D1 Coaches Weigh In On NCAA Wrestling Rule Change Proposals
To get a sense of how coaches feel about the proposed rule changes, we reached out to the leaders of more than a dozen Division I programs
The NCAA rules committee proposed a set of changes that could lead to perhaps the most transformative period in college wrestling history.
With that has come one of the hottest periods of social media debate in the sport.
Do the rules strike the right balance to inject more excitement and entertainment into the sport? Are the changes too drastic? Did they not go far enough?
Opinions have landed all over the spectrum.
To get a sense of how coaches feel, we reached out to the leaders of more than a dozen Division I programs. Below is a sampling of their responses.
Overall Thoughts
American coach Jason Borrelli
“Overall, I’m happy we’re trying — you know, at least we have people in positions who are looking at the sport through the lens of trying to improve it and trying to increase action. I like that. Our sport, we’re hesitant to change a lot, so anytime we try to make changes we’re fought with some resistance. I think it’s good that we’ve got people in positions that can make change that are thinking about the long-term future of the sport. Trying to increase action and make things more exciting is a good thing. I was OK from that perspective. Now do I agree with every rule change or every proposal? No, but I certainly see where it’s coming from, so that’s good.”
Appalachian State coach JohnMark Bentley
“I’m not a huge fan of a lot of them, to be honest. I think the new rules obviously favor a better athlete for sure. You take mat wrestling out of the equation, you take a lot of the conditioning factor out of the equation, it’s not going to be advantageous for wrestlers who are less talented. I kind of like conditioning and things like that being a part of it, and with mat wrestling being limited, I don’t know how much conditioning is going to be a factor. I like how folkstyle wrestling makes you be well-rounded in all three positions and I’m not a huge fan of losing that. Personally, if those are the rules — and I’m not against all of them, there’s some things I can live with — I feel if you’re moving in that direction and that’s what you want to see and want to take mat wrestling out of the equation, then I would just be in favor of transitioning completely to freestyle.”
Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser
“We’re kind of in digestion mode here and it’s all really new and just seeing whether this is going to help our sport. I know the traditional people don’t like it, but sometimes change is good.”
Little Rock coach Neil Erisman
“I think all of these can be summed up with great intention, we’ll see if it lines out to good actions.”
Missouri coach Brian Smith
“Are we focused on the ground level, or should we be focused on a 30,000-foot view? The bigger picture is why the decline in viewership and attendance and fans not liking the action or whatever the problem on the mat is? When you go out to 30,000 feet, what have other sports done? The last 3-5 years football, baseball, all these sports have found ways to shorten their events and they’re trying to get closer to a two-hour window. Some are longer than two hours, but the object is to reduce it so fans will stay attentive to the event. Wrestling right now, we wrestle one to two tournaments in the regular season as a team and the rest are all duals, which can be confusing to a fan. The tournaments are what’s going to matter, but duals don’t really have a big purpose in our sport, whereas in college football and basketball the regular season game has a purpose. We’re even seeing the purpose of these tournaments don’t matter now, where it’s getting a minimal amount of matches to compete in the tournaments that come at the end. Could this be the issue of why we’re losing fans? Duals on major broadcasts — ESPN, ACC, Big Ten Network, Flo — we’re seeing great excitement to watch some of these matchups. … rest of story at Flowrestling.org/D1-coaches-weigh-in-on-ncaa-wrestling-rule-change-proposals
The Pat Popolizio Coaching Tree
On Monday afternoon, news broke out of Fargo, North Dakota that newly promoted North Dakota State head wrestling coach, Obe Blanc, had hired Hayden Hidlay as his assistant coach. In 2022, Hidlay finished up a decorated career at NC State that saw him leave Raleigh as one of the all-time greats in NC State wrestling, becoming the first four-time (and five-time) All-American in school history and second in career win-loss percentage.
Hidlay and Blanc’s paths crossed at NC State as Blanc was an assistant coach early in Hidlay’s career, before leaving for NDSU. The common ground for both was wrestling or coaching under Wolfpack head coach Pat Popolizio.
