Randy Cruz action 2016 NCAAs
Matches like this 2016 seventh-place bout at the NCAA tournament for Lehigh's Randy Cruz could shift to April under the NWCA's new proposal.
(Eric Hess | Lehigh University)
The National Wrestling Coaches Association's proposal to shift college wrestling's competitive season to a one-semester sport deserves serious consideration - but not for the reason many fans would consider first.
The change, if it comes, should come because it would dramatically improve the student-athletes' experience, not because it would spark a mass renaissance of interest in the sport.
The idea of a national championship in April - perhaps even late April - has always captivated hard-core fans interested in "getting away" from the March Madness NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. There are even some who think it would give the sport some kind of mass boost if basketball isn't on the television at the same time.
That's pretty unlikely.
As one veteran Lehigh Valley wrestling observer once said, "Everybody likes football, and most people like basketball, but only wrestling people really like wrestling." It happens that in the Lehigh Valley and northwestern New Jersey, there are a lot more wrestling people than in most places, which can give us here a bit of a skewed perspective.
I think wrestling is the greatest sport in the world, but I recognize that is a minority view. Moving the NCAA tournament to April won't spark mass interest in wrestling in Mobile, Seattle, or Los Angeles.
Frankly, it's not like the NCAA tournament isn't doing well right now. No matter its location, it sells out. The current TV exposure is pretty good - ESPN, without the NCAA basketball tournament, gives the nationals prime-time coverage.
Moving to April won't change that much, really. It's possible a few more fans might watch, but the NCAA ice hockey championships offer an instructive example. The "Frozen Four" has been in April for years, away from NCAA basketball, without turning the nation hockey-made. Like wrestling (to an extent), college ice hockey is a heavily regional sport and seems likely to stay that way. Go ahead, name the NCAA ice hockey champion from last year. We'll wait.
The NWCA does propose something that may boost fan interest - a true national dual-meet championship.
Fans love dual meets. Even casual non-wrestling fans can be enticed by the 'us v. them' of a classic dual. The really hard-core mat-heads may prefer massive individual tournaments that showcase the best of the best, but watching such tournaments can require hours of viewing that average fans aren't willing to invest in. But two hours for Lehigh-Cornell, Rutgers-Princeton or Penn State-Ohio State? Oh yes. (Or for Lehigh-Rutgers, for that matter, which should happen every season. But that's another column.)
There have been "national duals" before but with confusing, and occasionally unfair, formats, lack of intense interest from some teams and never truly stocked with every team that should be there. Since they never were a "true" national champion, not everybody took them that seriously.
Were the NCAA to sponsor a true national duals championship, that would change very quickly. Indeed, the duals could come, in time, to almost equal the national individual tournament.
But the best reason to support the "one-semester" proposal, with practice starting in November and the first competitions around Christmas and New Year's is the lessening of burdens on the wrestlers themselves.
They will be able, at most schools (Princeton is one of the few exceptions), to wrap up their first-semester academic obligations without competitions and weigh-ins to worry about. They can then plan their second semesters understanding that will be the busier and more demanding period, and could schedule more rigorous academic loads for the fall.
Also, the physical burden on the wrestlers would be lessened. That would cut down on illnesses and injuries and allow these wonderful athletes to compete at the highest level possible when it really matters. College wrestling right now is off-the-charts demanding on the young men's bodies; any lessening of those demands would be welcome.
A one-semester schedule might offer national duals in, say, early March; the conference tournaments in early April and the NCAAs the third week of April.
There a lot of questions to answer and factors to consider before the NCAA would begin to make such dramatic changes. Frankly, we're not 100 percent on-board ourselves with the entire proposal, which is well worth reading here.
But it could change the sport for the good by making the lives of the wrestling student-athletes better - which should be the main goal of any proposal for change in college wrestling.
(The answer to 2016 ice hockey champion: North Dakota).
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.