Norwich and Lawrence Universities Cancel Wrestling Programs

I’ll be headed out for the holidays momentarily, but before I go, I wanted to pass along the very sad news that bothNorwich University(which also cut Men’s tennis) and Lawrence University have dropped their men’s wrestling programs.

At Norwich, it seems that friends of the program are determined not to go without a fight and are starting a letter writing campaign in support of the program. If you’d like to take part, send your letter to:

Dr. Richard M. Schneider
President, Norwich University
158 Harmon Drive
Northfield, VT 05663

Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Norwich University
C/o David Whaley, Secretary
158 Harmon Drive
Northfield, VT 05663

Here are more details that were shared with me by Mike Moyer of the National Wrestling Coaches Association:

  • The stated reason for dropping the wrestling program is budgetary. How does an enrollment driven university like Norwich justify eliminating wrestling when few, if any male sports, have a more favorable ratio of high school participants to college opportunities (260,000 high school participants vs only 220 NCAA wrestling teams).
  • This decision jeopardizes more than the 32 wrestlers currently on the Norwich wrestling roster. It affects the 7 other military colleges that sponsor wrestling as well as over 260,000 underserved high school wrestlers that now have one fewer college to pursue their academic and athletic dreams.
  • How can Norwich University make the decision to eliminate wrestling without first reaching out to the alumni and wrestling community for help?
  • According to the Norwich University 2007/08 EADA, wrestling is one of the least expensive sports at the University. It appears that wrestling is inexpensive, has provided the school with considerable national exposure, and has done more than its fair share to help Norwich bolster its undergraduate enrollment.
  • In summary, it is important that the University administration believes that the public outcry is going to escalate over the following days, months, and years. The wrestling community encourages the administration to establish an alternative plan that maintains its intercollegiate wrestling program.

Others are already organizing at Wrestling 411, d3Wrestle.com andTheMat.com.

No Replies to "Norwich and Lawrence Universities Cancel Wrestling Programs"