Week-End Salvo

Talk about the champions, or the Top 25 nationally-ranked team!
TMH
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Re: Week-End Salvo

Post by TMH » Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:29 am

I think to understand the Lehigh fan base, one has to consider our history.

Lehigh wrestling has been in existence for about 110 years and during that time there have been about 90 NCAA Championships. In Lehigh's storied history, we have won 28 individual championships. Interestingly, 7 of them were won in the 6 year period between 1974-1979. Another 9 were won in the 13 year period between 1955-1967. That totals 57% of our total champs during a period of less than 20 years and ended 40 years ago.

However, if you look at our fan base, the vast majority of them span those same time frames. Those are the periods that form many of our goals and expectations. The arena has changed dramatically as JDA implied.

I don't ever foresee Lehigh changing it's academic structure nor should they. Lehigh is first and foremost an elite academic institution that has a rich history in wrestling. It is not a wrestling institution that has a rich history in academics.


TMH
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Re: Week-End Salvo

Post by TMH » Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:22 pm

Richb-3 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:02 am What hurts Lehigh, relatively is that so many P5 schools lack Wrestling. Leave us face it. Other than Vanderbilt, 95% of SC athlete aren't even getting a single look from Lehigh admissions. Even at the academically best of B1G (Save NW) the majority of the SEC Student athletes could become B1G athletes. Same with PAC 12, Same with Big 12 (I don't put USC and Baylor at NW level) ACC is a little different other than Florida State the Wrestling lacking schools have academics of quality.

The point is, of course, If the P65 said, let's all establish, and fully fund wrestling, it would pull down the net quality of all existing programs, but it would pull down EIWA a lot more than any of the other programs
In my opinion, the period when the concept of P5 schools and conference switching took place, it was designed as a money grabbing mechanism for major sports but has also had a significant impact on "minor" or Olympic sports.

Missouri and Nebraska leaving the Big 12 seems to coincide with the demise of Oklahoma and Iowa St and the Big 12 is a shell of itself. Pitt moves to the ACC and suddenly that conference decides to become very, very relevant. Perhaps all coincidental.

Watch the sport of lacrosse. It is growing rapidly and a sport once dominated by a handful of bigger schools (Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia , N. Carolina and a host of smaller schools like the Ivies and Johns Hopkins is suddenly seeing it's landscape changing.
Maryland takes it's show to the Big 10 and brings J, Hopkins along with it and suddenly Penn State and Ohio State bring their programs to the Top 20. Michigan is also throwing their hat in the ring. Rutgers has gotten significantly better. Over time, watch for the Big 10 to be fierce competitors with the ACC which became even more relevant with the move by Syracuse and the move-in by Notre Dame. Duke has only taken it's role seriously over the last 20 years.

Note: of the 11 teams ranked ahead of Lehigh last year in wrestling, 5 were from the Big 10 and 4 from the ACC. Lehigh actually beat the other 2.
Richb-3
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Re: Week-End Salvo

Post by Richb-3 » Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:55 pm

TMH wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:22 pm
Richb-3 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:02 am What hurts Lehigh, relatively is that so many P5 schools lack Wrestling. Leave us face it. Other than Vanderbilt, 95% of SC athlete aren't even getting a single look from Lehigh admissions. Even at the academically best of B1G (Save NW) the majority of the SEC Student athletes could become B1G athletes. Same with PAC 12, Same with Big 12 (I don't put USC and Baylor at NW level) ACC is a little different other than Florida State the Wrestling lacking schools have academics of quality.

The point is, of course, If the P65 said, let's all establish, and fully fund wrestling, it would pull down the net quality of all existing programs, but it would pull down EIWA a lot more than any of the other programs
In my opinion, the period when the concept of P5 schools and conference switching took place, it was designed as a money grabbing mechanism for major sports but has also had a significant impact on "minor" or Olympic sports.

Missouri and Nebraska leaving the Big 12 seems to coincide with the demise of Oklahoma and Iowa St and the Big 12 is a shell of itself. Pitt moves to the ACC and suddenly that conference decides to become very, very relevant. Perhaps all coincidental.

Watch the sport of lacrosse. It is growing rapidly and a sport once dominated by a handful of bigger schools (Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia , N. Carolina and a host of smaller schools like the Ivies and Johns Hopkins is suddenly seeing it's landscape changing.
Maryland takes it's show to the Big 10 and brings J, Hopkins along with it and suddenly Penn State and Ohio State bring their programs to the Top 20. Michigan is also throwing their hat in the ring. Rutgers has gotten significantly better. Over time, watch for the Big 10 to be fierce competitors with the ACC which became even more relevant with the move by Syracuse and the move-in by Notre Dame. Duke has only taken it's role seriously over the last 20 years.

Note: of the 11 teams ranked ahead of Lehigh last year in wrestling, 5 were from the Big 10 and 4 from the ACC. Lehigh actually beat the other 2.
ACC tried once before to be significant in wrestling, maybe when Clemson was relevant. I remember a report that the NC-NCS duel drew 5000 on year, then 8000 the next
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