It is being reported today in a KC Star article that KU just signed a seven year contract extension with ESPN for $40.2 million dollars ($5.74 million per year). It stated that this was more than a 300% increase. It also stated that this money will lead to deparment-wide improvements in KU athletic programs.

I can't think of a better one than the addition of a Mens and Womens NCAA wrestling teams. I think everyone should e-mail Lew Perkins or the KU athletic department with that suggestion.

Here is one of Lew Perkins, KU athletic director's comments from the KC Star article today:

"You can safely say this is one of the largest agreements in the country...I'm telling you, this is huge. We're not talking peanuts here. We're playing in the big time now."

I say KU will be playing in the big time along with Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Missouri once they wisely use some of this windfall to add college wrestling for both men and women. It obviously could be done now.

I emailed the Associate Athletic Director of KU today about adding a varsity wrestling team. Here is the response I got!

Mike,

We have had several inquiries like yours relating to wrestling. As you may know the University dropped men’s swimming and diving and tennis several years ago.

Unfortunately at this time we are unable to add any sports particularly men’s sports until we get our program in total Title IX compliance and get our budgets to where we are supporting our current teams to a top level Big 12 program.

At that point we could only add men’s and women’s sports together and I am sure that if we did add anything we would look at swimming and diving and tennis first since we would have little or no facility issues and those sports are Big 12 sponsored across the board.

I know this doesn’t give you much encouragement but that is where we stand at this time.

Thanks for your interest and concern.

Larry Keating

Senior Associate Athletic Director

University of Kansas

785-864-7196 (office)
785-865-9705 (cell)
785-864-5035 (fax)

lkeating@ku.edu


There is your official answer... Does not look good.

As long as KU has top notch basketball then I don't think wrestling would be welcomed as easily. I still think KSU is the way to bargain right now...they don't have women's softball or men's wrestling!

mchurchJr., good for you that you wrote him. I will say this for Larry Keating that so far he does at least answer the initial letter. I wrote him almost three weeks ago on April 8th and he also replied to me. He replied much the same to me although he did not mention the possibility of adding swimming, diving and tennis to me. He did mention the Title IX considerations and that part about having to add two new sets of facilities when you do that. I replied to him that they could add a women's wrestling team so that they could use the same facilities. I asked why they could not use the same facility that the KU club team is currently using and of course Allen Field House for their meets. He never replied to me when I made those suggestions. I hope everyone sends them a ton of correspondence requesting them to add NCAA Big 12 wrestling at KU. How can Lew Perkins think they are playing in the big time now without college wrestling at KU? Nebraska is playing in the big time. Oklahoma is playing in the big time. Oklahoma State is playing in the big time. Iowa State is playing in the big time. Without college wrestling KU is not even in the same ball park with their neighbor MU as far as total athletic programs go.

Swayz, KU,KSU and WSU should all have NCAA college wrestling. What KU could do is add women's wrestling to satisfy any Title IX requirements. The reason to try for KU now is that they can certainly afford it with all this new financial windfall. Write them a letter. Larry Keating of KU in his reply to me said there was a lack of interest to add wrestling. We need to show them how much interest there is in the Kansas wrestling community. Everyone send KU a letter or e-mail today.

Member
Member # 17

posted April 23, 2005 05:03 AM
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I am all over it Vince. Actually, some kind of Grass Roots deal needs to happen. Rather than just a bunch of e-mails. I am sure the e-mails can not hurt. But, maybe a letter from the Graters and/or all the Head People from USA Kansas Wrestling. Then have it signed by every club director - who happened to be tax paying citizens in the state of Kansas. Who help financially support KU and Mr. Perkins and all the colleges in Kansas each and every year. Who do you think helped build all the class rooms and sports facilities - we did. I agree now is a good time to lean on them a little or lean on them a lot. It must have to do with the new program ESPN - "U". The college and university coverage portion of ESPN. Maybe each club director could write a letter and have all the kids sign it. Have all the High School coaches and athletic directors (who support wrestling) in the state write a letter and have the athletes sign it.
Take a letter to these upcoming freestyle tournaments and have the kids, coaches, and refs all sign it. Need to go. I have to do some real work before I head off to Olathe Northwest for some freestyle & greco today. Just some ideas. Maybe you could follow up Vince and keep the ball rolling.
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Posts: 123 | From: Shawnee Kansas | Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged |

smokeycabin
Member
Member # 17

posted April 23, 2005 05:28 AM
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Do not let them forget who pays some of their salaries, and who built the facilities they work at - just a reminder. They are suppose to represent all students not just the tall or big ones. Boys and Girls, Men and Women LEAN on them Kansas Wrestling Community and see if we can re-start a Division I program in Kansas.
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Posts: 123 | From: Shawnee Kansas | Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged |

Smokeycabin:

I just sent this letter to all the Kansas Kids Officers and Directors that have an e-mail address listed. I got to do some things at home now but I will work more on it later by sending it to KWCA leaders, high school coaches and club directors if they have e-mails. If someone else has some time to help me with this, I would appreciate it. We just need to contact these people to tell them to get their petition letters ready to send to the KU Athletic Director and the KU Chancellor.

