Where to start with an article like this? This certainly doesn't prove that any of these wrestlers would have chosen to wrestle in their home state. They still might have ended up at the schools they ended up at. What it does prove is that if they had the opportunity to wrestle Division I in their home state they could have.
Some states obviously deserve more scrutiny than others. Out of the nine states without Division I college wrestling that are represented on this list, one thing is unarguable, one thing is indisputable, these states produce top tier Division I caliber wrestlers. AND these states should all have opportunities for there wrestlers to compete in their state.
Georgia - 5 currently ranked wrestlers
Florida - 3 Currently ranked wrestlers
Texas - 2 Currently ranked wrestlers
Kentucky - 2 Currently ranked Wrestlers
Kansas - 2 Currently ranked wrestlers
Alabama - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
Hawaii - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
Idaho - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
Nevada - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
Washington - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
***NOTE: WIN Rankings Were Used***
The State of Georgia has 7 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. 3 of these schools used to have wrestling programs at one time. There are five schools in Georgia among the smaller Divisions that currently have varsity wrestling.
Florida has 13 Division I schools, none of which have wrestling. 8 of these Schools used to have wrestling programs at one time. There is currently only one school in Florida that has a varsity wrestling program.
Texas has 23 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. To my knowledge, 3 of these schools used to have wrestling programs at one time. There is currently 1 varsity wrestling program in the state. (Although I've heard rumor that Huston Tillotson is considering adding a varsity program.)
Kentucky has 7 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. To my knowledge, 1 of these schools used to have a wrestling program. There are currently five schools in Kentucky in the smaller divisions with varsity wrestling.
Kansas has 3 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. 2 of these schools had wrestling programs at one time. Currently in other Divisions, Kansas has 11 varsity programs.
Alabama has has 9 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. 3 of these schools had wrestling programs at one time. Currently Alabama has 1 varsity wrestling program in the state.
Hawaii has 1 Division I program, it doesn't have wrestling. It did at one time. No colleges in Hawaii currently have varsity wrestling.
Idaho (it pains me so much to have to add this state to the list this year) has 3 Division I programs, none of which have wrestling. All had wrestling at one time. There is currently one 1 varsity wrestling program in the state.
Nevada has 2 Division I programs, none of which have wrestling. To my knowledge one had a wrestling program at one time. There is currently no varsity wrestling at the collegiate level in Nevada.
Washington has 5 Division I programs, none of which have wrestling. 3 of these schools had wrestling programs at one time. The state of Washington currently has two varsity wrestling programs in the state at smaller divisions.
Quick shout out to Mike Moyer and the NWCA who have worked endlessly, tirelessly and thanklessly to grow collegiate wrestling around the country. If not for their dedication and passion, we wouldn't have the 10 programs we do have in Georgia and Arkansas respectively.
Now you're probably wondering, who are the wrestlers currently ranked in Division I that are from states without Division I wrestling opportunities!
Here they are......
Some states obviously deserve more scrutiny than others. Out of the nine states without Division I college wrestling that are represented on this list, one thing is unarguable, one thing is indisputable, these states produce top tier Division I caliber wrestlers. AND these states should all have opportunities for there wrestlers to compete in their state.
Georgia - 5 currently ranked wrestlers
Florida - 3 Currently ranked wrestlers
Texas - 2 Currently ranked wrestlers
Kentucky - 2 Currently ranked Wrestlers
Kansas - 2 Currently ranked wrestlers
Alabama - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
Hawaii - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
Idaho - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
Nevada - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
Washington - 1 Currently ranked wrestler
***NOTE: WIN Rankings Were Used***
The State of Georgia has 7 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. 3 of these schools used to have wrestling programs at one time. There are five schools in Georgia among the smaller Divisions that currently have varsity wrestling.
Florida has 13 Division I schools, none of which have wrestling. 8 of these Schools used to have wrestling programs at one time. There is currently only one school in Florida that has a varsity wrestling program.
Texas has 23 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. To my knowledge, 3 of these schools used to have wrestling programs at one time. There is currently 1 varsity wrestling program in the state. (Although I've heard rumor that Huston Tillotson is considering adding a varsity program.)
Kentucky has 7 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. To my knowledge, 1 of these schools used to have a wrestling program. There are currently five schools in Kentucky in the smaller divisions with varsity wrestling.
Kansas has 3 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. 2 of these schools had wrestling programs at one time. Currently in other Divisions, Kansas has 11 varsity programs.
Alabama has has 9 Division I Schools, none of which have wrestling. 3 of these schools had wrestling programs at one time. Currently Alabama has 1 varsity wrestling program in the state.
Hawaii has 1 Division I program, it doesn't have wrestling. It did at one time. No colleges in Hawaii currently have varsity wrestling.
Idaho (it pains me so much to have to add this state to the list this year) has 3 Division I programs, none of which have wrestling. All had wrestling at one time. There is currently one 1 varsity wrestling program in the state.
Nevada has 2 Division I programs, none of which have wrestling. To my knowledge one had a wrestling program at one time. There is currently no varsity wrestling at the collegiate level in Nevada.
Washington has 5 Division I programs, none of which have wrestling. 3 of these schools had wrestling programs at one time. The state of Washington currently has two varsity wrestling programs in the state at smaller divisions.
Quick shout out to Mike Moyer and the NWCA who have worked endlessly, tirelessly and thanklessly to grow collegiate wrestling around the country. If not for their dedication and passion, we wouldn't have the 10 programs we do have in Georgia and Arkansas respectively.
Now you're probably wondering, who are the wrestlers currently ranked in Division I that are from states without Division I wrestling opportunities!
Here they are......
 |
| Jack Mueller - Virginia #5 @ 125 lbs Texas |
 |
| Sean Russell - Edinboro #6 @ 125 lbs Georgia |
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sean Fausz - North Carolina State #8 @ 125 lbs Kentucky
|
 |
| Nathan Butler - Stanford #10 @ HWT Kansas |
No comments:
Post a Comment