PCC adding wrestling program
By Gale Rose of the Tribune Staff
The newest addition to the athletic program at Pratt Community College is projected to bring another 40 students to campus.
A new wrestling program was approved by the PCC Board of Trustees at their regular monthly meeting Monday night.
The additional students will add a new dimension to the athletic program and provide another source of student activities for PCC students and for the community.
“I think this is exciting. I’m looking forward to it, “said PCC Athletic Director Kevin Hackerott.
Bringing in another athletic program will bring in additional revenue but will also create additional expense not only to start and maintain the wrestling program but for the additional instructors and instructional needs caused by adding an additional 40 students.
The new program is expected to generate about $217,000 in revenue against expenditures of $206,000 for a net cash flow of $11,000.
The program would create $14,000 in additional fees for scholarship use.
Those fee dollars along with money from the booster club and the PCC Foundation would provide enough money for the first year of operation. Additional fees could be raised to provide future scholarships. Several area donors have expressed an interest in a wrestling program.
Creating a wrestling program will have a positive impact on PCC. It will help fill the residence halls which need to be at 90 percent capacity to assure that the income from the residence halls will be enough to pay off the halls debt service without having to draw money from other sources.
“We need to maintain a strong student base or we aren’t going to fill our residence halls, “said PCC President William Wojciechowski.
Although Wojciechowski’s position has not necessarily been to use athletic programs to recruit students, athletics does have the biggest draw, Wojciechowski said.
The traditional source of student population at PCC has come from the area high schools. With high school populations dropping, that pool of income becomes less and less. Having a wrestling program provides another hedge to keep the number of full time students up on campus.
“We are hoping to net 40 students, “Wojciechowski said. “For this reason it’s in our best interest.”
Getting students into the wrestling program could prove to be less challenging than with other sports programs. Only three community colleges in the state currently have wrestling programs so the competition for athletes will not be as intense as with other sports programs.
“This (wrestling) is one of the least recruited areas in the state, “Wojciechowski said.
Because only three other community colleges have wrestling programs, PCC could draw wrestlers from as far away as Topeka and Kansas City. Drawing those wrestlers would require getting the right coach, Hackerott said.
High school wrestling programs at Pratt High School and other area high schools are well supported and will provide an ample supply of wrestlers, said PCC Trustee Darrell Shumway.
An added benefit to bringing in an additional 40 students is that their buddies and girl friends tend to come to the same school which will bring in additional revenue, said PCC Trustee Chairman Ken Van Blaricum.
The sports medicine program would benefit from the addition of a wrestling program. An additional 0.25 full time equivalent trainer would have to be added. The remaining 0.75 FTE of that position would provide for an instructor in the expanded sports medicine program which is a goal of the mid-range plan. The sports medicine program would increase from the current six to a total of 18 students.
The search for a coach will be a priority and Hackerott has had some prospects who have previously express interest in coaching wrestling at PCC if a program was started.
A wrestling room would be established in the basement of the Riney Student Center which would have to be remodeled at an estimated cost of the $60,000 which would be paid off over a 10 year period.
The team would host three matches that would be held in the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena and would be scheduled during away basketball games so the events would not conflict.
The team would travel to meets at Colby, Neosho, Labette, Hays and Newman. There are 13 individual weight classes and most meets allow two competitors from one school in each weight class.
With another wrestling program in the college ranks, it will allow the other colleges with wrestling programs to have another instate match and that would be favorable to the other colleges.
“The conference would be excited, “Hackerott said.
The wrestling program would start in the fall of 2006 and the season runs from Nov. 1 to the end of February, roughly the same time of year as the basketball season.
Adding another men’s sports program will bring their number to seven programs for the men and eight for the women which should not create any problems meeting Title IX requirements, Hackerott said.
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