Takedown Report

New NCAA rule changes don’t make sense or seem fair

By Tristan Warner

The new NCAA rule changes for the 2023-24 season leave me with a feeling of uneasiness that I feel obligated to explore further. 

I know some of the opinions to follow may be unpopular with wrestling fans across the country, but perhaps these thoughts may generate some healthy dialogue. 

For starters, at times, it feels like the committee is just searching for something to change, whether it be something trivial like the requirement for beard length, or something massive like applying a multiplier of 1.5x to the most fundamental aspect of scoring in the sport of wrestling. 

I understand the effort to “grow the sport” and make it more appealing for fans is important. However, I also see how the reality of constantly changing the rules also confuses the casual wrestling fan or keeps a newcomer from ever really grasping the concepts and scoring principles. 

Case in point, I know several people who, just by virtue of living in central Pennsylvania and being Penn State fans, have started to gravitate toward the sport and become more interested in it as Penn State’s program has risen to nearly unchartered prominence.

This column appeared in the August issue of WIN Magazine. Click on the cover or call 888-305-0606 to subscribe.

With each passing year, I find myself explaining the new rule changes to them, and I can’t help but to imagine if their confusion and misunderstanding is extrapolated to the general population in the same way. 

After all, you don’t see touchdowns, home runs, goals and baskets changing in scoring value. Thus, newer fans of those sports can easily grasp the unwavering nature of the scoring. 

I also have some observations about the actual rule changes, and here is where things may get controversial. 

I am aware of my implicit bias as a Northeasterner and Pennsylvanian to the style wrestled in this part of the country. But, I can’t help but feel like the three-point takedown, five-count ankle stall and the near-fall required for a riding-time point rule that was proposed — even though it did not pass this time around — are catering to a specific style of wrestling. 

And the problem with that, for me, is that the best thing about the sport is that every wrestler can take a different approach and tailor their own style while still striving to be the most well-rounded wrestler possible, which makes it even more exciting. 

The rules should not promote or encourage one of the three aspects of the sport, while diminishing the others just for the sake of fan engagement. 

The three-point takedown clearly emphasizes neutral wrestling and widens the gap tremendously between a takedown and an escape and it also widens the gap between a takedown and a reversal. … rest of story at … Win-magazine.com/2023/08/09/new-ncaa-rule-changes-dont-seem-balanced-and-fair

August 10, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized