2008 Woodie Awards
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Reasons for wrestling's loss don't add up
Editorial
by Emerald Editorial Board |
"If we wanted to keep wrestling, we could keep wrestling." These are the words of Oregon wrestling coach Chuck Kearney, and they represent the opinion of most students on this campus.
It's too bad the people who make decisions - the ones with power - feel differently.
At McArthur Court today is the Pacific-10 Conference wrestling championship, and the last meet before Oregon wrestling ceases to exist. It's a sad decision for the University, and it's one that could easily have been avoided and could still be reversed.
Despite confusion over the timing and financial issues in play, the basic facts are simple and make their point loudly and clearly.
Wrestling at the University has been on a short financial leash since the 1980s, after baseball's initial axing in 1981. But now that baseball is back, and competitive cheerleading has arrived, there's no longer room for a sport with roots here dating back 54 years.
Wrestling has two things going for it. First, it's as steeped in tradition as it is inexpensive to maintain. Its roots can be traced back thousands of years, to when it was among the first Olympic sports in the sixth century, B.C. At the University, its operating costs are a fraction of what it takes to run more popular sports like football and basketball. Second, wrestlers can train practically anywhere; this is evidenced by the fact that Oregon wrestlers have been practicing at the Student Rec Center, under a basketball hoop, for the past year after their wrestling room was displaced by a new medical center for athletes.
Wrestling is being pushed aside by the allure of more glamorous, commercialized sports. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone not excited about the return of Ducks baseball. The addition of competitive cheer, while controversial, has generally been welcomed as an addition to the University.
But the issue is not about whether one sport deserves recognition over another. Unlike the blockbuster sports of football, basketball or baseball, wrestling is an individual sport, and its success should be defined on different terms. Though not a moneymaker, it costs the University only $600,000 per year to field and transport a team - that's around what the University stands to lose each year as a result of fielding a Pac-10 baseball team.
It's too bad the people who make decisions - the ones with power - feel differently.
At McArthur Court today is the Pacific-10 Conference wrestling championship, and the last meet before Oregon wrestling ceases to exist. It's a sad decision for the University, and it's one that could easily have been avoided and could still be reversed.
Despite confusion over the timing and financial issues in play, the basic facts are simple and make their point loudly and clearly.
Wrestling at the University has been on a short financial leash since the 1980s, after baseball's initial axing in 1981. But now that baseball is back, and competitive cheerleading has arrived, there's no longer room for a sport with roots here dating back 54 years.
Wrestling has two things going for it. First, it's as steeped in tradition as it is inexpensive to maintain. Its roots can be traced back thousands of years, to when it was among the first Olympic sports in the sixth century, B.C. At the University, its operating costs are a fraction of what it takes to run more popular sports like football and basketball. Second, wrestlers can train practically anywhere; this is evidenced by the fact that Oregon wrestlers have been practicing at the Student Rec Center, under a basketball hoop, for the past year after their wrestling room was displaced by a new medical center for athletes.
Wrestling is being pushed aside by the allure of more glamorous, commercialized sports. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone not excited about the return of Ducks baseball. The addition of competitive cheer, while controversial, has generally been welcomed as an addition to the University.
But the issue is not about whether one sport deserves recognition over another. Unlike the blockbuster sports of football, basketball or baseball, wrestling is an individual sport, and its success should be defined on different terms. Though not a moneymaker, it costs the University only $600,000 per year to field and transport a team - that's around what the University stands to lose each year as a result of fielding a Pac-10 baseball team.
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 8
Phil
posted 3/03/08 @ 7:24 AM PST
It doesn't matter how much money they raise. If baseball is going to be played here, wrestling must go because of Title IX. This is the "clear reason" you are looking for. (Continued…)
Jake Ortman
posted 3/03/08 @ 10:13 AM PST
This wasn't a Title IX issue, despite what folks initially thought:
http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2008/02/27/Sports/Down-For. (Continued…)
Dr. John Miller
posted 3/03/08 @ 10:14 AM PST
This is Dr. John Miller.
I would like to take the time to respond to the recent decision to cut the Oregon Wrestling program. Many of you may not know me, but I was an Oregon wrestler back in the 70s. (Continued…)
Dr. John Miller
posted 3/03/08 @ 10:23 AM PST
This is Dr. John Miller.
I would like to take the time to respond to the recent decision to cut the Oregon Wrestling program. Many of you may not know me, but I was an Oregon wrestler back in the 70s. (Continued…)
Phil
posted 3/03/08 @ 10:55 AM PST
Jake: I actually read that article just after posting my comment and rescind the comment. Although it's hard to believe. It seems the athletic department would at least use that as an excuse to hold off a little of the criticism
wrestlingfilm.com
posted 3/03/08 @ 11:12 AM PST
Like I said before in an early post, Oregon losing its wrestling program is a result of the core problem in America, Homophobia. The people that make the decisions to remove wrestling, whether they claim it as a Title IX excuse or anything else, know deep down this is why they are removing it. (Continued…)
Hank Hosfield
posted 3/03/08 @ 11:54 AM PST
It's heartening to read this editorial. There seems to be a groundswell of support from both inside and outside the wrestling community. (In fact, the issue even seems to be raising the dead. (Continued…)
David C. Nelson '75
posted 3/03/08 @ 8:40 PM PST
"Though not a moneymaker, it costs the University only $600,000 per year to field and transport a team - that's around what the University stands to lose each year as a result of fielding a Pac-10 baseball team. (Continued…)
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