Hello,

I would like for you to read a topic that I have introduced both on the Kids Forum and College Forum on the USAW-Kansas Kids Forums. I even added to the High School Forum breaking all the rules about only introducing a topic on one forum. I thought it would be permissible this time since I believe it is so important for all of us to act now. This is the reason why:

QUOTE]Originally posted by Husker Fan:
It is being reported today in a KC Star article that KU just signed a seven year contract extension with ESPN for $40.2 million dollars ($5.74 million per year). It stated that this was more than a 300% increase. It also stated that this money will lead to deparment-wide improvements in KU athletic programs.

I can't think of a better one than the addition of a Mens and Womens NCAA wrestling teams. I think everyone should e-mail Lew Perkins or the KU athletic department with that suggestion. [/QUOTE]

I would like for you to visit the topic on either forum and closely study the call to action for wrestling organizations, wrestling clubs and high schools wrestling coaches that Smokeycabin, (Sean McCarthy), the STA wrestling coach has made to all of us. See his ideas and suggestions for our organizations leaders.

I hope we all act. Please consider being a leader in this effort. Get a petition together from your organization and send it to the KU Athletic Director and the Chancellor.

Remember CARPE DIEM (Seize the Day or Opportunity). I believe it is now or never at KU. Let us not let this opportunity slip by us.


Thank you,


Vince Nowak
Wrestling Parent and Tax Paying Kansas Citizen

I am loosely working on an action plan and started to put it into place.

1. We should concentrate on KU right now. I know some of you would have preference for the first one to be at either Wichita State or Kansas State. I ask you to put your allegiance away at this time and concentrate on getting it added at KU right now. We need to do this because they just signed this ESPN contract for over $40 million in the next seven years and they have the money to spend. We eventually want and need a wrestling program for men and women at all three schools. I really think the other two are more likely to follow once we get one to start one. The proximity to Kansas City, Lawrence and Topeka would be a media and fan base advantage for a KU start too. So I am hoping we can all agree to concentrate on KU right now and once we get their program going then we will work on KSU and WSU.

2. I think our petition letters should be addressed to Lew Perkins, the KU Athletic Director, the KU Chancellor, and possibly State legislators.


3. We need to get all the Kansas high school coaches to get a team petition letters signed by all the coaches and wrestlers. TheY should also encourage the wrestlers, parents and coaches to write their own personal petition letters too.

4. We need girl wrestlers and girl coaches to contact KU about adding a Women's Wrestling Team. We need to promote the growth of women's wrestling and this will help here in the Title IX issue for KU.

5. We need to get all the Big 12 wrestling coaches involved in petitioning. It is definitely in their interest for KU to add a team and of course eventually KSU too. For that matter I think any support from any NCAA wrestling school would be helpful. It is in the interest of all of them to have KU add wrestling.

6. We need high profile wrestlers like Cael Sanderson and Eric Akin to petition KU.

7. We especially need recent Kansas Division 1 wrestlers like Zach Roberson, Joe Johnston, Shawn Bunch, Justin Dyer, Matt Murray, etc. to also petiton KU and maybe legislators. I think that would be especially effective if they could say how they would have loved the opportunity to wrestle Division 1 in their home state.

8. We need Kansas kids clubs to send petition letters signed by parents and kids and they should encourage individual letters too.

9. Major national wrestling organizations need to send petition letters.

10. If anyone has any contacts with any major KU donors that we could maybe influence, then we should enlist their support.

11. Need some facts about all the costs of running a Division 1 program both initial setup and on going annual costs.

12. Need Kansas wrestling participation facts. I saw where Richard Salyer posted where wrestling participation ranked nationally. I believe it was sixth for number of participants but where does it rank in the State of Kansas? I think we have a little over 11,000 participating in both youth and high school. I used half of the 13 & 14 Kansas kids numbers of 1,115 in that estimate.

13. We need to contact relatives and friends to also send these petition letters.

14. Remember as Smokeycabin has posted we are all taxpayers and we pay for our universities. They are there to serve all of us, not just the tall and big ones.