When it comes to college coaching trees, no one is larger or more famous than Dan Gable’s when he was the head coach at the University of Iowa. John Smith’s is quite impressive himself as he is now responsible for coaching ten current DI head coaches, which is the most of any coach or school.
What you may not realize is that Popolizio has an impressive list of DI coaches that have either coached alongside him or wrestled under him (or both). With Hidlay’s hiring, that number grows by one. Before the 2021-22 season, InterMat traveled to Raleigh and spoke with Popolizio about this exact topic. When asked about the number of his pupils in the coaching ranks he responded, “To me, you never want to have a kid come here and resent the sport of wrestling. We want it to be a positive experience.”
Some head coaches may view assistants leaving as more work for them in the short-term and a difficult situation in replacing a valued member of their staff. Popolizio isn’t one of them. “I feel confident about the guys on our staff. At some point, they’ll get the call to be a head coach and they’ll be ready because of the day-to-day tasks that are thrown at them. They’re learning the ins and outs of everything I do as a head coach. I already know in our room right now, we have several guys who are going to be great college coaches.”
So who’s next from the Pat Popolizio coaching tree? “Adam Hall, he’s a rock star. … rest of story at Intermatwrestle.com/articles/26746
Hawkeyes lead Division I in wrestling attendance for 16th straight season
The National Wrestling Media Association has released its annual NCAA Division I wrestling home dual meet attendance report for the 2022-23 season and for the 16th-straight season, the University of Iowa is the nation’s top home draw.
Iowa, Penn State, Iowa State, Rutgers and Oklahoma State were the top five home draws this season.
RELATED: Attendance stats since 2002 (via Mat Talk Online)
The Hawkeyes drew an average of 14,858 fans per home date in 2022-23 and saw a record total of 118,870 fans come through the doors at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa’s overall total is the highest total attendance number since Division I attendance records started being recorded in 2002. The previous high season total was Iowa’s 97,325 in the 2015-16 season, which included the NCAA-record 42,287 at Kinnick Stadium. The 14,858 is the second-highest average attendance in college wrestling history, second only to the Hawkeyes’ average last season.
The Hawkeyes drew capacity crowds of 14,905 in six of their eight home dates.
Penn State was second for the 12th-straight season drawing an average of 9,225 fans. Two of the Nittany Lions home duals were at the Bryce Jordan Center. Those two duals drew nearly 16,000 fans. According to Penn State Athletic Communications, the Nittany Lions have sold out 66-straight duals in Rec Hall and 75 of the last 77 home events. Penn State’s 15,998 against Iowa on January 27 is tied for the third-largest dual meet crowd in college wrestling history and ties the indoor mark, also set by Penn State against Iowa, on Feb. 10, 2018.
Iowa State averaged 5,287 fans with six home dates. The Cyclones are third in attendance for the second time in three seasons and have been in the top seven since 2002, the first year attendance was tracked. Rutgers is in the top six for the eighth straight season and is fourth for the third time since 2018. Oklahoma State is fifth and has been in the top 10 each year since 2002, never falling lower than seventh. Ohio State has been consistently in the top six since 2012 and ranks sixth for the second-straight year. Virginia Tech reached a program high of seventh. The Hokies were 10th a year ago and have been ranked in the top 10 six times. Northern Iowa might have lost some of the mystique by moving full-time into the McLeod Center from its iconic West Gym, but it did allow the Panthers to rank eighth in attendance, a program high. It’s also the first time since 2017 the Panthers have ranked in the Top 10. Minnesota was ninth, keeping the Gophers streak alive of Top 10 draws. Michigan ranked 10th, the fourth time in the last five years the Wolverines have broken the Top 10.
Several schools saw high attendance marks during combined events with women’s gymnastics. Often dubbed “Beauty and the Beast,” Iowa State, Arizona State, Northern Illinois and Kent State saw their highest home attendance in the combined events.
Iowa was the top road draw as six schools – Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Army West Point, Chattanooga and Purdue – saw its high crowds come against the visiting Hawkeyes. Penn State was the top road draw at Rutgers, Ohio State, Indiana and Rider. Oklahoma State was also a solid road draw as the Cowboys were the top drawing team for Iowa (tied), Oregon State, Oklahoma and Bucknell.
