The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Board of Directors has announced that the location of the Mat Mayhem Championship Round will be determined immediately at the conclusion of the Regional Qualifying Tournaments taking place on February 11th and 12th.
The NWCA has received bids from Oklahoma State, Minnesota, and Missouri to host the Championship round on Sunday, February 19th, should their programs qualify. The University of Northern Iowa has also committed to hosting the Championship Round regardless of whether their team qualifies or not.
“As much as the NWCA would like to be more accommodating of the fans and media by determining the host site of the Mat Mayhem championship round well in advance of the Regionals; we simply find that we cannot because of the uncertainty of which teams will ultimately qualify. In many instances, the participating teams in Mat Mayhem have made extraordinary sacrifices to support this new format and if possible, we would like to be able to award the championship round to a team that qualifies for the finals,” said NWCA President, Brian Smith.
The NWCA has a selection committee that will make the final decision. Criteria such as facility costs, accessibility of the venue for traveling teams, regional teams that qualify, and historical average spectator base of the host will all be considered.
We hope the wrestling fans and media understand the challenges in making this decision. Once the final location is determined a press release will be sent out to the media and will be posted on the NWCA website at www.nwcaonline.com.
For the most up to date information on the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, please visit www.nwcaonline.com.
@ Steve James: The article states that one of the bidding teams (UNI) committed to hosting the Championship Round regardless of whether their team qualifies or not. If none of the other bidding teams make the finals, I think they would be a good choice.
You make a good point that choosing a location in advance would allow fans more time to pre-plan their travel arrangements. On the other hand, the NWCA is likley considering what location would create the best attendance. Unfortunately, they can't be determined until they know who will quailify for the championships.
Hopefully, the National Duals will grow to the point that good attendance will be assurred regardless of the location. If that occurs, I suspect the NWCA would change the way they schedule the event. (Note: I'm not affiliated with the NWCA and the above are just my opinions.)
What if none of the bidding teams make the finals? It's not likely, but it is possible. I think you would be better off to choose a location in advance regardless of which teams make the finals. This would allow pre-planning for travel arrangements. I think I understand your challenges but I have a difference of opinion. The timeliness and lack of information have been frustrating from a fan's perspective.
Thank you.
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