UW Update

[Troy Grindle]

Theres always gotta be one doesn't there???

One what? I assume that you are talking about jaminn. He points out a legitement point.

I appreciate Trevor's insight and posotivitie attitude, but fans at uw are sick of below average results in the big ten and at ncaa's. Especially with all of the talent the state has produced over the past 4-7 years at the high school level.  I hope that uw can turn it around and be the force that they should be in the big ten, but previous years say other wise. Top level kids and coaches have left this program the past couple of years for other programs. Not second stringers and volunteer coaches but national champions and associate head coaches.  I truly hope that it gets turned around and that Trevor is leading the way. But there is nothing wrong with somebody questioning what is going on in madison.

Trevor, I truly hope that you can turn it around and that frustrated/negative fans don't bring you down such as myself. Because there is a huge fan base for uw wrestling in madison and the state that is just really sick of the same old same old. Good luck with the rest of the season and keep plugging away and hopefully you can bring bucky back to what he should be.

[hammen]

I think it's pretty clear the ship is heading in the right direction. The results took a big hit over the past couple of years, but they are rebuilding at a fast rate. Trying to bring a program out of the bottom that we were for the last few years is not easy, and it is especially difficult in the B1G. They're doing a great job putting together a solid program again, and I'm excited for it. It's a process, and they're heading in the right direction.

[imnofish]

Good post, Hammen.  Getting impatient is not going to get anyone to the top more quickly.  I think your summary was perfect and I applaud the coaches for staying positive.  If they weren't, it would be pretty much impossible to improve.

[MNbadger]

"Trevor, I truly hope that you can turn it around and that frustrated/negative fans don't bring you down such as myself. Because there is a huge fan base for uw wrestling in madison and the state that is just really sick of the same old same old"

Then show up for the matches!

I know this is going to anger many on this site but so be it.  I have been in and around wrestling almost all of my 55 years on this Earth.  We inappropriate term1 and complain abut why wrestling isn't covered, not given attention, not popular, etc.  We don't even support it ourselves much of the time!

This is along the lines of what Ben Askren posted some time ago about the Big 10 tourney.  He called out wrestling fans to show up and people come back with excuses as to why they can't make it.  No basketball person would miss a Regional college basketball tournament to run their club basketball games.

Heck, I still say half of us would go to the basketball final four game instead of a wrestling match.(not me but I have never understood the appeal of that game anyway)
Why do we expect other nonwrestling people to become fans when we don't even show up for the Badger matches? (we talk endlessly about making it more mainstream, yadda, yadda)

If you believe that the Badgers aren't doing the right things to be successful (I do, for the record) if people are attending and they aren't seeing success, the administration will take notice.  If there isn't anyone there to BE unhappy, nothing will happen.  If you are a fan you go to watch good wrestling (sometimes the good wrestlers are on the other team).

If you are a wrestling fan you would choose to watch the Badgers rather than stay home to watch the NFL (I love the Packers too).  You can choose the NFL but then you can't complain about the stature wrestling has as a result.

A personal experience to me shows how we don't value our sport enough (in my opinion).  When was coaching, we used to compete in the OTW tournament.  We were the only Mn team there at the time.  UWO was struggling with their program and I suggested (it should have come from a WI team in my opinion) at the coaches' meeting that all the teams add $100.00 to the entry fee to go to UWO.  If I remember correctly, I was the only one who voted to do so.  If each team had 10 fans they could have passed the hat if nothing else.  
We certainly weren't flush as a team booster-wise so I believe most teams could have done it.  I know I'll take heat on here and maybe I am out of line but I really don't think so.  No one said "too much, let's do $50.00", nothing.

I rarely miss a home Gopher match.  Yes, I live reasonably close but when I am there I see tons of out-state kids and adults at nearly every match so distance for most is not an excuse.

I really don't want to make anyone angry and I am not a jerk.  I care about my sport and always have.  If I am out of line I apologize and you can ignore my rant.

