Wrestling is Mike Rosengrant’s life.
He eats wrestling. He sleeps it. And he breathes it-heavily-after winning 32 of his 34 matches at 130 pounds.
The Notre Dame High School senior is hoping that will pay off this weekend in Champaign with a Class AA state championship.
As one of four children of a self-employed heating and cooling contractor, he also hopes it will pay off with a college scholarship. Rosengrant is a B-minus student who has qualified academically for a college but has learned the sad truth about the opportunities for college-bound wrestlers: There aren’t many. State championship or not, there may not be a scholarship available.
“I try not to think about it,” said Rosengrant, who was fifth in last year’s state tournament. “If I don’t win a state championship, there is a chance I won’t get any type of scholarship. It’s a scary thing, considering how much work you put in it. If I don’t win, maybe even if I do, I’ll probably be taking out student loans.”
College wrestling opportunities for wrestlers like Rosengrant are declining each year. In 1980 there were 374 NCAA schools that had wrestling teams, 152 of them in Division I, where scholarships are allowed. That number fell to 265 total programs and 108 Division I schools last year. Both numbers will drop as several colleges and universities have eliminated wrestling-and more are sure to follow.
The declining number of programs is only part of the story. While men’s college basketball coaches wail about losing their 14th scholarship, college wrestling coaches have seen their scholarships drop from 19 to 11 in 1976 and to 9.9 in 1993. There are 10 weight classes at the college level.
“It’s really sad,” said Augie Genovesi, Rosengrant’s coach and president of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. “Nobody gets a full ride anymore but you take what you can get. A state championship isn’t a guarantee anymore.”
While many of his peers have signed football and basketball letters of intent for full rides, Rosengrant might not be rewarded for his achievements.
“The worst thing in the world is to talk to a kid about a partial scholarship while his classmates who play football or basketball get a full scholarship,” University of Illinois wrestling coach Mark Johnson said. “We’re asking state champions to take a third (of a scholarship) or a half.”
College wrestling is the weakest among all levels of the sport in the United States. The sport is growing at the youth and high school levels, and it never has been stonger at the international level. But wrestling officials wonder how long it will be before a trickle-down affect will hinder its growth.
There are 387 high schools in Illinois with 10,520 wrestlers, ranking the sport sixth in the number of schools and seventh in students participating among all high school sports in the state, according to the Illinois High School Federation (IHSA).
The state annually produces some of the top college recruits in the country and high school wrestling’s popularity has been steady. Last year’s state finals, featuring Mt. Carmel’s four-time state champion Joe Williams, LaSalle-Peru’s Eric Siebert and St. Charles’ Jevon Herman, drew 10,435 fans to Assembly Hall in Champaign. The final game of the Class AA state basketball tournament drew 10,276.
“When I was a kid, there was no opportunity at the youth level,” said University of Iowa coach Dan Gable, a legend in high school, college, Olympic and coaching levels. “Now there are great opportunities at the youth, high school and Olympic levels but the same opportunity isn’t there in college.”
What are college wrestling’s problems? The list is a long one:
– Budget cuts. Wrestling is an easy target.
“There are scared cows,” said Ferris State coach Jim Miller, whose program has been cut after this season, along with the school’s swimming, baseball, cross-country and track teams. “Wrestling is not one of them. If you cut a (wrestling) program, who is going to yell and scream?”
– Coaches. “We’re our own worst enemy,” one Division I coach said. Coaches have had a narrow focus. They have worried about their programs and not their sport. They haven’t done much to promote their sport.
– Gender equity. This is more of an excuse than a reason but there is no corresponding women’s sport. That might change. Cal State-Bakersfield coach T.J. Kerr, president of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), is considering starting a women’s program.
– Budget crunches. Football and basketball are the money makers on college campuses. With rare exception, all other collegiate sports lose money.
Legislators with a wrestling background are being solicited for their help. Coaches such as Gable are involved and are helping to identify trouble spots. There is talk of establishing a defense fund for wrestling programs.
Supporters of the sport, on all levels, are awakening to the fact that if action isn’t taken, college wrestling might someday consist of an Iowa-Iowa State dual meet.
