NWCA Call to Action

The NWCA’s Plan of Action for Dropped Wrestling Programs

4/28/2009 2:20:00 PM

The National Wrestling Coaches Association’s mission is to preserve, promote and protect college wrestling programs in all collegiate divisions. In recent months, there have been eight intercollegiate programs that have been discontinued after the 2008-09 season, thus eliminating opportunities for young men to participate at these institutions or even to finish their collegiate careers. Leaving a puzzle that needs to be solved, and asking the wrestling community what else can be done to save wrestling?

Manheim, Penn. -  The National Wrestling Coaches Association’s mission is to preserve, promote and protect college wrestling programs in all collegiate divisions. In recent months, there have been eight intercollegiate programs that have been discontinued after the 2008-09 season, thus eliminating opportunities for young men to participate at these institutions or even to finish their collegiate careers.  Leaving a puzzle that needs to be solved, and asking the wrestling community what else can be done to save wrestling?

Programs that have been dropped in past months include: Carson Newman, Delaware State University, Lawrence College, MIT, Norwich University, Portland State University, Rose-Hulman and Wagner College.

With tough economic times pressing the country from top to bottom, it is also being heavily felt at the institutional  level as budgets become more restricted and athletic departments are faced with a choice of what to do to cut cost.  What we have seen so far since early 2009 is an alarming trend of the elimination of wrestling programs at all levels.

The first step for the wrestling community is awareness that above programs are out there and are in desperate need of support.

The NWCA is currently working with these programs and individual groups on what should be done at each individual institution. In the coming months, as talks with these institutions grow, the NWCA will be asking for the help and support of the wrestling community. As it is determined what needs to be done to reinstate wrestling at these schools for future generations.

At this time the NWCA would like to let the wrestling community know about the following attempts that are being made to reinstate dropped programs and/or to strengthen our existing teams: 

• The NWCA has been educating Boards of Trustees on the important role that wrestling can serve in helping small, private enrollment conscious schools maintain or grow their enrollment through this deteriorating economy.   Few, if any male sports have a more favorable ratio of high school participants to college opportunities (260,000 high school wrestlers vs. only 260 four year programs).
•  Several of the discontinued programs have been attributable to poor retention and graduation rates of athletes.  The NWCA has retained the consulting services of Mark Gumble, a nationally recognized member of the National Association of Athletic Academic Advisors, a group that is funded by the NCAA to oversee APR improvement strategies.
• As part of a longer term strategy, the NWCA is rolling out the first phase of its College Coaching Academy at the August Convention which is designed to help coaches strengthen their CEO skills so they can protect their programs.    
• The NWCA has identified wrestling’s most threatened intercollegiate wrestling programs in each collegiate division and will be assigning each coach (who is willing to participate) to an experienced mentor (high profile athletic administrator, coach, business CEO, etc).
• The NWCA is collaborating with the head wrestling coach and alumni group’s at all eight institutions to raise money in support of each discontinued program.
• The NWCA has solicited the help from top military leaders to inspire the Norwich University (military school) to reconsider it s decision to eliminate wrestling.
• The NWCA is collaborating with the Delaware Wrestling Alliance, a group of highly influential business professionals, to work toward an alternative solution that keeps the program intact.
•  The NWCA is making its best efforts to leverage the work of the New York City “Beat the Streets” organization (they have recently started 42 new high school wrestling programs in NYC) to save the Wagner wrestling program.  One of Wagner’s most prominent undergraduate degree programs is teacher education.  We are doing everything possible to help the administration understand that the newly established Beat the Streets high school teams are not sustainable without quality teacher coaches at each school.
• The NWCA is facilitating possible lawsuits in several of the discontinued programs.
• The NWCA has provided valuable “program entrenchment” data to the alumni groups connected with each discontinued program.

More information on Program Entrenchment, which is the opportunities that are currently available, programs that have been discontinued, and how to prevent the termination of existing programs, can be found on the NWCA website at www.nwcaonline.com.

The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate programs. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling.

The NWCA, through its organizational structure, promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events, and serves as an educational and informational source. Additionally, the NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of athletic competition.

Tammy Tedesco

Call to Action

Delaware Wrestling Alliance Wagner College Lawrence College dropped programs Delaware State University Portland State Norwich University Military Caron Newman MIT Rose-Hulman NWCA