For the first time in 15 years, Cal Poly was represented. The Mustangs ranked 22nd in attendance averaging 1,124 fans. Cal Poly averaged 750 fans per dual last season.
This season marks the first time at least 25 schools broke an average of 1,000 fans per dual. … rest of story at Nationalwrestlingmedia.com/hawkeyes-lead-division-i-in-wrestling-attendance-for-16th-straight-season
HBCUs capitalize on growing interest by adding sport options
The outrage, frustration and emotional trauma Jahi Jones felt as he watched video of police murdering George Floyd three years ago compelled him to seek ways to lift up other young Black men.
He just wasn’t sure how to do it.
Jones had attended the University of Maryland on an academic scholarship and was a walk-on for the wrestling team. He became team captain, competed at the NCAA championships and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He later noticed that, in 2021, Black men made up half the 10 Division I national champions in wrestling but fewer than 10% of Division I wrestlers.
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That’s when everything started to click.
“I would start thinking about ways that I could get involved to help inside of the wrestling community and just make things more fair and equitable,” he said. “It was just seeing the lack of diversity, but also seeing that … we excel inside the sport, but (we are) just not having those same opportunities to develop.”
Now 25, Jones is the executive director of the HBCU Wrestling Initiative. With a major assist from that program, Morgan State in the next school year will become the only historically Black college or university (HBCU) to offer Division I wrestling. … rest of story at APnews.com/article/hbcu-new-sports-ncaa
Changes in High School Wrestling Rules Include Allowance of Six Matches in One Day of Competition
High school wrestlers will be able to wrestle in six matches in any one day of competition beginning with the 2023-24 season. The six-match limit includes championship and consolation matches and excludes forfeits.
This change to Rule 1-4-3 was one of 12 revisions recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee at its April 2-4 meeting in Indianapolis. All changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
The increase from five to six matches for regular-season competition follows the change two years ago which permitted six matches in any one day of tournament competition. With experiments conducted last year by state associations with no reported injuries, the committee thought the increase to six for regular-season competition was a natural progression.
With risk minimization in mind, the committee also approved Rule 1-4-7, which states that no contestant shall wrestle in more than 10 matches in two consecutive days.
Another significant change was made in the Definitions (Rule 5) section of the NFHS Wrestling Rules Book. In Rule 5-15-2a which lists the points of support when a wrestler is down on the mat, “foot/feet” was added to the list that includes the knee(s), side of the thigh, buttocks, hand(s) and head.
“Feet are regularly supporting the wrestler’s weight during the match while on the mat,” said Elliot Hopkins, director of sports and student services and liaison to the Wrestling Rules Committee. “We allow a wrestler’s feet to be considered supporting points while in a near-fall situation. By adding it to the list of usual supporting points on the mat, it will create more clarity and consistency for the wrestlers, coaches and officials – without creating additional injury risk.” … rest of story at NFHS.org/articles/changes-in-high-school-wrestling-rules-include-allowance-of-six-matches-in-one-day-of-competition
Davidson Wrestling Adds Iowa State Standout Coleman to Staff
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Head coach Nate Carr Jr. has announced the addition of Marcus Coleman to the Davidson wrestling staff on Monday.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Marcus to our program and coaching staff,” said Carr. “His character and work ethic along with his overall experience in the sport is going to be pivotal in helping us build an elite level culture while also giving our scholar-athletes the best experience possible.”
Coleman comes to Davidson after graduating from Iowa State as a distinguished member of the Cyclones wrestling team, who finished the 2022-23 season ranked fifth in Division I.
In his collegiate career, Coleman compiled a 99-42 overall record, is a five-time NCAA Qualifier, and a two-time All-American. Most recently, Coleman took second place at the 2023 Big Ten Championship and fifth at the NCAA Championships at 184 pounds. He also became the second wrestler in Iowa State history to qualify for five NCAA Championships (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).
