Wrestling Hall Of Fame honors H. Clay McEldowney

We at the ASC are proud to share the news that on September 21st our own H. Clay McEldowney was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, NJ Chapter as ‘Outstanding American.’

When asked at his induction ceremony what he sees as the greatest challenges facing the sport of wrestling, McEldowney listed Title IX’s gender quota, which results in the dropping or roster capping of Olympic sports, such as wrestling, track & field, and soccer; college coaches, many of whom are unable to effectively deal with sports politics, public relations, and encouraging alumni support groups; and pay to play, the probable aftermath of the O’Bannon case, which could take resources away from the “non-revenue sports” in favor of revenue sports like football and basketball.

In the early 1990’s, as Chairman of the Friends of Princeton Wrestling, McEldowney led the successful 3 year effort to prevent the elimination of Princeton’s varsity wrestling team after the university announced its intention to discontinue it. Since that time, Clay has worked tirelessly to share with sports leaders who are willing to listen the key strategies that helped save the Princeton wrestling team.

Clay is a founding Director of the ASC and has served on its Board of Directors as Board Secretary since the ASC’s inception in 2002.

“It’s been a true honor and privilege to know and work with Clay,” commented ASC Chairman Eric Pearson. “Most people have no idea just how generous he has been in donating countless hours to help save college sports teams.”

ASC President, Leo Kocher added, “The passion, influence, resources, and hard work that Clay has generously given to the ASC’s cause has been crucial for thousands upon thousands of students for whom sports have made such a difference – and many thousands more in the future.”

His efforts on behalf of wrestling earned him, with actor Billy Baldwin, the Impact Award in 2012 from the Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine (WIN), the leading publication covering high school, collegiate and international wrestling, in recognition of his involvement with preventing the discontinuation of wrestling and other Olympic sports at many colleges.

The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, the nation’s oldest collegiate wrestling conference, honored McEldowney as ‘Man of the Year’ in 1997 and inducted him into the EIWA Hall of Fame in 2013.

The ASC agrees that Clay is an outstanding American.