MSU Open

[dad 2 5]

Well not too much to report so far. A some wins and a some of loss. 20-11 so far and several left on the front side.

[dad 2 5]

looks like eight guys still on the front side

[dad 2 5]

now six

[wrestle_4ever]

Can anyone confirm who will be starting this year?

So frustrating to see all the media and hype for other teams, and i've heard zilch outta Madison.

Whats the official word on Amos and Zargo? Will Ingham start? Would like to have some intel.

[dad 2 5]

11 out
3 left on the front side
5 left on the back side

[Harris]

The Badgers and their fans are in for a long season.  At this point, I am just having fun rooting for the underdogs and hoping some of these young guys can make some significant gains over the season.  One of Bono's strengths when he arrived at Madison was getting fans excited and fired up to watch the team.  Unfortunately, I think he has lost that momentum and that has to be concerning to the coaching staff especially with the impact on future recruiting.  It has always been interesting to me watching coaching staffs that fail to adapt to changing conditions because they are set in their ways with a specific training strategy and they just go down with the ship instead of truly reflecting on their shortcomings.  Many posters over the past six months have blamed NIL, but this is only a small part of the decline in my opinion.  Adapt or die to the new wrestling landscape versus being stubborn in your beliefs that grinding is the answer.  My sons high school team had the same hustle attitude effort mentality around 15 years ago and now that coach is gone and the program has only about 5 wrestlers for each dual with hardly anyone wanting to be on the team.  Grinding every day leads to injuries (Amos/Zargo), burnout at the end of the season (Poor Big and NCAA results), and just isn't very fun for most wrestlers on a daily basis.  You need to find a balance between having fun, working hard, and getting results.  Hopefully the coaching staff can self reflect and realize they need to make some drastic changes.  I just don't know if they can't put their ego's aside and realize they have an opportunity here but the changes need to start at the top.  Personally, I've never really understood why Bono finds it necessary to toot his own horn versus his athletes and portray himself as a tough guy.  Look at his Instagram photos:

Bonofidebono

He is the type of coach that praises you if you win but his demeanor changes drastically on the bench when you lose.  In addition, he ignores you from a media standpoint if you lose and only seems to praise athletes when they win.  I never have liked that with any coach because it shows that you care more about winning than the development of the athlete.  If you truly put the athlete first in all phases of your coaching, you will see significant gains during a season and over a career.  If you put wins and losses first, you will always have up and down teams that are dependent on the level of athlete you can recruit/retain.  Now that Bono is out of his honeymoon period, he is just not able to recruit or retain the level of athletes needed to be consistently at the top.  We are now seeing the results of a feast or famine type coaching mentality and that is not a good long term coaching strategy for the school, fans, or athletes.  The grind mentality just seems to be getting athletes injured or losing them to other teams that have a better balance (I could list the transfers but it is a long list    ). 

As I said, I hope he can change and make this team a consistent winner but my excitement and enthusiasm are pretty low right now.  Good luck to all the athletes in the future.  I do think we will have a few diamonds in the rough and positive surprises. 

[Ghetto]

Nicolar Rivera wrecked everyone on his way to a title. Beat #20 like he was a middle schooler.

[npope]

The Badgers and their fans are in for a long season.  At this point, I am just having fun rooting for the underdogs and hoping some of these young guys can make some significant gains over the season.  One of Bono's strengths when he arrived at Madison was getting fans excited and fired up to watch the team.  Unfortunately, I think he has lost that momentum and that has to be concerning to the coaching staff especially with the impact on future recruiting.  It has always been interesting to me watching coaching staffs that fail to adapt to changing conditions because they are set in their ways with a specific training strategy and they just go down with the ship instead of truly reflecting on their shortcomings.  Many posters over the past six months have blamed NIL, but this is only a small part of the decline in my opinion.  Adapt or die to the new wrestling landscape versus being stubborn in your beliefs that grinding is the answer.  My sons high school team had the same hustle attitude effort mentality around 15 years ago and now that coach is gone and the program has only about 5 wrestlers for each dual with hardly anyone wanting to be on the team.  Grinding every day leads to injuries (Amos/Zargo), burnout at the end of the season (Poor Big and NCAA results), and just isn't very fun for most wrestlers on a daily basis.  You need to find a balance between having fun, working hard, and getting results.  Hopefully the coaching staff can self reflect and realize they need to make some drastic changes.  I just don't know if they can't put their ego's aside and realize they have an opportunity here but the changes need to start at the top.  Personally, I've never really understood why Bono finds it necessary to toot his own horn versus his athletes and portray himself as a tough guy.  Look at his Instagram photos:

