Matt Zimmer
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The University of Sioux Falls officially added wrestling as an intercollegiate sport at a press conference Tuesday at the Stewart Center.
Former Roosevelt High coach Tim Homan was named the first head coach for the Cougars, who expect to be on the mats for the 2006-07 school year.
While wrestling was a dying sport throughout the 1990’s – a frequent victim of Title IX cuts at colleges – USF president Mark Benedetto said that he believes the sport is making a comeback.
“We’ve done our research, we have a business plan and we have board of trustees approval, “said Benedetto, who told the Argus Leader in July of plans to add the sport. “While other schools are dropping wrestling, we decided it was the right time to start a wrestling program.”
USF officials have called of using athletics as the ‘front porch to the University,’ and they believe this move will continue to make their school more attractive to more prospective students.
USF’s enrollment is 1,606 this fall, the seventh year in a row that it has increased.
“The wrestling family is so excited that there’s another program here in the community, and that’s the thing that really pushed us to develop a program, “Athletic Director Willie Sanchez said. “There are so many high school wrestlers that just stop because they don’t have the opportunity to continue. We believe we could get up to 50 wrestlers here.”
With the move, USF now has 10 men’s and nine women’s sports.
Sanchez said that USF is meeting the athletic interests of the school’s female population, but also stressed that a women’s sport could be added.
“Absolutely, we’re continually researching that, and we’re cognizant of the rules and the interests within our school, “he said. “We’re always looking at adding new sports.”
USF has geography on its side for putting together a successful wrestling program. The state has a rich tradition of high school wrestling, while Augustana and South Dakota State both have historically strong wrestling programs.
And in surrounding areas, schools such as Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota and Iowa are among the most prominent in the nation.
Tuesday’s press conference seemed to be a celebration of wrestling in general as much as for USF. Dan Gable, the legendary Olympic champion and former Iowa coach who led the Hawkeyes to nine straight Division I national championships, was in attendance to support the addition of another college program.
“It was an easy decision to be here, “Gable said. “My wife looked at me funny, but she understands I have a commitment to my professional family, my wrestling family.”
Details are complete yet, but the Cougars fully expect to be the sixth wrestling member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference in the 2006-07 season. Where they will practice is undetermined, but meets will be at the Stewart Center.
Sanchez didn’t rule out the possibility of the wrestling team somehow fitting in to the school’s new off-campus athletic facility.
Homan – who had been a high school coach at Webster, Brandon Valley, Roosevelt and Luverne, Minn. – seemed overwhelmed by the opportunity to coach at the college level in Sioux Falls.
“You set goals as a young coach, and one of my long-term goals was to be a college coach, “said Homan, a three-time Sioux Falls high school coach of the year. “Today, that dream has come true.”
Homan will be assisted by former Augustana coach Paul Kendle, who coached Homan at Augie.
USF becomes the 31st NAIA wrestling program.
“Our expectations are to excel at everything we do, “Sanchez said. “Obviously, it takes time to build a program. But we’ve developed a winning tradition, and we want that to permeate through all sports.”
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