15. Determine if there is a current KU facility that can be used. I was at KU yesterday to attend the KU Relays. While there I took some time to see if Robinson Gymnasium could be used. The young man at the desk told me that he was a member of the KU Wrestling Club and that he felt that either Robinson or the other student rec center where the current KU wrestling club works out could be used for this purpose.

Well that is the action plan so far and I am on it. I hope everyone else is too. Let me know if we need to do something else. I think we need to get on it now. Remember CARPE DIEM (SEIZE THE DAY OR THE OPPORTUNITY)!!! Basically we are mad as you know what and we are not going to take it anymore!

Hey guys all of this is great, but I would encourage you to do a lot of this posting on the Mat, which is USA Wrestling’s web site, http://www.themat.com. Many are surprised at all of the help we got with Tyler and how that many of the National figures and colleges got on board. While I believe it was a God thing, I believe the Mat and the message boards there were used a great deal. Many of those wrestlers and colleges become aware of things like this from that particular message board. Post it, thoughts discussions, even pastes of these comments on that board. I assure you, national level figures and programs will see it, read it, and respond to it.

Mike,

I just got on and added the topic. I see that I did it and you did too. I guess it can't hurt to put it on twice.

Can you contact some of the top wrestlers that you know and ask them to petition the KU athletic director and the KU chancellor?

I have been at this since pretty early this morning following thru on my action plan and I got to quit for the day. Good luck today to everyone else who wants to work on this.

Thanks

I thought I was done for the day but I go to read the sports page in the KC Star and guess what? Headline: Kansas to announe $25 million deal with adidas today. "A source close to negotiations between KU and adidas told The Star that KU has signed a contract that will pay the school appproximately $25 million over the next eight years."

They have to be able to afford a program. That would mean about 65 million over the next eight years if that is true with the ESPN deal. Wow!

I wrote all the Big 12 AD's and coaches that have wrestling programs asking them for support. One AD that I will not reveal has already written me back and said that he will offer his support to wrestling if asked by KU. He also told me the annual cost to run a division 1 program would be approximately $600,000. If KU gets the Adidas deal along with the ESPN deal they would be averaging over $8 million a year. So a wrestling team would only be about 7.5% of that budget.

Vince, will be making contacts this week. KU NEEDS WRESTLING.

Yes KU and all Kansas Needs College Wrestling. If anyone wants to help see my last post in the Kids section on this topic. Thanks.

Kansas University officially announced its $26.67 million deal for 8 years with adidas yesterday according to the Kansas City Star. With the new $40.2 million deal with ESPN that means about $67 million in revenue over the next eight years for its athletic department. I figured that it is going to mean about an extra $7 million a year over what their old contracts were. I was told by a Big 12 AD in an e-mail yesterday that a Big 12 wrestling program runs about $600,000 a year in expenses so this would be under 10% of its NEW MONEY coming in!!

We need to petition the KU AD and Chancellor ASAP or today if possible to add men AND women wrestling NCAA programs at KU. After them you might also consider contacting your state representatives in Topeka, maybe even the governor and Phil Kline our ex-wrestler attorney general. The thing is do something today or ASAP. The forces to stop this will be great, but we are wrestlers and wrestling families and they don't know how tough we can be. Contact others to do the same. Congratulate them on their new contracts but let them know you expect them to use a portion of it to add College Wrestling.

PLEASE do not drop this from this forum just because this topic is on other forums. We need to reach everyone NOW!

Lets get it going. What can I do? I am a head wrestling coach in Wichita and have a lot of contacts. fill me in. You can email me at
mchurch@usd259.net

K.U. Sports Forum to promote wrestling program:

http://boards.kusports.com/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=general&page=

mchurchJR.,

That is great. Here is what I would suggest for you. First, get two petition letters one for the AD and one for the Chancellor. Have all your coaches and wrestlers sign them and mail them as soon as possible. Also encourage the wrestlers to do their own individual letters from their perspective as to why they want this to happen. Second, contact other high school coaches and have them do the same.

Finally longer term contact Coach Ed and Jenni on from the Women's Forum and consider starting a girls team at your high school and encourage the same other high school coaches to do the same.

Otherwise review the action plan I put up and maybe start working on some of those items too.

Thank you for working on this. Vince

The following link has email addresses, phone numbers, and mailing addresses to contact anyone associated with KU athletics, including booster clubs and corporate sponsors!!!

http://kuathletics.collegesports.com/staffdir/kan-staffdir.html
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Posts: 461 | From: SEK | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged |