Group works to add wrestling program

A group of wrestling enthusiasts, including Northwest Missouri State University alumni and current university club wrestlers, have teamed up to advocate an official wrestling program at the school.

Led by alumnus Kevin Hummer, owner of several St. Joseph businesses and father of four wrestling boys, the group is working to present their case to Northwest administrators.

The group met at A&G on Tuesday to discuss the information they have so far, which included budgets of other NCAA Division II programs, recommendations from other coaches and a list of regional and national supporters for the proposed program at Northwest.

During the meeting, they discussed potential obstacles to overcome in order to establish the program.

Currently, there are six schools that have competitive wrestling in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association - the D-II conference that Northwest competes in.

Those schools include University of Central Oklahoma, University of Central Missouri, University of Nebraska-Kearney,  Lindenwood University, Truman State University and Fort Hays State University.

The coalition has some hurdles to clear, as Northwest activities director Wren Baker said that the university is not currently compliant with Title IX requirements.

Title IX is a rule that says the male to female ratio of student athletes must reflect the male to female ratio of total students.

Right now, Northwest's female student population represents roughly 56 percent of the total, while female student-athletes are only roughly 35 percent of the total number of student-athletes.

The school has added women's golf and soccer in recent years, which is another prong of Title IX that allows schools time to work towards the equality goal.

Northwest has met this requirement, but Baker said more female student-athletes have to be added before the university could consider adopting a full-fledged wrestling program.

To combat this, the group plans to suggest adding the cheerleaders, which would technically be considered "stunts and tumbling," and the Bearcat Steppers to the list of female student athletes.

The cheerleaders have had a lot of success in recent years. They just won back-to-back national championships, marking their third in the last four years.

At Northwest, those two competitive sports are considered clubs, as is the university's current wrestling program.

There is some debate on this topic, as Baker says that under current Title IX interpretations, cheerleading squad numbers can not be counted.

But according to Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association, many colleges and universities are counting "stunts and tumbling" teams in their Title IX figures.

"It is my understanding that most of the universities with competitive stunts and tumbling squads are using that towards Title IX," Moyer said. "Many high schools across the country do so as well."

The biggest part of the un-balanced ratio lies in football teams. With well over 100 student-athletes on football teams, most female sports rosters can't quite meet those numbers.

Northwest's current wrestling club is student coached, and is experiencing some levels of success, but is limited due to not being in a conference.

"It's been a great pleasure seeing what the club has done," Loren Butler, a Northwest professor in the Health and Physical Education department said during the meeting. "I would really like to see the great Northwest wrestling tradition kept alive and brought back to what it once was."

The expected benefits of a wrestling program, and interest in it, are not in question by anyone involved in the discussion.

"Do I think we'd be good?" Baker said. "Absolutely, but again, adding another sport right now would be difficult.

"The university knows that there is a strong passion for intercollegiate wrestling among our alums. It is my hope that one day we can consider reinstating a wrestling program, but there are a significant number of things that need to happen before we can do that."

One of the biggest issues aside from Title IX requirements is something that always comes into consideration - money.

Hummer and the rest of the group believe that funding will not be a problem, since many alumni have expressed willingness to help out.

Truman State's head wrestling coach told Hummer that their program's budget is less than $20,000. The coach's salary is $40,000, plus $4,800 in benefits. There are no scholarship athletes.

Advocates for Northwest's program are confident that this is something that can be covered, but Baker is not so sure.

"There are so many hurdles that would have to be passed besides funding," Baker said. "Even if the Title IX requirements were met, and the budget was set, we just don't have a lot of gym space.

"As of today, I don't know how we could physically find the space to have another team practicing. It would be hard to accommodate another sport."

The most obvious places for practices would either be in Bearcat Arena or the Martindale gymnasium. There are 11 teams that share the space. Northwest's club currently occupies Martindale Monday through Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. for practice.

Though Baker was not at the meeting, the coalition has anticipated this objection and is working to find solutions.

Moyer, who has been a valuable resource to many newly-formed programs across the country at all levels, says that there are ways to fix the time/space issue.

"We have programs that practice elsewhere, I know a club that practices in a boiler room," Moyer said. "In all likelihood, there is a solution to that issue that can be found with work and creativity. If you have to have practice at five in the morning, you practice at five in the morning."

As convoluted as the idea of beginning a wrestling program already seems, there is more to it.

Advocates for the program state the economic benefits to the community.

Between meets, duals, camps and clinics, the events could draw many people into town.

"These people would potentially be shopping at local stores, staying in hotels and eating at Maryville's restaurants," Hummer said. "Some of the bigger events draw hundreds of wrestlers, plus their families, and that is just for one weekend. Think of what a whole season could bring."

Another aspect of the impact a wrestling program could potentially bring to Maryville was brought forth by Glen Miller, weatherization and HUD director at Community Services, Inc.

A former wrestler himself, Miller is interested in beginning a program for at-risk youth in the county - in collaboration with the potential Northwest program.

"I'd love to see something like this get off of the ground," Miller said at the meeting. "We have some funding opportunities from our end.

And if there are ways to help at-risk youth, we are willing to help any way we can."

Now that the information has been gathered, the group is looking to move forward with discussions with the university.

A public forum including the group and the NCAA is tentatively set for March 19, which the group hopes Northwest administration will bring their concerns up for discussion.

Hummer said that anyone wishing to help start the program can contact him at (816) 387-7502 or via email, kevinh@rjpromotions.com.