Bonofidebono

He is the type of coach that praises you if you win but his demeanor changes drastically on the bench when you lose.  In addition, he ignores you from a media standpoint if you lose and only seems to praise athletes when they win.  I never have liked that with any coach because it shows that you care more about winning than the development of the athlete.  If you truly put the athlete first in all phases of your coaching, you will see significant gains during a season and over a career.  If you put wins and losses first, you will always have up and down teams that are dependent on the level of athlete you can recruit/retain.  Now that Bono is out of his honeymoon period, he is just not able to recruit or retain the level of athletes needed to be consistently at the top.  We are now seeing the results of a feast or famine type coaching mentality and that is not a good long term coaching strategy for the school, fans, or athletes.  The grind mentality just seems to be getting athletes injured or losing them to other teams that have a better balance (I could list the transfers but it is a long list    ). 

As I said, I hope he can change and make this team a consistent winner but my excitement and enthusiasm are pretty low right now.  Good luck to all the athletes in the future.  I do think we will have a few diamonds in the rough and positive surprises. 

A very thoughtful set of thoughts, Harris. Thank you.

While you may indeed be correct on every single point you make, I feel as though you are not really addressing the underlying reasons for these dire straights for the program. What goes on in the room and how the coaches are reacting to it is above my pay grade so I will leave any and all of those issues alone. What I can say however, is that what Wisconsin is experiencing is largely reflecting what 90% of the DI programs are experiencing. NIL and the transfer portal have changed the landscape such that only those programs with $$$ will survive to come out on the other side. They can hire the very best coaches; they can recruit the very best kids coming out of high school; and the ones they don't get coming out of HS they will pick them off once they establish themselves as competitors in college. That's THE recipe for success as of 2024. Nothing else to add to that recipe - it is done and in the oven.

If a person wanted Bono to be doing something good for his wrestlers right now it would not be patting them on the back after they lose (or win). Rather, he should be teaching them all how to swim because that boat ain't gonna float in the coming environment. Only a couple of deluxe cruise ships will be left and by the time they figure out that there are no other programs left that the cruise ships can beat up on it will be too late; wrestling will have gone the way of NCAA boxing.

It is not good for any sport at any level to destroy the broad-base competitiveness of the field; that chance of winning is what keeps both fans and competitors at the table. Take that away and you cannibalize yourself. The NBA knows it. The NFL knows it. MLB knows it. The NCAA does NOT know it. Those in charge of the NCAA have lost their way.

[Harris]

Totally agree with everything you wrote Nat.  Not sure what the solution is but I just had to share some thoughts that popped into my head this morning.

[littleguy301]

Nicolar Rivera wrecked everyone on his way to a title. Beat #20 like he was a middle schooler.

Fugitt got 2nd also. Looks as if Melcher had a good day despite his 6th place finishes.

Can anyone confirm who will be starting this year?

So frustrating to see all the media and hype for other teams, and i've heard zilch outta Madison.

Whats the official word on Amos and Zargo? Will Ingham start? Would like to have some intel.

I doubt Ingham will start unless the Badgers are in dire need. Wyatt will open some eyes come January fur sure.

Anyone guess on if Zargo and Amos are ready to go this season. I would bet on no but maybe at the semester they are ready to go.

[badgerjohn]

As it is now, both Zargo and Amos are redshirting this season.

[MNbadger]

The Badgers and their fans are in for a long season.  At this point, I am just having fun rooting for the underdogs and hoping some of these young guys can make some significant gains over the season.  One of Bono's strengths when he arrived at Madison was getting fans excited and fired up to watch the team.  Unfortunately, I think he has lost that momentum and that has to be concerning to the coaching staff especially with the impact on future recruiting.  It has always been interesting to me watching coaching staffs that fail to adapt to changing conditions because they are set in their ways with a specific training strategy and they just go down with the ship instead of truly reflecting on their shortcomings.  Many posters over the past six months have blamed NIL, but this is only a small part of the decline in my opinion.  Adapt or die to the new wrestling landscape versus being stubborn in your beliefs that grinding is the answer.  My sons high school team had the same hustle attitude effort mentality around 15 years ago and now that coach is gone and the program has only about 5 wrestlers for each dual with hardly anyone wanting to be on the team.  Grinding every day leads to injuries (Amos/Zargo), burnout at the end of the season (Poor Big and NCAA results), and just isn't very fun for most wrestlers on a daily basis.  You need to find a balance between having fun, working hard, and getting results.  Hopefully the coaching staff can self reflect and realize they need to make some drastic changes.  I just don't know if they can't put their ego's aside and realize they have an opportunity here but the changes need to start at the top.  Personally, I've never really understood why Bono finds it necessary to toot his own horn versus his athletes and portray himself as a tough guy.  Look at his Instagram photos:

Bonofidebono

He is the type of coach that praises you if you win but his demeanor changes drastically on the bench when you lose.  In addition, he ignores you from a media standpoint if you lose and only seems to praise athletes when they win.  I never have liked that with any coach because it shows that you care more about winning than the development of the athlete.  If you truly put the athlete first in all phases of your coaching, you will see significant gains during a season and over a career.  If you put wins and losses first, you will always have up and down teams that are dependent on the level of athlete you can recruit/retain.  Now that Bono is out of his honeymoon period, he is just not able to recruit or retain the level of athletes needed to be consistently at the top.  We are now seeing the results of a feast or famine type coaching mentality and that is not a good long term coaching strategy for the school, fans, or athletes.  The grind mentality just seems to be getting athletes injured or losing them to other teams that have a better balance (I could list the transfers but it is a long list    ). 

As I said, I hope he can change and make this team a consistent winner but my excitement and enthusiasm are pretty low right now.  Good luck to all the athletes in the future.  I do think we will have a few diamonds in the rough and positive surprises. 

A very thoughtful set of thoughts, Harris. Thank you.

While you may indeed be correct on every single point you make, I feel as though you are note really addressing the underlying reasons for these dire straights for the program. What goes n in the room and how the coaches are reacting to it is above my pay grade so I will leave any and all of those issues alone. What I can say however, is that what Wisconsin is experiencing is largely reflecting what 90% of the DI programs are experiencing. NIL and the transfer portal have changed the landscape such that only those programs with $$$ will survive to come out on the other side. They can hire the very best coaches; they can recruit the very best kids coming out of high school; and the ones they don't get coming out of HS they will pick them off once they establish themselves as competitors in college. That's THE recipe for success as of 2024. Nothing else to add to that recipe - it is done and in the oven.

If a person wanted Bono to be doing something good for his wrestlers right now it would not be patting them on the back after they lose (or win). Rather, he should be teaching them all how to swim because that boat ain't gonna float in the coming environment. Only a couple of deluxe cruise ships will be left and by the time they figure out that there are no other programs left that the cruise ships can beat up on it will be too late; wrestling will have gone the way of NCAA boxing.

It is not good for any sport at any level to destroy the broad-base competitiveness of the field; that chance of winning is what keeps both fans and competitors at the table. Take that away and you cannibalize yourself. The NBA knows it. The NFL knows it. MLB knows it. The NCAA does NOT know it. Those in charge of the NCAA have lost their way.

Great post Nat.  I agree with most of it.  I disagree with you positing that the NCAA "does not know it".  They know very well that the ball and stick sports will be the only ones left.  They don't care. 

[bigoil]

Great job Nicolar and others!

UW Football made $58M last year. The athletic department made ~$11M. If more money goes to FB and BB, it is going to have to come from somewhere. NCAA settlement estimated to cost $22M a year starting in 2025-26 season. Better hope the new TV deal is big enough to cover that gap.

Minnesota made only $2M last year, expecting a balanced budget this year and then $22M hit in '25-26 will need to be offset by TV or cuts.

[Gutwrench]

Great job Nicolar and others!

UW Football made $58M last year. The athletic department made ~$11M. If more money goes to FB and BB, it is going to have to come from somewhere. NCAA settlement estimated to cost $22M a year starting in 2025-26 season. Better hope the new TV deal is big enough to cover that gap.

Minnesota made only $2M last year, expecting a balanced budget this year and then $22M hit in '25-26 will need to be offset by TV or cuts.

Interesting data bigoil.  Thanks for sharing.

It still irritates me that when NIL started, the sports talk radio "experts" completely downplayed the impact it would have.  I remember them scoffing at the callers who argued against NIL.  The talk radio people said that NIL was only going to be for a few athletes like the star RB or QB on the football team or the star basketball player. Many people were clueless as to the actual impact and scope NIL was going to have.

I'm wondering on the continued trickle down effect of this NIL situation. I'm a high school wrestling coach, and I'm wondering if the possible collapse of many college wrestling programs will have a down stream effect on high school wrestling numbers. What do you all think the impact to HS wrestling could be?

[bigoil]

NIL I don't know was not a bad or good Without the court case, but it's really been the judgment handed down to the NCAA and it's member schools.

I just simply googled athletic department revenues so I'm sure he can do this with just about any Public university.