This is the only match I know of. Brutality by Fix
http://www.flowrestling.org/video/770866-54kg-s-daton-fix-oklahoma-vs-max-murin-pennsylvania
The "Pipeline"
- Thread starter RoarLions1
- Start date
http://www.flowrestling.org/video/770866-54kg-s-daton-fix-oklahoma-vs-max-murin-pennsylvania
Yeah... That's the one I had in mind. Just didn't understand his fastest NCAA tech fall comment.
Seems the Big Ten teams have an advantage in sports like wrestling, due to the huge funding from the Big Ten media contracts. Funds are tight at many schools, but BT teams are more likely to be able to fund Olympic sports and staff with quality coaches, while the cash flow remains.
Could Pitt attract good coaching and fund a great program? Certainly. But if funds are tight, something has to give somewhere. Guessing it's much more likely to see some improvements at Rut and MD, once they pay down their debts and get full funding from the BT.
The Big-10 definitely receives a ton of TV cash, however the ACC now has a cash flow that is not Big10 or SEC like, but will provide sizable chunks of cash to each school. The ACC money does not need to Big10 like though. No ACC school has a Penn State or Ohio State like athletic department.
Pitt also sits smack dab in the middle off one of the hottest of all wrestling hotbeds. There are plenty of money heavy Pitt alums living in SWPA that care about wrestling that Pitt should be capable of endowing a sizeable portion of their wrestling program.
^^ This. Plus, Pitt built a new facility in 2005 and, with their geography, could have very low recruiting and travel expenses if that were an issue.
Maryland and Rutgers are not spending their B10 money on wrestling -- they'll both spend it on football, and Rutgers also on basketball.
Rutgers' issue is losing in-state talent. Should be able to fall out of bed and land on more than just Ashnault. Think of where that program would be with Molinaro, Burroughs, Green, Caldwell, Rey, Lawson, Grey, Martin, Sebastian, McFadden, Suriano, among many others.
If Maryland is past their massive debt, they still have a shallow in-state talent pool and Robin Ficker.
All good points. However, consider that the Penn State and Big Ten schools also offer the Big Ten competition. Fort those who want to compete and win on the biggest stages, the competition in the Big Ten is second to none.
Granted ACC has schools that compete well and can compete well. But they are on more of an island.
Other PA schools are focused on wrestling and getting good talent, like LeHigh. But, the competition is very tight in PA now, so breaking through would be a challenge. Given that Pitt doesn't even give their Football team good fan support, you wonder if the "urban school" would be ho-hum about wrestling too. Fan support is another factor that plays into recruits' decisions.
Good point about the ACC having money. That is probably a step up for Pitt, from the BigEast. Good point about alums supporting yet another program that doesn't support itself. But, given their other priorities, will they give the kind of support that is needed to sustain a high level program. And, if they do, would they be in the same boat that Iowa State was for a few decades, as the second sister behind the dominant state school Iowa. Pitt would likely be the little sister to Penn State, but they would also have to compete for talent with other focused PA wrestling schools, while also fending off very well funded programs in the Big Ten.
It could be done, but a lot of things would have to fall into place and they would have to hire and maintain a very special staff that would stick for a lot of years. Seems may be more like Pitt Football, where for coaches, it is a stepping stone to better funded, better supported programs.
Your mileage may vary. Some settling may have occurred during shipping and handling.
Speaking of pipelines, hoping Cael is pursuing all the Federal and State permits needed to construct a feeder line to Coos Bay, Oregon from the main branch line to California's Central Valley.
Good info. That's a start.
However, if upper half of the Big Ten is the top 7 out of 14, where are teams ranked nationally that are say 5,6 7 in BT attendance? Those are still not the "elite" teams nationally, are they? So, it puts them pretty much where Pitt has been for awhile, doesn't it? A decent wrestling school, but not elite. (Haven't looked up the stats, just providing some opinions based on some hunches. Better info may provide a better picture of the situation, for sure.)
Not trying to just poke holes in any comments about Pitt and their wrestling program. Appreciate the inputs from board members on the topic. They have a nice tradition. Wrestling needs many schools with good wrestling progams. As mentioned, it has potential, in part because wrestling is big in PA. IMHO, to raise it up significantly would take some targeted work, the right coaching staff, focused funding, stability and support from fans and alumni to get it up among the elites, IMO.
They have a lot of tripping points as well. One is the Little Sister situation, like Iowa State vs Iowa. They would have to compete with PSU, as long as Cael is there and doing well. That's one of the reasons Cael came to PSU, imho. Being the Big Dog in a key state is a better position than being the second choice in a state. In PA it may be worse, since there are a number of colleges competing for wrestling talent, that can also be hurdles. Another challenge is being surrounded by states with good funding and a focus on wrestling, that could siphon talent away. Or even competition from a distant school in the Midwest, as we've seen.
Why not Pitt? It's possible. Guess we will see over time if they even have the goals to change and the right stuff to pull it off.
It's kind of weird how Jason Peters has NOT worked out - at least thus far. He would have seemed to have the right credentials - long-time top assistant at the school, etc. It should have been a seamless transition. I thought he would have springboarded the program - especially when he got what I thought were some pretty strong recruits. But it really hasn't worked well at all. It's a head scratcher for me.
I thought Peters was going to be really good at this also. Once he became Stottlemeyer's teaching assistant I thought the quality of Pitt's wrestling improved and then when he got the head job he seemed to do a really good job adding a fairly large number of quality recruits. Heck, even when Pitt came to town to be the BJC opponent they were out manned, but wrestled hard. Since that moment it has been a rapid plunge to the bottom of the ACC.
sPitt could be lights out good with the right staff and some luck. Their location to western PA and Ohio recruiting hot beds sets them up for success. But at sPitt potential of being good is all that matters it seems. Execution and the success that comes with it seems to allude them and gives the impression that it is ok from the administrations POV.
Well that and the football team's 8587 National Championships, including 3000 in the Holocene Era alone, which casts a huge shadow over the Olympic Sports.
Plus they've always recruited pretty well from other parts of PA. Solomon, Rizzo, and Racciato are not from WPIAL.
Speaking of which, amazing that none of them + Wiercioch can even sniff the podium -- I think they've combined for 3 career wins at nationals, one being a medical forfeit. Solomon I can kinda understand, he belongs at 197 except Rizzo imploded. The rest ... smh.
Only reason I can imagine: Pitt continues the full-time boundary-hugging backing up nonsense, despite the rules changes emphasizing scoring. Bad to be a dinosaur when the comet hits.
