Does anyone know if this is an "open" or varsity wrestlers only?

invitational. varsity lineups only. i'd rather see a dual format, but i wouldnt miss this historic event.

Too much to loose for a couple of teams. Dual format would be nice, but in the scheme of recruiting, not a good move for the non juco schools.

I think it would have been great to have an open so that all the college wrestlers from Kansas could participate - not just varsity. Probably too many kids though?

i believe the goal is to crown the best team from kansas. medal the top 4 athletes. award the top 3 teams. i originally thought an open would be fun. invite the club teams and full squads of our college teams. but after talking with coach smith of newman, i see that the goal of this event is to find kansas' best college team. coach smith said there were conflicting thoughts about the dual format among the college coaches. he also left open the option of changing the format in the future. cudos to coach smith for spearheading this idea and the rest of our college coaches for getting on board. i know this event will be a huge success and a real treat for all kansas college wrestling fans.

Make it a 2 day deal... 1st day is duals, 2nd day is bracket?

It would be a lot of matches in 2 days for the wrestlers doing both the duals and the open bracket on the second day. However, it would be a good preparation for the nationals a month down the road.

I like the 2 day idea - at least to kick around. There are a lot of young men wrestling that don't make it onto the varsity but represent the heart of Kansas wrestling.

Or maybe another date/host for an open event? It would certainly bring in a lot of family and fans, and get the high schoolers to realize that they can continue their education AND wrestle for a few more years!

In a two day event, not only would there be a lot of matches for the wrestlers who would participate in the first day of dual competition but there would also be a lot of repetitive matches on the second day. However, I do like the idea of a one day open tournament. I agree with you that it would be great to give all the wrestlers on each team including the Kansas school club teams the opportunity to compete in this all Kansas college event. You are correct that an open tournament would bring in more family members and other fans of the wrestlers. Having it on a Sunday would attract more high school wrestlers and their families too. I would like to see it rotate every year between the Kansas City metropolitan area and Wichita area. That would also help attract Kansas City area wrestlers to all these Kansas colleges that have wrestling programs. A good place for the Kansas City area might be Kansas City Community College where the high school Metro Classic between Kansas and Missouri schools in the Kansas City metro area is held every year. Hopefully with good attendance it would be an additional incentive for Kansas City Kansas Community College to start a wrestling program.

A great idea - have you called KCCC yet? Vince, you can talk to Coach May, the rest of you get out there and talk to the other coaches.

Would there be a benefit to having during the regular season or the week after Nationals?

Again, I think it would keep more wrestlers interested at the college level.

I'm just saying...

The Kansas Cup is going to rotate between the 3 Universities that have wrestling sanctioned teams hosting (FHSU, Newman, and Baker), so that should allow all regions to see it.

As for teams having too much to lose with a dual format, add them to the P list, I mean honestly why even do a point scoring tournament then? If at the end of the day you look up at the scoreboard and wind up behind a junior college in this invitational style, are you going to think it is the end of the world? (Maybe if you are a horrible coach). The good ones would use this as a weapon and say to recruits, hey we need help at this weight so we can be that much better.

The rotation sounds great. Still would like to see it expanded to include unattached/non-varsity roster wrestlers.

I too like the currently planned venue rotation of (Baker, Newman and Fort Hays State) that Swayz described in his post above. I also really like your suggestion of a bracket tournament that would include the unattached/non-varsity roster wrestlers. Perhaps they could do that by only allowing the points of one declared wrestler per weight bracket to count in the team competition.

Vince that would be a good idea as well. I know Wartburg does a great invitational where you can weight up to 14 or something. 10 starters and 4 unnattached kids that basically just help knock out points for everyone else.

I am glad to see this has created some excitement for Kansas Wrestling especially at the next level. We are excited to be hosting the 1st annual event--and this is an event that should be on each school's schedule for the years to come. We all agreed that we would keep this weekend open for the Kansas Cup--"Best of Kansas". Like the previous post mentioned--the format will be open for debate the next couple of years and I am sure we will eventually come up with something that will work for all schools involved and our fan base. I am just happy we were able to get a free weekend where we could get all the KS Schools at one venue. If necessary we can fix the format later. We had to start somewhere.

Coach Smith

I'm so glad the questions and suggestions are coming in - and that they are viewed as excitement rather than anyone feeling badly. I really want to see an open, but what a great start. Hats off to everyone that worked to make the Kansas Cup happen.

I see no reason why the club teams can't be involved in this event. Even if they don't have a full squad, there are only a few club teams in Kansas that I know of. And of those teams, none of them have a full team of top level wrestlers. None of those teams would change the top of the team race. Let the club teams in and truly crown the "Best of Kansas" team and wrestler.

There was a comment above regarding that the tournament should be held on Sunday for the simple fact it would draw in more high school kids and family. I don't know if you guys have noticed the date, but it is January 31st--this is a Sunday. I can't speak for the rest of the programs, but when Newman hosts this tournament in the future we will keep it on Sunday.

Coach Smith:

I did notice that you have it on a Sunday this year and I do think that was a good decision on your part. Having it on a Sunday should draw some good attendance from high school wrestlers and their families. We need to talk about it on the high school forum a little bit in advance of the tournament. It is a great opportunity for high school wrestlers and their families to watch college wrestling and to see what the Kansas college wrestling teams have to offer for them.

All you Kansas college coaches did a good job getting this tournament together. Well done.