LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell wrestling program took a significant stride forward in its transition back to varsity status with Tuesday’s naming of Dan Wirnsberger as head coach, and now the program has a conference to call home. This week Bucknell’s application was accepted by the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), making Bucknell the league’s 14th member.
Highly regarded not only as one of the nation’s elite wrestling conferences, but also for the outstanding academic reputation of its institutions, the EIWA membership currently consists of American, Army, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, East Stroudsburg, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Lehigh, Navy, Penn, Princeton and Rutgers. Every Patriot League and Ivy League institution that fields a wrestling program competes in the EIWA, which conducted its 101st championship this past March in Annapolis, Md.
“I am positively thrilled that Bucknell and its varsity wrestling program will be renewing its relationship with the EIWA, “said John Hardt, director of athletics and recreation. “The EIWA is a natural fit, with Bucknell’s everlasting commitment to the scholar-athlete model conforming well with the outstanding caliber of institutions in the league. Additionally, the EIWA is considered one of the elite Division I wrestling conferences in the nation, and the success achieved by programs such as Lehigh, Cornell and Penn in recent years certainly gives us a challenging goal to accomplish.”
Two EIWA teams finished in the top 10 at the 2005 NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Cornell finished fourth, while four-time defending EIW A champion Lehigh placed eighth. Cornell featured a national champion in 133-pounder Travis Lee, while the Big Red and Army both had national runners-up. The EIWA has produced 75 NCAA champions and more than 400 All-Americans in its storied history.
Bucknell first joined the EIWA in 1999-2000 and remained part of that affiliation until the Bison program was designated for club-varsity status following the 2001-02 season. Largely through a generous $5.6 million donation by former Bison wrestler Bill Graham ’62 that also helped fund Bison women’s athletics programs, it was announced in May 2004 that wrestling would return as Bucknell’s 27th varsity sport in 2005-06.
The EIWA announcement was first made public at a celebration of Bucknell wrestling, hosted by Graham on Thursday evening at his Graham Company headquarters in Philadelphia. Among the guests of honor and featured speakers were legendary wrestling coach and athlete Dan Gable and Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches’ Association. Bucknell president Brian Mitchell along with Hardt and Wirnsberger addressed the large contingent of alumni and members of the wrestling community in attendance.
“Today is a great day for Bucknell, “said Graham, who was clearly humbled by the presence of Gable, one of his heroes, at the event. “We now have a great head coach in Dan Wirnsberger. In three short years he really improved the program at Bloomsburg, and I am really excited and proud to have him come to Bucknell.”
Graham spoke passionately about the role the sport of wrestling played in his undergraduate education. He credited those learned traits — tenacity, striving to be better every day and recognizing that hard work allows you reach high goals — for helping him succeed in the business world. He also noted that while his financial gift to Bucknell helped bring back the sport he loves, he has also been touched by what the gift has been able to do for women’s athletics, particularly the Graham Field complex, which is now the home venue for the Bison field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams.
Gable, who posted a 181-1 combined record as a wrestler at the high school and college (Iowa State) level then went on to coach the Iowa Hawkeyes to 15 NCAA championships, fervently commented on wrestling’s place on the American sports scene. Now retired from coaching but an avid spokesman and promoter of the sport, Gable noted that after several trying years, the sport is beginning to see a resurgence at the collegiate level, and he recognized Bucknell for helping lead that comeback.
Moyer credited Bucknell for its imagination in finding a solution to its Title IX difficulties, one that advanced opportunities for women student-athletes while at the same time protected men’s sports. He noted that Bucknell was the first athletics program to restore wrestling after it had been reclassified due to Title IX compliance, but that since that announcement was made one year ago, two other schools – Binghamton and Liberty – have followed suit.
“I would like to congratulate the Bucknell family on their recent hiring of Coach Wirnsberger, “added Moyer. “He is a fabulous coach, and you can be assured that he will guide this intercollegiate wrestling program back to national prominence in a relatively short period of time.”
“In a day and age when so many colleges across the country are making the tough decision to drop sports, we can proudly stand here this evening as a model example of those universities who wish to maintain athletic opportunities, “said Hardt, who also publicly introduced Wirnsberger as a coach who not only brings impressive credentials as a competitive wrestler and coach, but who also cares deeply about developing true student-athletes.
“I am excited about this opportunity, “said Wirnsberger. “It’s going to be a process, not an overnight thing, but like most true competitors I’m not a very patient person, and I don’t think Bill Graham is a very patient person. I want things to happen very quickly, but I am a realist, too, and I realize that it’s not going to happen overnight. There is going to have to be some growing pains and some steps we’re going to have to take to get to where I envision the program. I don’t settle for just a top-25 or maybe a top-20 program, I think Bucknell has the potential to be where Cornell is right now with some of those top institutions. I think we can get there, and we will get there. It’s not going to be a `me’ or an `I’ program, but rather with the Bucknell alumni and family it’s going to be `our’ program. I look forward to developing friendships and relationships, and bringing this program back to national prominence.”
Wrestling makes its official return to varsity status as of the first day of fall semester classes on Aug. 24, 2005. The non-traditional wrestling season begins on Sept. 2, and the team’s 2005-06 competition schedule will be announced at a later date. The 2006 EIWA Championships will be March 4-5 at Lehigh.
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