level and help with struggling enrollment. In the past 15 years, enrollment has declined more than 8% across the U.S. and more than 2,000 colleges have lost enrollment and are struggling to attract students. With empty dorm rooms and empty seats in classes, the costs of adding an extra student to campus right now is minimal so schools are willing to invest in new programs to recruit. Targeting smaller, tuition dependent schools is a way to grow the sport. For instance if you could convince a small private institution that a new men’s and women’s program (yes combined is the way to go), could attract 10-15 more students to the school per year, even with a 50% need based scholarship as an average, many institutions would jump on this. Not all of these students would need to be wrestlers, but fans and friends of the student athletes----more students= more word of mouth/marketing. An extra 10-15 students a year at many schools can make a major difference in there financial situation. For instance, the revenue generated from a school which cost $50,000 per year in tuition room and board would far outweigh the costs of the team. 15 students per year @50% tuition, room and board scholarship x4 years (60 students total)---at many private schools, the average student pays less than 50% so this is not out of the norm. · 60 students total x 25,000= 1,500,000 (tuition, room and board) · Coaches x3= -300,000 (total salary & benefits) · Operating Budget -300,000 (capital, travel, etc) · Marginal costs for 60 more students on-campus -180,000 (3,000 per student in real costs for classes, faculty, food, etc) · School revenue +720,000 (For the bottom line) Even with 250,000-500,000 in initial start up costs for a Wrestling room and mats, +720,000 a year in proven revenue after 4 years is well worth the investment. So lets make business plans and target these tuition dependent schools with declining enrollment. If alumni and/or wrestling supporters can raise even 50,000-100,000 in start up costs, with a good plan, many universities are ready to listen and desperate for new ideas. The time to strike is now as schools rarely add sports when they are flush with cash and students----why would they if the business model is behind it all?

Yianni would be a great assistant and might be an ideal hire to also head up an RTC as well. Mike Grey is doing a good job at Cornell and unless things change dramatically---he should be HC for quite some time. If Yianni, Dake or others from the Koll era want to come back to inherit the Cornell HC job, they may need to go elsewhere first.

What does it take to add a college wrestling program? There is often talk here about premier expansion D-1 opportunities in power 4 conferences and other high revenue athletic departments. However, the future of the sport is not D-1, especially with NIL and the need for inflated football and basketball budgets. Without a major donor (10mil+), adding a competitive D-1 program with adequate scholarship, coaching and club level support, does not seem possible. While we need to strengthen existing D-1 programs with donations/camps, and other revenue, expansion is somewhere else If wrestling is going to expand at the college level it needs to be at the DIII level and help with struggling enrollment. In the past 15 years, enrollment has declines more than 8% across the U.S. and many colleges are struggling to attract students. With empty dorm rooms and empty seats in classes, the costs of adding an extra student to campus right now is minimal so schools are willing to invest in new programs to recruit. Targeting smaller, tuition dependent, schools is a way to grow the sport. For instance if you could convince a small private institution that a new men’s and women’s program (yes combined is the way to go), could attract 10-15 more students to the school per year, even with a 50% need based scholarship as an average, many institutions would jump on this. Not all of these students would need to be wrestlers, but fans and friends of the student athletes----more students= more word of mouth/marketing. For instance, the revenue generated from a school which cost 50,000 per year in tuition room and board would far outweigh the costs of the team. 15 students per year @50% tuition, room and board x4 years (60 students total)---at many private schools, the average student pays less than 50% so this is not out of the norm. · 60 students total x 25,000= 1,500,000 (tuition, room and board) · Coaches x3= -300,000 (salary & benefits) · Operating Budget -300,000 (capital, travel, etc) · Marginal costs for 60 more students on-campus -150,000 (classes, faculty, food, etc) · School revenue +750,000 (For the bottom line) Even with 250,000-500,000 in initial start up costs for a Wrestling room and mats, 750,000 a year in proven revenue after 4 years is worth the investment. So lets make business plans and target these tuition dependent schools with declining enrollment. If alumni and/or wrestling supporters can raise even 50,000-100,000 in start up costs, with a good plan, many universities are ready to listen and desperate for new ideas. The time to strike is now as school rarely add sports when they are flush with cash and students----why would they if the business model is behind it all?

Without a major donor, I would say D1 is out of the question for many places. D3 is a great model to help drive enrollment and all teams should start both men's and women's programs at the same time. It is a great model when you can share costs, facilities and increase the recruiting potential. With NIL, etc, scholarship models for D1 don't generate revenue for schools. Students who can pay 40-50% are often enough for a private school struggling with enrollment.

If the OSU move is the example, 250-500k a year would get a lot of good coaches to move. Especially when it comes with a loyal donor and fan base.

Seems like the only way Iowa moves past the Brands now is with a big donor....similar to OSU and the way NIL and everything else is going in college sport. Does Iowa have that billionaire....if so, who could come in and win with a big budget. Seems like the trend for recruiting would favor youth and recent street cred vs the CEO type that is needed. My top picks 1. Burroughs 2. Dake 3. Others, Schwab, Popolizio, Casey Cunningham, who else, hope they would not just go back to the Gable lineage by default.

A year late for Nickerson and Donny Vinson as I wonder if either would have taken this since it is so close to home? The ideal candidate is someone who has success and experience from a regional public D1 school. SUNY does not have the endowment/booster support of a power conference, but there is a ton of talent within a few hour drive of campus. Plus the school has a good academic reputation for a North East athlete who may not be at the level of a Cornell or other more elite school. A coach who can help keep top NY athletes home and steal a few from NJ and PA would be very successful. But they have to be a solid fundraiser. Ryan LeBlanc- NY roots and HC experience Kyle Dake--not gonna happen but his roots are local....(see gofundme idea below) Scott Green---as long as he has the fundraising/NCAA management experience---likely does Hayden Hidlay--PA roots and must have some good NY recruiting experience from working with Popolozio Zach Esposito---a reach but does he want a head job? Kellen Russell- Finger Lakes Wrestling club/Cornell has roots as far a Binghamton and maybe he could tap his NJ roots. Jordan Burroughs- not gonna happen but his wife is from NY and he is NJ---count me in for a gofundme donation to get him there.