PPT Slide
Beast shows wrestling alive and well
College opportunities exist; 19 new programs started in past five years
NEWARK -- Dustin Schlatter paved a wrestling future for himself well before he put together one of the strongest showings of this weekend's Beast of the East tournament. Having committed to the University of Minnesota earlier this year, the senior from Masillon Perry High in Ohio claimed the 145-pound class title without the pressure of trying to impress the college coaches on hand at the Bob Carpenter Center. "Since the time I decided that I wanted to wrestle in college, I always figured there would be chances by the time I got there," Schlatter said. "I think that down the road, there will still be opportunities. I'm not worried about it. I think wrestling will always be there." One look at this weekend's activity suggests that the sport is stronger than ever, in both participation and support. To many, the Beast is proof that interest in wrestling is thriving, and the sport has no plans to lament its demise anytime soon. "The fact that there are less college programs affects the impressions that people have," said Lenny Bernstein, the head coach at the University of Virginia. "People think wrestling is a dying sport, but that's not true. At the high-school level, it's growing." Even collegiate wrestling can find reason for optimism these days, even in the face of a well-publicized decline in programs around the country over the past three decades. Pat Tocci, spokesman for the National Wrestling Coaches Association, proudly points out that 19 college wrestling programs have been added in the past five years, and four others have been saved with the organization's help. "Most people don't realize wrestling is actually growing at the college level," Tocci said. "We've reversed the trend in our favor. I don't think there are a lot of people in wrestling who actually realize how far we've come." The next obstacle is to turn around public perception that wrestling is waning. Despite the recent growth that the NWCA touts, there are still far fewer opportunities for high-school wrestlers to continue competing once they reach college. Wrestling proponents are careful not to place the entire blame on Title IX, the law that ensures equal opportunity for female athletes in college. But many feel a clarification of the law, which requires institutions to allocate athletic funds based on the gender distribution of the student body, would help keep more programs alive. According to the NCWA, nearly 450 colleges have dropped their wrestling programs since 1972, the year Title IX was signed into law. The University of Delaware cut wrestling in 1991. In addition, it is believed that for every 50 wrestlers who compete at the high-school level, there is one spot on a college varsity team available. Even if there have been recent gains made, high-school coaches still express concern that scholastic programs will begin to feel adverse effects. "Eventually, that will trickle down into the high-school level," Caesar Rodney coach Dicky Howell said. "It would be nice for more kids to have something to look forward to when they're done here. If the college opportunities continue to drop, it can't help but affect participation." Most agree that it can be discouraging. In Delaware, wrestlers who aspire to compete in college have only one Division I program within the state,