[imnofish]

Good points.  As members of the wrestling community, we all have a responsibility to promote and support the sport. 

[MNbadger]

Looking at the Badger shcedule.........  It has to be that most matches are on Sunday to get enough fans.  That will change attendance for the better.
Also, I realize that the Gophers home matches are in a large metro area.  They average 3000 +.  Accepting the fact that the Madison area is lower in population, WI should be able to average at least 1500-2000. 

[imnofish]

The only times I've watched Wisconsin wrestle is when they were in Minnesota.  I can get there in about an hour and 1/2, vs a 4+ hour drive to Madison.  A simple solution would be to move Madison to the center of the state.   

[MNbadger]

Four and a half hours is a long drive, not realistic to expect (though I bet there are plenty of people who do so for Badger football?).  
Two and under is certainly is doable.  So, within two hours of Madison there should be enough fans to average 1500-2000 fans per dual for sure, probably within an hour there really should be enough.

[theunionchair]

Thank you, Trevor, for the update! We can all see the program is improving from the last two years.

Can you be a little more specific about the Badger Wrestling program's objectives, specifically in the Big Ten?

1. What is our goal for this year? Top 5 in the Big Ten?
2. Do we have a realistic shot of winning the Big Ten next year?
3. What are the main challenges that we face in recruiting compared to other Big Ten schools?
4. Currently, there are no Wisconsin high school graduate wrestlers either on the roster or starting for the following schools: Iowa, Penn State, Minnesota, Penn State, Illinois, Michigan, Oklahoma State, and Stanford. With the exception of Penn State, they do all have Illinois kids that are starting. How hard is the UW program recruiting the Illinois kids? It was fantastic to see Ricky at the Midlands and picking up Johnny was fantastic. But, if you look at the Cheesehead, The Clash, and the Ironman results this year, Illinois wrestlers rocked. In fact, only one Wisconsin team was in the top ten at the Cheesehead.   

Thanks, and ON WISCONSIN!

[Ghetto]

Alex Dieringer is on the starting roster for Oklahoma State. Just saying. Brad Dolezal is on the Minnesota roster.

[padre]

Four and a half hours is a long drive, not realistic to expect (though I bet there are plenty of people who do so for Badger football?).  
Two and under is certainly is doable.  So, within two hours of Madison there should be enough fans to average 1500-2000 fans per dual for sure, probably within an hour there really should be enough.

While not making excuses for the lack of fans(would love to go but too far away) for a dual meet there is a big difference in reference to Madison.  Has there been a Madison wrestler that has placed at state in the last 10 years?  Advanced to state?  I am not positive on either but know they are few and far between which translates to a low interest level in that area.  I do think coaches in the general area(hour or so) should push for trips with the high school wrestlers to these meets...maybe that should be a focal point at the next fall Badger clinic(won't help much if they run it the same weekend as the coaches clinic).  If the coaches feel wanted I think they are more likely to make that push.

MN has been a powerhouse for a long time...did they fill it before that?

That being said...many of us are making the trip for the Big 10s and hoping for a great showing.  Having it the same weekend as Team State can only help the semi-finals and finals numbers.  Is there any way to find out how ticket sales are going?

[billymurphy]

You know the answer to some of those questions "theunionchair". You have Penn State, Iowa(senior dominated team), and Minnesota(senior dominated team) with established programs and even a down year for those teams they will still be better than WI.
And with Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio State pulling in great recruiting classes this year, it will make it darn tough to finish ahead of them in the upcoming 4 years.  With WI having its worst team in recent memory two years ago, it is clear that Coach Brandvold has had a positive impact in getting WI back to respectability this season.  Coach Brandvold attending the Illinois high school state tournament to recruit the level of talent needed for WI to win in the Big Ten has become clear and it will not shock me if WI's team in the future is stocked with blue chip Illinois kids.  