Coleman was named Big 12 and NCAA Wrestler of the Week on December 28th, 2022 after beating No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) at the Collegiate Duals, handing Brooks’ his only loss of the season. Coleman ended his final season with a 24-5 record and claimed 15 wins against ranked opponents.
In 2022, Coleman became the first Iowa State All-American at 184 pounds since 2008 after taking seventh at the NCAA Championships. He also finished third at the Big 12 Championships and ended the season with a 22-6 record.
In 2021, Coleman finished fourth at the Big 12 Championships and was named to the Big 12’s All-Academic Second Team.
Coleman graduated from Iowa State with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a minor in Family Services, and was selected to ISU’s Dean’s List in 2020.
“I am really thankful for this opportunity, and I cannot wait to join the Davidson family,” said Coleman. “I’m excited to get to work with our scholar-athletes and help build a great program!” … rest of story at Davidsonwildcats.com/news/2023/6/5/wrestling-adds-iowa-state-standout-coleman-to-staff
Rockingham County wrestling great David Barker inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame N.C. Chapter
EDEN — A tournament founder and acclaimed wrestler with a reputation that reaches back to his high school days at Morehead High School here, David Barker was recently inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame North Carolina Chapter.
The longtime and storied coach with the Rockingham County Schools received the honor May 21 at the Friday Conference Center in Chapel Hill.
Barker is the youngest inductee to ever receive the Lifetime Service Award for the National Wrestling Hall State Chapter of North Carolina.
While a student at Morehead, the athletically versatile Barker wrestled, played baseball and ran track.
After college, Barker, 45, returned to Morehead to become a member of the wrestling coaching staff.
He went on to coach MHS Panther teams that won state dual titles in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2014, and 2016 and state tournament titles in 1998, 1999, 2006, 2014, and 2015. … rest of story at Greensboro.com/rockingham-county-wrestling-great-david-barker-inducted-into-national-wrestling-hall-of-fame
Newport News will expand middle school sports next year: Soccer, wrestling, football and cheer
TDR Editor’s Notes; Great, encouraging news as a large neighboring school district, just north of many wrestling programs in the northeastern corner of North Carolina, will be increasing wrestling opportunities for middle school students. Middle schoolers need and deserve the benefits that can be gained in interscholastic sports and activities. Yes, it will help some prepare to better compete while in high school, but more importantly it will help a much larger number to grow and mature as students!
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By NOUR HABIB | nour.habib@virginiamedia.com | Staff writer
PUBLISHED: June 4, 2023 at 11:39 a.m. | UPDATED: June 4, 2023 at 1:27 p.m.
NEWPORT NEWS — Soccer, wrestling, football and cheer will be offered at all Newport News middle schools starting next school year. The school division is spending about $1.3 million to expand its middle school sports program, which already had offered basketball, volleyball and track. The money is going toward field development, equipment and uniforms, storage sheds and scoreboards.
“We believe this is a much-needed investment in our city’s youth,” said Director of Student Athletics Lee Martin. “We believe organized sports teaches values of sportsmanship and promotes fitness. We also know that being a member of a valued team teaches responsibility, teamwork and improves self-esteem.”
Development of practice and game fields began last month and scoreboards will be installed over the summer. Sports equipment and uniforms have been ordered. Lee said there is plenty of excitement from the community. During a School Board meeting last month, member Marvin Harris applauded the administration and staff for their work, saying that sports at the middle school level is influential.
“It cuts down on a lot of discipline issues,” Harris said. (TDR Editor’s boldfacing this quote)
The division is developing game fields at Achievable Dream, Crittenden and Ella Fitzgerald schools. Practice fields will be in place at Booker T. Washington, Gildersleeve and Passage. Huntington Middle School students, who are currently on the Heritage High School campus, will use Heritage facilities. And alternate plans are being made for Hines Middle School, which does not have space for a practice field. Schools that do not have game fields will have their games at a high school campus or share with another middle school. … rest of story at Pilotonline.com/2023/06/04/newport-news-will-expand-middle-school-sports-next-year-soccer-wrestling-football
NWCA Announces 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Scholar All-American Awards
Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has announced the complete list of honorees for the 2022-2023 Scholar All-America Team and Individual Awards for Division I. This year, 291 wrestlers from 73 institutions were recognized for their academic achievements and commitment to the sport of wrestling.
