Tom formerly Tofurky

Maybe? Some years ago, I had a really nice conversation with the CEO of thr NCWA. I don't remember his name. He was very enthusiastic about growing college wrestling. I do not remember his pitch. That said, as far as I know, the main driver behind expanding college wrestling and how it can become a revenue generator for institutions is Mike Moyer and the NWCA. Mike and that group have been intimately involved in working with higher ed administrations to expand the sport, and they bring an immense amount of data to support their position. He once gave me the pitch when I was between coaching jobs.

Forgive me if this has already been stated, but I didn't read through the whole thread, and I have direct experience with this topic. Administrators in higher education aren't exactly "dumb". They have budgets, and know that someone will jump at the chance to put "college coach" on their resume, even with low pay. Also, most of these jobs that are non-D1 are basically admission counselors jobs under a different name. Just like admissions, athletics programs at smaller institutions have to meet admissions/retention numbers or ya gone! Often, schools which are adding athletics programs can be found to be struggling with enrollment, and they believe that adding sports will save them from shuttering their doors.

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Got the call early this morning from a friend who should have been coaching his team at a college tournament out east. Knowing well the guy who made the call, I thought he was going to tell me something funny, but it was the opposite of that. Drew Pariano, our friend and former colleague, had passed yesterday. To say that my friend and I (and so many others are, too) are gutted by this news is as big an understatement as I can make. I don't cry often, but today I have a few times. A 3x Ohio State Champion and 3X NCAA Qualifier for Northwestern U. made Drew's athletic career something to applaud, though he would disagree and loved to talk about his teammates and his brother becoming All-Americans. As a coach, Drew could be a polarizing figure within the sport. His coaching mind was razor sharp and his wit was no less potent. He was a guy who saw a different way to do things that often eschewed the norms of wrestling, and he found a lot of success with it as a coach. He didn't mind the side eye he often received from the purists, because the results of his teams spoke for themselves. He made a lot of stuff happen at a school that never made easy success for wrestling. As a friend, if you were in Drew's circle, you knew it. He loved to tell stories and make people laugh. He loved to have friendly debates, and always backed up his ideas with facts, unless he could tell that he was getting the best of someone, then he would make those discussions lighthearted. Drew checked in on those he loved and always talked about the accomplishments of others. Being in their orbits was good enough for Drew. He was comfortable in his own skin and didn't need or want the spotlight. Anytime you asked Drew about how he was doing, he always steered the conversation in another direction, especially back to with whomever he was speaking. He was curious and engaged about and with others, always asking questions and analyzing people, but kept up a wall about himself. That made it hard to help him at times, though my last conversation with him two weeks ago today was about struggling with the unexpected loss of loved ones. We agreed we would call one another when we weren't feeling our best, but that was really Drew telling me, "I'm here for you." I knew that about him. Drew had his faults and his detractors, but his efforts to put more good into this world than bad were crystal clear. The world was a better place with Andrew Pariano in it. He will be missed greatly.

I see your point, but I look at it in a "big picture" approach. Maintaining one style that doesn't abruptly end any later than college and offers no professional opportunity doesn't grow the sport. I think everyone here wants the sport to grow, right? Switching to Olympic Freestyle CAN bring in more Matsunoke Onos, Abdurahkmananov brothers, Alan Gelogaevs, Sanshiro Abes, Yojiro Uetakes, etc. and wrestlers from around the globe to compete in college wrestling, which raises the level of domestic wrestling, which means more eyes on the sport, which means more money, which means more support, which COULD mean more teams (Canadian university teams joining the NCAA)... American collegiate isn't having that conversation. The conversation being had is on full display here, in this thread. To paraphrase: "The United States perfected wrestling style. It's so good that we are the only ones who compete in it. The rest of the world needs to adopt our style... which has no and never will have a World/Olympic/professional support or option beyond college." I am not suggesting this is the panacea, but MORE cool storylines in the sport about wrestling at the U.S. collegiate level being a real world melting pot also speaks to administrators at colleges who are looking to attract foreign students, their guaranteed money, and their enrollment, which is GREAT for the sport, especially as the real world enrollment cliff in this country continues forward. Basic principles of business regarding supply and demand may take place from there, and I think that they will, given the opportunity. Yes, all of my statements are hypotheses. However, instead of selling out wrestling to MMA and BJJ or remaining insular to the point of potential stagnation, why not focus on growing WRESTLING?

I'm not so sure about that last one. Refs don't usually quit because there's too much work. It's usually $#!++% parents and coaches who push them out. We are seeing that more and more young folks are participating in Free and GR. That's great for the future of the sport and both styles, as those current students and recent grads will be leading teams in the near future.

I'll bite one last time. I do not know why. If you want to call around to coaches across the IHSA and have them poll their kids, knock yourself out. That said, here are my last two points to you in this thread: 1. Most of Freestyle season isn't wrestled in the summertime. It takes place in spring. The Freestyle and Greco state tournaments and "Second Chance" tournaments take place in May each year, while school is going on. 2. Outside of the Illinois high school season (November to February), I have noticed a dramatic decline in American Collegiate/folk offerings in Illinois each spring and summer in the last decade to 15 years. More and more tournaments are geared towards Free and GR, especially developmentals.

Kids, high school and college, yes.

And because of your (continued) self-identified dramatic(s) and abject conjecture, I bid you "adieu" in this conversation.

No, I am not, and have not suggested that. Move American collegiate as we currently know it to summertime fun and MMA gyms. Again, it would take gradual rule implementation, not one fell swoop. It can absolutely be done.

How would would moving to Freestyle "screw" anyone and how did you come to that conclusion? You have made it abundantly clear that you, personally, do not like Freestyle. That's not an issue. Yet, to argue that your opinion is THE opinion of the general public is specious at best. Is Freestyle less popular here because people just don't like it or because of a lack of exposure to even most people involved in the sport? I'll argue the latter.

I disagree. It comes down to rule adoption and implementation, not trading wrestling for Sambo, for example.

That argument is subjective. While the USA doesn't owe it to the world to help grow wrestling, it sure is pretty cool that guys like Matt Gentry, RBY, Steven Micic and many others have been able to become professional Olympic-level wrestlers and earn an income doing so, while making non-traditional powerhouse nations even stronger. It could be even better than what it is now...

I don't know Tom todurky. All I know is that I never said that, and to read into it is a completely misunderstanding every thing I have said here.