Moving the NCAAs to April: Three reasons why it's good for the sport- Mark Palmer-Examiner.com
June 11, 5:54 PM
Every March, there’s a battle between college wrestling and basketball… and the roundballers usually win, running away.
For three days in mid-March, the NCAA Division I wrestling championships take place… usually on the same weekend that the NCAA Division I basketball championships begin. And, in terms of media coverage and general fan interest, March Madness beats March Mat-ness by a technical fall.
Now the NCAA might actually do something about it.
No, they’re not talking about eliminating college basketball. Instead, they are exploring the possibility of moving the D1 wrestling championships back a few weeks… to the weekend after the conclusion of the NCAA Final Four basketball semifinals and finals, usually held the first weekend in April.
This is all in the earliest stages. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee has sought permission to discuss this change, and take a poll of attendees of the 2010 NCAAs. According to a press release issued by the NCAA, the earliest the change could be implemented would be 2013.
Here are some reasons why the NCAA should move its national collegiate wrestling championships from mid-March to April:
Greater media attention. Every year, March Madness takes over sports departments at newspapers, sports magazines, and TV and radio stations. During the three weeks that the NCAA D1 basketball championships are being played out, it’s pretty much all basketball, all the time… to the exclusion of other sports, such as college wrestling. (Unless you live in a media market with a top college wrestling program, or have a local wrestler who’s having the tournament of his life.)
In the past, the media has claimed, “We have limited resources. We can cover only so many events.” By shifting the national wrestling championships to after the end of college basketball season, the premier college event of “the oldest and greatest sport” has a fighting chance of getting the press it deserves from the sports press.
A more positive public perception. Increased media coverage of the NCAA wrestling championships would go a long way to boosting amateur wrestling's image in the minds of the general public.
Mention the word "wrestling" to most folks, and they immediately think of the WWE. This syndrome isn’t limited to unschooled yokels; even some great amateur wrestlers such as U.S. Olympic medalists Jamill Kelly and Brandon Slay have told interviewers, at the time they were first introduced to the sport, they thought they could jump off the top rope or use a folding chair on an opponent.
With some folks, wrestling’s image is even more negative, based on stories of extreme weight-cutting (including the tragic deaths of three college wrestlers trying to make weight a decade ago)… or some incredibly rare but highly-publicized serious (or fatal) accidents during amateur wrestling matches.
With greater media coverage of the sport during one of its biggest events, perhaps incorrect perceptions will be erased… and the general public will see the real value in the sport of real wrestling.
Giving high school and college wrestlers each their due. In most states, the high school wrestling season pretty much lines up with the college season, with the ultimate events -- the individual state tournaments -- usually taking place in late February up through mid-March … when major conference tournaments and the NCAAs are now scheduled.
By moving the NCAAs back to April – long after high school wrestlers have hung up their headgear – two problems are solved: Local media doesn’t have to choose between covering high school or college wrestling… and high school wrestlers, their families and friends can attend the NCAAs.
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