To be fair, many of us that don't want to change the team title, DO like the national dual meet tournament and DO like the individual aspect to the current NCAA tournament. No matter what is decided we will continue to enjoy the individual NCAA tournament. That said, we ALSO think that to no longer have the team championship as part of the individual tournament will take off a significant amount of the luster from the tournament.

I read these posts often but rarely post. But I feel that this issue is very important to the survival of wresting as I feel wrestling has to evolve to stay around in the distant future. So here it goes. I really do see all the sides. But I also recognize the need for change.

I like most of you on this forum am a wrestling diehard. I will watch the individual tournament no matter what the stakes. Individual titles are up for grabs, and that is why I watch it. I am wathcing the individuals, and the team thing just kind of happens along with it.. I live in a place that is not very wresting friendly. We have few diehard fans. It is very difficult to get a parent to sit at a tournament all day to watch their own kid let alone watch somebody they don't know. I can, however, get them to come watch a dual. I can get them to watch a College Dual on TV as well. And I can get our high school kids (casual fans) to come for a two hour dual.

If I have a tournament, I advertise when the finals are going to start because I know the casual fan won't come for the whole thing. So, having a dual team championship may cater to an audience that is unwilling to watch what we have now. And IMO, that would be good for wrestling. I like the idea of moving towards a dual championship for the sake of the survival of the sport. I am 44 years old. I am the perfect age to talk about the slow death of wresting, and I was a member of a Division I program that cut their program in 1987-88. I have seen it happen over the last 20 years.

If the wrestling community gets behind this proposal, there is little risk of moving forward with it, because the diehards will always be there, and that is who supports the current structure. It can't go worse than it is going right now from a popularity point. To expand the popularity of wresting, we need to expand outside of the diehard fan. Getting an event on ESPN that viewers can tune into for a couple of hours and see something from beginning to end that has high stakes is a great idea. But without support from the wrestling community, it won't work. 51% consensus from college coaches is not good enough in my opinion. IN the 35 years I have been involved in wresting, I see wresting shoot itself in the foot all of the time. Let's not let the fear of change get in the way of progress. Let's not vote this up or down based on what kind of team we have right now. That is the one thing I hate about democracy. Too often people vote on what is good for them currently vs what is good for the whole. (of course I love democracy, just not that part of it)

If we can get this through, I will support it. IF it doesn't go through, I will continue to support it. But I like the initiative because it has a real shot of evolving wrestling. And if it doesn't work, we lose little. WE still have a team trophy, and I bet the top programs can evolve to compete for it. There will still be a winner for the individual torunament. It just won't have the recognition from the NCAA. It will still have recognition from the diehards.

I love wrestling enough to let it evolve. Remember the only thing that is constant in life is that things continue to change. Evolving is key to survival in any aspect of life or business. The question is, do we love wresting enough to let it evolve? To do nothing is to let the slow death continue IMO.

Wrestlers are competitive by nature. If the rules change in crowning a team champion, the rules are still the same for everybody. I bet the top programs could make adjustments to still be competitive, but of course it will be controversial, because everybody likes the status quo. It is the nature of human beings. It is also the main reason for the lack of progress in many organizations.

So, with the support from the wrestling community, I see this as an opportunity to improve what we already have without giving up anything but a golden trophy. It is amazing what people will do or not do for a piece of metal. If it has promise to help wrestling you do it. A trophy doesn't get in the way of progress for a visionary organization.

Realistically, despite the format, the same four or five teams will be going for the title in both venues.

also, you have to figure that TV viewers will be the target audience for the Dual Championships as the diehards are still involved in their own competitions. THe individual tournament will always have better attendance because the lower levels are finished with their post seasons. So I do see the timing with the dual championships as a problem if you want to fill the stands. Filling the stands doesn't appear to be the objective in the current proposal. If you are looking to fill the seats, the location will have to be in a wrestling hub as you won't see nationwide travel to the event.

I read these posts often but rarely post. But I feel that this issue is very important to the survival of wresting as I feel wrestling has to evolve to stay around in the distant future. So here it goes. I really do see all the sides. But I also recognize the need for change.

I like most of you on this forum am a wrestling diehard. I will watch the individual tournament no matter what the stakes. Individual titles are up for grabs, and that is why I watch it. I am wathcing the individuals, and the team thing just kind of happens along with it.. I live in a place that is not very wresting friendly. We have few diehard fans. It is very difficult to get a parent to sit at a tournament all day to watch their own kid let alone watch somebody they don't know. I can, however, get them to come watch a dual. I can get them to watch a College Dual on TV as well. And I can get our high school kids (casual fans) to come for a two hour dual.

If I have a tournament, I advertise when the finals are going to start because I know the casual fan won't come for the whole thing. So, having a dual team championship may cater to an audience that is unwilling to watch what we have now. And IMO, that would be good for wrestling. I like the idea of moving towards a dual championship for the sake of the survival of the sport. I am 44 years old. I am the perfect age to talk about the slow death of wresting, and I was a member of a Division I program that cut their program in 1987-88. I have seen it happen over the last 20 years.

If the wrestling community gets behind this proposal, there is little risk of moving forward with it, because the diehards will always be there, and that is who supports the current structure. It can't go worse than it is going right now from a popularity point. To expand the popularity of wresting, we need to expand outside of the diehard fan. Getting an event on ESPN that viewers can tune into for a couple of hours and see something from beginning to end that has high stakes is a great idea. But without support from the wrestling community, it won't work. 51% consensus from college coaches is not good enough in my opinion. IN the 35 years I have been involved in wresting, I see wresting shoot itself in the foot all of the time. Let's not let the fear of change get in the way of progress. Let's not vote this up or down based on what kind of team we have right now. That is the one thing I hate about democracy. Too often people vote on what is good for them currently vs what is good for the whole. (of course I love democracy, just not that part of it)

If we can get this through, I will support it. IF it doesn't go through, I will continue to support it. But I like the initiative because it has a real shot of evolving wrestling. And if it doesn't work, we lose little. WE still have a team trophy, and I bet the top programs can evolve to compete for it. There will still be a winner for the individual torunament. It just won't have the recognition from the NCAA. It will still have recognition from the diehards.

I love wrestling enough to let it evolve. Remember the only thing that is constant in life is that things continue to change. Evolving is key to survival in any aspect of life or business. The question is, do we love wresting enough to let it evolve? To do nothing is to let the slow death continue IMO.

Wrestlers are competitive by nature. If the rules change in crowning a team champion, the rules are still the same for everybody. I bet the top programs could make adjustments to still be competitive, but of course it will be controversial, because everybody likes the status quo. It is the nature of human beings. It is also the main reason for the lack of progress in many organizations.

So, with the support from the wrestling community, I see this as an opportunity to improve what we already have without giving up anything but a golden trophy. It is amazing what people will do or not do for a piece of metal. If it has promise to help wrestling you do it. A trophy doesn't get in the way of progress for a visionary organization.

Realistically, despite the format, the same four or five teams will be going for the title in both venues.