FB: USA South Athletic Conference

[Scots13]

Averett announced the addition of men's and women's lacrosse and wrestling on Friday for the 2017(?) academic year. Hopefully that gets some other schools looking to add more sports (Looking at you, Maryville).

I'm assuming lacrosse could add 20-35 more students to enrollment on the men's and women's side. Ferrum's wrestling roster is in the 30 range and Huntingdon's is closer to 15. MC use to have a wrestling program back  in the day and I heard they were pretty good.

I would think having 75+ additional students on campus would help offset the costs of these programs.

[scottiedoug]

I do know that there are people in the AD leadership who agree with you, Scots13!

Wrestling in the 1960s was quite successful...competed in the SEC and wrestled Auburn, U. of Ga, etc and beat them.

[Scots13]

There are enough high school wrestling programs within a 200 mile radius from MC to build a successful program. I played with a few guys at MC that were state qualifiers that wanted to have a wrestling team while at MC.
Lacrosse is apparently the fastest growing sport in the US, or so I've been told. I'm not sure how many high school programs there are in the immediate area, but there has to be enough talent out there that can't play at a Duke or Notre Dame.

It can be done.

[jknezek]

I'm just happy to see wrestling programs being added at any level. It's been a long couple decades for NCAA wrestling. At the DI level the sport has been brutalized. W&L has to compete in a bastardized Centennial Conference for wrestling, with long trips to NYC, just to find enough meets. Hopefully MC and others will add in the SE and Virginia area. Seems to be trending that way again, finally!

As for lacrosse, it depends on how you measure fastest growing but the last time I saw numbers by team sport it wasn't unanimous. By percentage it was actually rugby, but they are starting from such a low number the actual growth of participants isn't anywhere near lacrosse. I'll let them duke it out for how to define it.

[Scots13]

I'm just happy to see wrestling programs being added at any level. It's been a long couple decades for NCAA wrestling. At the DI level the sport has been brutalized. W&L has to compete in a bastardized Centennial Conference for wrestling, with long trips to NYC, just to find enough meets. Hopefully MC and others will add in the SE and Virginia area. Seems to be trending that way again, finally!

As for lacrosse, it depends on how you measure fastest growing but the last time I saw numbers by team sport it wasn't unanimous. By percentage it was actually rugby, but they are starting from such a low number the actual growth of participants isn't anywhere near lacrosse. I'll let them duke it out for how to define it.

+1 on the rugby. I was thinking it was lacrosse because the tourney has been on the tube, but it was a rugby commercial I saw it on.

Good call.

[scottiedoug]

Wrestling does not require a field and grass and mowing...a mat will do it.  As for lacrosse, it could help Maryville recruit more students from states to the east and north, which I think is a good idea.  MC would benefit from more geographic variety.  Just an opinion....

[jknezek]

Wrestling does not require a field and grass and mowing...a mat will do it.

I think this is a great point. It's also why I believe baseball and softball are the hardest sports to add. Those are purpose built facilities with no other use. Lacrosse, football, soccer, field hockey, all the same synthetic turf field. Add a track and a few jumping pits and outdoor T&F is in the same facility as well. W&L added field hockey and women's golf in the last 20 years, the only ODAC sport they don't participate in is softball. I feel it is coming, but I also feel the reason it hasn't happened already is the otherwise useless expense of building and maintaining a softball diamond.

I also think it's a reason softball is particularly vulnerable to the Olympics (and was cut recently). It's not particularly global, and it is one more white elephant facility that has limited benefit after the games in many countries.

[CNU85]

Wrestling does not require a field and grass and mowing...a mat will do it.

I think this is a great point. It's also why I believe baseball and softball are the hardest sports to add. Those are purpose built facilities with no other use. Lacrosse, football, soccer, field hockey, all the same synthetic turf field. Add a track and a few jumping pits and outdoor T&F is in the same facility as well. W&L added field hockey and women's golf in the last 20 years, the only ODAC sport they don't participate in is softball. I feel it is coming, but I also feel the reason it hasn't happened already is the otherwise useless expense of building and maintaining a softball diamond.

I also think it's a reason softball is particularly vulnerable to the Olympics (and was cut recently). It's not particularly global, and it is one more white elephant facility that has limited benefit after the games in many countries.

I think their $1.5 BBBBBBBBBBBBillion endowment can handle a softball field.

[jknezek]

Wrestling does not require a field and grass and mowing...a mat will do it.

I think this is a great point. It's also why I believe baseball and softball are the hardest sports to add. Those are purpose built facilities with no other use. Lacrosse, football, soccer, field hockey, all the same synthetic turf field. Add a track and a few jumping pits and outdoor T&F is in the same facility as well. W&L added field hockey and women's golf in the last 20 years, the only ODAC sport they don't participate in is softball. I feel it is coming, but I also feel the reason it hasn't happened already is the otherwise useless expense of building and maintaining a softball diamond.

I also think it's a reason softball is particularly vulnerable to the Olympics (and was cut recently). It's not particularly global, and it is one more white elephant facility that has limited benefit after the games in many countries.

I think their $1.5 BBBBBBBBBBBBillion endowment can handle a softball field.

Of course it can. The debate is whether it should. The last master plan had a space marked out for one, leading me to believe it is coming sometime after the current significant construction wraps up. But in general I find softball and baseball to be very expensive because the facilities are dead space for so much of the year.

[Scots13]

Wrestling does not require a field and grass and mowing...a mat will do it.  As for lacrosse, it could help Maryville recruit more students from states to the east and north, which I think is a good idea.  MC would benefit from more geographic variety.  Just an opinion....

Let's start a petition, scottiedoug. JK, you're welcome to join in to help W&L's wrestling program out.

What other USAC/ODAC schools have wrestling programs other than Ferrum, Huntingdon and W&L?

[Scots13]

Wrestling does not require a field and grass and mowing...a mat will do it.  As for lacrosse, it could help Maryville recruit more students from states to the east and north, which I think is a good idea.  MC would benefit from more geographic variety.  Just an opinion....

Punto muy excellente, there amigo. Football recruiting has stretched into TX, a few more AL kids, and kids from CO, CA, and NC. I heard a kid from Arkansas committed this year. SE, SW and stretching into the West. We need some Yankees to come down to the Promised Land.

[jknezek]

Wrestling does not require a field and grass and mowing...a mat will do it.  As for lacrosse, it could help Maryville recruit more students from states to the east and north, which I think is a good idea.  MC would benefit from more geographic variety.  Just an opinion....

Let's start a petition, scottiedoug. JK, you're welcome to join in to help W&L's wrestling program out.

What other USAC/ODAC schools have wrestling programs other than Ferrum, Huntingdon and W&L?

HSC is the only other ODAC school I know of. Greensboro has a team. Southern Virginia has a second year team that is affiliated with the USASAC I think.

You can get the complete list of DIII wrestling schools here:

http://web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec2/sponsorship?sortOrder=5&division=3&sport=MWR

[Scots13]

Just found a presentation apparently given to HSC in 2013 regarding wrestling. Aside from coach's salary, start up cost is around $20k. It's a pdf- if you want to take a look Google "cost of college wrestling programs" and it's half way down the first page.

[scottiedoug]

Maryville was pretty interesting back when there were lots of students from New Jersey.  It was a shock to some of us that white people had different ideas about things!

[Scots13]

I would be more shocked if you said people from Pennsylvania or Maine or Maryland or Ohio. People from NJ are their own special beings (re: MTV's Jersey Shore)