April 11, 2001
A Different Strategy to Save Wrestling
" Let's make this Washington States Way "
** MONEY TALKS **
I just read another article lamenting the fact that there are more colleges dropping wrestling programs this year. This particular article was "The Spring Slashing Season is here", The Matside View, Gary Abbott on The Mat.com. The article is another exhorting the wrestling masses to join in the fight against the demise of the sport. I agree that all of us with an interest in the sport who have experienced or seen the tremendous benefits that the sport bounds should stand up and be counted. But the question is, where can I do something that might really count?
I have written letters to congressmen, signed petitions, and generally groused with my peers at tournaments over the years. It would seem that none of this has made much of an impact. The programs for which I signed petitions are still gone and I have a drawer full of responses from congressmen essentially saying that they cannot take up the fight (might lose some votes).
The answer to my question came to me not long ago. I was in Seattle touring (guided but informally) the UW campus with my daughter. She was considering swimming as a walk on at UW next fall.
One of our main concerns was that the UW had made an announcement last spring that it was canceling its swimming programs (both men's and women's) because of the upkeep on the aged practice facility on campus. UW then did an about face several weeks later and said that it would keep swimming. Not only would it keep swimming, it was going to build a new pool complex!
Our tour leader was quite candid when asked about the turnaround. His response was that some alumni threatened to withdraw support for the athletic department if the UW went ahead with its plans to kill the program.
On returning home, and quite by accident, I was given the opportunity to make a statement, however small, about the lack of wrestling at my alma mater. A fund raiser from the athletic program called me asking for a donation. Instead of ordering my football tickets and giving them a couple hundred dollars so that I could park, I asked the fundraiser if they were considering reinstating wrestling. To my surprise I did not get the immediate "no" I had expected. Instead, the fundraiser said she would have to check and would call me back.
Even more surprising was that the following evening I received a call from another fundraiser who said that they had checked and the answer was "no". (Well, it was a surprise that they called me back with any answer). This actually made me feel good. I told them that I would buy my football season tickets as soon as they started a wrestling program and we said good-bye.
I say that it made me feel good to say no to season tickets because it made me feel like I had reached a little higher in the food chain with my desire. There are other reasons why I feel bad about having done this but I feel that I made my small point with the right ammunition - money.
This brings me, finally, to the point. We have prepared arguments that would indicate that the interpretation of Title IX is incorrect. Some would say that gender equality is quotas period and that if we looked at the numbers of men and women taking part in school sponsored activities that included more than just athletics we would have reverse discrimination. We have written letters to our congressmen. We have had our club wrestler write letters to our congressmen. We have written letters to the ADs at schools that have decided to drop the sport. The result: ADs are still dropping the sport.
I am adopting a different strategy. It is a little more militant but it seems to have worked at UW, at least for swimming. My request is that all of you who have experienced the benefits of having wrestled in college or have a son or daughter whose sport is threatened, quit donating to the athletic departments of those colleges and universities that don't have wrestling (or whatever sport you want). I also ask that you write to someone you know from the sport who might not be as active as yourself and ask them to do the same thing.
Wrestling is never going to be a big money sport at the college level. It is also a sport that doesn't cost very much. How many non-donations does it take to make up the cost of a wrestling program? I would guess not many.
I will leave you with one other thought. Wrestling began to disappear in the early 1970s. Those wrestlers, who had the opportunity to benefit from the sport in say, 1970, are about 50 years old now. They are at the height of their wealth and influence. Use them now or loose them entirely. Every year as we loose programs we loose part of the influence base.
Larry Sherfey
April 11, 2001
I agree 100% with Larry Sherfey " Money Talks " lets bring Division 1 wrestling programs back to our state and help the four Colleges that we have, Yakima Valley C. C., Highline CC, Pacific Lutheran University, and Central Washington University.
Look what our High School seniors did this year, 8th place at the Senior Nationals, heads are turning !!. Why send our kids away from home when we can keep them wright here in the State of Washington.
Washington State's High School's & USA wrestling programs are good. Our Kids are good and getting better. We need to do our part.
Please e-mail Larry Sherfey sherfey3@earthlink.net and lets try a different strategy.
Alex DeLaPena
Washington State Wrestler
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