NCAA Wrestling Committee – Championships Selection Procedures Update

Executive Summary

In response to the cabinet’s direction to provide a draft of its proposed selection procedures, the NCAA Wrestling Committee has not only developed revised selection criteria for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships that eliminates the use of historical data, but the committee has also developed a comprehensive strategic plan for the sport that has the support of the entire wrestling community.

The theme of wrestling’s strategic plan is to place an emphasis on regular season competition (and specifically the dual meet format) as a means to sustain and potentially broaden local fan support. Phase I of this strategic plan includes the following package of recommendations that addresses the immediate issue of NCAA championships selection procedures and also lays the foundation to create a meaningful regular season:

1) New Selection Procedures for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships

2) Add 30 qualifiers to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships

3) Increase Competition Dates and Require a Minimum Number of Dual Meets

4) Create an NCAA Sanctioned Dual Meet Championships Event

There is ongoing work being performed to address other important issues including seeking ways to improve the sport of wrestling’s APR, professionalizing the sport’s officiating program, and addressing underlying reasons for the large number of individual forfeits. The committee hopes to forward additional recommendations that address these issues within the next 18 months.

The committee believes these recommendations will:

• create an NCAA Championships selection procedure that awards access to every conference and regional qualifying tournament champion and awards access to at-large selections using only data from the current year;

• create an NCAA Championships selection procedure that balances the needs of providing regional representation for an endangered sport and ensuring that the most deserving student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships;

• place a renewed emphasis on the regular season and dual meet competition. The committee feels that this is the best way to broaden wrestling’s fan base and can also serve as a model for other sports where regular season competition is virtually non-existent on campus;

• advance recommendations made by the NCAA/United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Task Force Report to protect and expand opportunities for an endangered sport of by developing a new event that more effectively markets the sport of wrestling and produces a new revenue stream for the NCAA.