The team award was won by Drexel University, which finished with an impressive 3.6117 GPA, followed by Cleveland State (3.5465) and Wisconsin (3.5197).
NCAA Division I Individual Scholar All-Americans
The individual awards were led by Harvard, Minnesota, Ohio State, and South Dakota State, with each school having eight Scholar All-American selections. Drexel, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Penn, and Wisconsin each had seven honorees.
The NWCA Executive Director, Mike Moyer, praised the recipients for their dedication to both their athletic and academic pursuits, saying, “Wrestling takes much focus and sacrifice, and we are proud to honor these wrestlers’ obvious commitment to their academic pursuits!”
2023 Division I Men’s Team Scholar All-American Top 30
| Rank | Institution | GPA |
| 1 | Drexel University | 3.6117 |
| 2 | Cleveland State University | 3.5464 |
| 3 | Wisconsin | 3.5197 |
| 4 | University of Northern Iowa | 3.4881 |
| 5 | George Mason University | 3.4807 |
| 6 | Hofstra University | 3.4796 |
| 7 | Northwestern University | 3.4781 |
| 8 | North Dakota State University | 3.4713 |
| 9 | Kent State University | 3.4644 |
| 10 | South Dakota State University | 3.4635 |
| 11 | Duke University | 3.4587 |
| 12 | California Baptist University | 3.4587 |
| 13 | Franklin & Marshall | 3.4435 |
| 14 | Campbell University | 3.4355 |
| 15 | Clarion | 3.4282 |
| 16 | Stanford University | 3.4236 |
| 17 | Harvard University | 3.3872 |
| 18 | NC State University | 3.3755 |
Ryan Blackwell inducted in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame State Chapter of North Carolina
Ryan Blackwell (Medal of Courage) – Born in Chesapeake, Virginia, Blackwell’s family moved to North Carolina when he was six years old. He started wrestling when he was in elementary school and enjoyed a
stellar high school career, winning 172 matches, qualifying for the state tournament four times, and capturing state titles in 2009 and 2010. After graduating from Croatan High School, Blackwell wrestled for five years at UNC Pembroke and was a two-year starter, a two-time NCAA Academic All-American, and the 2013 Male Athlete of the year for the Braves. After graduating with a degree in Exercise and Sports Science, he enlisted in the Navy in 2017 on a Warrior Challenge Program contract and began special forces training immediately after completing boot camp. During his training, Blackwell suffered severe injuries that included a drowning where he was resuscitated back to life and a shattered wrist requiring reconstructive surgery. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was to medically retire from the Navy. While Blackwell was awaiting his retirement, he worked for 18 months in an administrative position at the Naval Aviation Schools Command, working with the International Military Training Office at the Pensacola Navy Base in Florida. On the morning of December 6, 2019, a gunman opened fire at the Pensacola base, the first terrorist attack on US soil by a foreign national since September 11 th , 2001. During the shooting, Blackwell shielded two fellow service members from gunfire and was shot six times. Despite life-threatening injuries and a paralyzed right arm, he managed to remove an air conditioning unit from a window and helped his colleagues, both of whom were injured, escape to safety. His heroism continued during transport to the hospital by a local Sheriff’s deputy as he provided first aid to another shooting victim while enroute to the hospital. For his actions, Blackwell received the Purple Heart for Valor and the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by the Navy. Blackwell’s recovery from the shooting was long and painful, requiring multiple surgeries and months of being unable to move without help from his wife. During his recovery he reflected on how wrestling and his life experiences had molded him and, one year after the shooting, he opened his own gym. As the owner of “Well Trained Wrestling and Fitness” located in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Blackwell coaches wrestling and works to instill the values of discipline, patience, and determination into others. Currently Blackwell lives in Gulf Breeze with his wife Carly and daughter Reyna (2).
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
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