2. Do we have a realistic shot of winning the Big Ten next year?
Is that even a serious question?
To win the Big Ten you have to have several guys on the team that are good enough to win the Big Ten.  Does WI have the super blue chip guys to do that?  NO.  Jordan very well could be in the ballpark to do it next year but it certainly will not be easy.
Plus, we lose Graff next year and he will be hard to replace.
For this season, I would say an 8th place in the Big Ten tournament is something that is likely unless Graff and the team start performing better.
If WI falls all the way to 9th place then something went very wrong.
1.Penn State
2. Iowa
3. Minnesota
4-7. Illinois,Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan(no particular order)
8. Wisconsin
9. Northwestern
10. Purdue
11.Indiana
12. Michigan State

[Musky Hunter]

You know the answer to some of those questions "theunionchair". You have Penn State, Iowa(senior dominated team), and Minnesota(senior dominated team) with established programs and even a down year for those teams they will still be better than WI.
And with Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio State pulling in great recruiting classes this year, it will make it darn tough to finish ahead of them in the upcoming 4 years.  With WI having its worst team in recent memory two years ago, it is clear that Coach Brandvold has had a positive impact in getting WI back to respectability this season.  Coach Brandvold attending the Illinois high school state tournament to recruit the level of talent needed for WI to win in the Big Ten has become clear and it will not shock me if WI's team in the future is stocked with blue chip Illinois kids.  

2. Do we have a realistic shot of winning the Big Ten next year?
Is that even a serious question?
To win the Big Ten you have to have several guys on the team that are good enough to win the Big Ten.  Does WI have the super blue chip guys to do that?  NO.  Jordan very well could be in the ballpark to do it next year but it certainly will not be easy.
Plus, we lose Graff next year and he will be hard to replace.
For this season, I would say an 8th place in the Big Ten tournament is something that is likely unless Graff and the team start performing better.
If WI falls all the way to 9th place then something went very wrong.
1.Penn State
2. Iowa
3. Minnesota
4-7. Illinois,Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan(no particular order)
8. Wisconsin
9. Northwestern
10. Purdue
11.Indiana
12. Michigan State

the young guns will do work this year.....jordan & rt are changing the program...

[MNbadger]

Four and a half hours is a long drive, not realistic to expect (though I bet there are plenty of people who do so for Badger football?).  
Two and under is certainly is doable.  So, within two hours of Madison there should be enough fans to average 1500-2000 fans per dual for sure, probably within an hour there really should be enough.

While not making excuses for the lack of fans(would love to go but too far away) for a dual meet there is a big difference in reference to Madison.  Has there been a Madison wrestler that has placed at state in the last 10 years?  Advanced to state?  I am not positive on either but know they are few and far between which translates to a low interest level in that area.  I do think coaches in the general area(hour or so) should push for trips with the high school wrestlers to these meets...maybe that should be a focal point at the next fall Badger clinic(won't help much if they run it the same weekend as the coaches clinic).  If the coaches feel wanted I think they are more likely to make that push.

MN has been a powerhouse for a long time...did they fill it before that?

That being said...many of us are making the trip for the Big 10s and hoping for a great showing.  Having it the same weekend as Team State can only help the semi-finals and finals numbers.  Is there any way to find out how ticket sales are going?

The fans at the Gopher matches aren't all watching former MN State Tournament entrants.  Yes, there are always Mn products in the line up but that isn't driving the fans.  As I said, it isn't just Madison.  Go out an hour and a half for your fan base.
Not many kids from Minneapolis place at the state tournament here.  As I said, there are lots of fans from out state at these meets.  
You had 8oo fans at the Illinios match, it should be easy to double that.  Everyone bring a friend or two.  Once you get them there, they will get hooked.  Even "wrestlingpeople" sometimes never go and they never see how fun it is to watch that caliber of restling live.

[MNbadger]

Oshkosh 1  and 1/2 hours
Green bay 2 hours
Going out from Madison in a circle, what are the wrestling schools/areas? 
What is it Oakpark, they were decent and aren't they quite close?
Ask yourself how many fans should be there from within a 1 1/2 to 2 hour radius?  Tons!