Expectations

[asdf]

It's interesting reading folks viewpoints, I get the sense that some people on here are "plugged in" somewhat, I definitely am not.  Here are a few of my thoughts/viewpoints for what it's worth:

a) I grew up here and have lived here my whole life, so I cheer for the Badgers though I absolutely don't lose any sleep over their teams results.  I pull for all of the guys and definitely enjoy seeing them do well.   

b) Like most years, some guys seemed to improve more than others, some stayed about the same and some regressed.  Coaching has something to do with this, but so does individual motivation as well as stuff going on at home, in the classroom, girlfriend issues, etc., etc.  There is a lot of sh*t going on in young guys lives. 

c) I don't like it when folks on here call the coach "Bozo" - I think it's very disrespectful.

d) I know that money has changed things, but it's part of the coach/programs "job" to adapt to the changing environment/landscape.  They don't seem like they have done very well at all in this - I'm sure there are lots of reasons why but it's a bottom-line business. 

e) Speaking of money, I used to donate to the program automatically each month - not a lot but some.  But then a few things happened and transparency seemed to be questionable so I stopped.  I wonder how many others on here did the same thing. 

f) I am not all that sure about how much the university or the AD really support the program and I sometimes wonder if they don't wish it would just go away so they could save a few dollars and headaches.  I sure hope I'm wrong about this. 

g) I would be surprised if Amos or Zargo ever suited up for the Badgers again - in fact I'd say it's more likely that there will be a surprise departure or two from the team.  I hope I'm wrong about this too. 

h) I watched Hamiti lose to O'Toole on Sunday, and while it was a great match the whole thing made me kind of sad.  It is also bitter-sweet watching Messenbrink, Keckiesen, Buchanan and others dominate.  I will be pulling for them (and the 3 Badgers) in Philly even though it still bugs me a bit as it would be so fun seeing these guys wrestling for Wisconsin.

Nick Saban was so sick of NIL he retired. "For the love of money is the root of all evil".

Many think Saban retired because NIL leveled the playing field for the elite FB teams against Alabama. Everyone can pay the athletes now. Its no longer just the SEC top tier's with their waterfall whirlpools and flatscreens in each locker. Shane Gillis on College day all but said it right to Saban and he didn't argue the point one bit.

For a more apples to apples reference.  30++ d1 wrestling teams have leapfrogged Badgers in recruiting and success during this NIL era.  Yep, it sucks but just means its on Bono as the HEAD coach to find big donors, do more then steak fry's, on and on to stay competitive. He isn't.  Look at Illinois roster and they have a link of "$" where you can directly donate to that athlete.  Why don't Badgers do that?

Saw a post on twitter from Felters.  Big Ten wrestling teams average 20% of their revenue from camps (NIL is separate).  Does UW even do camps anymore?  If they do it is a shell of what they once were. 

Yes, money matters and IMO Bono isn't keeping up.

[crossface21]

crossface21 - who the inappropriate term3 cares what happened in 2012?  Start focusing on the present and stop living in the past.  Get a clue.

Haha, ok champ. I'm assuming you're saying that tongue in cheek since my comment was clearly a response to the comment of UW having 9 qualifiers under Davis 8 years ago. I agree, bringing up the past is stupid. It has no relevance of what is happening today.

But with that said, Davis had 9 qualifiers 3 years later. Who's to say Bono can't do the same thing? And I'm not on board with keeping Bono, I'm just saying you can't selectively choose stats that only fit whatever your narrative is.

[CityGuy]

asdf good find with that money link for the Illini. Never saw that before its awesome! Paul, I agree I used to donate monthly to the WIRTC, then the transparency stopped, the girls program was done so wrong and I cut it off. You are not alone.

Hope they fix the RTC soon, hard to be competitive without one...

[Harris]

I posted on here last year that UW has NIL donation links for their football players through the UW website.  My suggestion at the time for the coaching staff was to get that set up for the wrestlers as well but never heard another word about it.

[wrestle03]

crossface21 - yes, meant tongue in cheek but i can see how it didnt come across that way.
Bono has been here 7 years already - i think the proof is in the results and he's overstayed his welcome.  I just think the coaching staff could be doing so much more than what they are....almost seems like they are not capable of getting with the times and adjusting to the new world of collegiate sports.  I'm sorry, but you are living in the old days if you think a "steak fry" is doing enough for fundraising. 

asfd - i had to check out the Illini site - that direct money link to each athlete is pretty cool.  Why dont the Badgers do something like that?

[Harris]

crossface21 - who the inappropriate term3 cares what happened in 2012?  Start focusing on the present and stop living in the past.  Get a clue.

Haha, ok champ. I'm assuming you're saying that tongue in cheek since my comment was clearly a response to the comment of UW having 9 qualifiers under Davis 8 years ago. I agree, bringing up the past is stupid. It has no relevance of what is happening today.

But with that said, Davis had 9 qualifiers 3 years later. Who's to say Bono can't do the same thing? And I'm not on board with keeping Bono, I'm just saying you can't selectively choose stats that only fit whatever your narrative is.

Bringing up the past is not stupid when evaluating the performance during a performance review at your job or when discussing how a coaching staff has done.  The truth is hard to hear at times but all successful businesses and athletic programs should be evaluating the past to prevent similar issues in the future and also to develop a strategy to improve.  Your comment is like athletes telling me they don't need to watch film.  Very few people would agree this is a good strategy and my guess is all successful coaching staffs review film to fix problems and improve in addition to discussing upcoming matches.  The forum is public so that is what makes this such a touchy subject.

As far as picking and choosing the history we want to post, I agree that I cherry picked a good year but it did happen right before Bono took over so I do think it is relevant.

[Harris]

crossface21 - yes, meant tongue in cheek but i can see how it didnt come across that way.
Bono has been here 7 years already - i think the proof is in the results and he's overstayed his welcome.  I just think the coaching staff could be doing so much more than what they are....almost seems like they are not capable of getting with the times and adjusting to the new world of collegiate sports.  I'm sorry, but you are living in the old days if you think a "steak fry" is doing enough for fundraising. 

asfd - i had to check out the Illini site - that direct money link to each athlete is pretty cool.  Why dont the Badgers do something like that?

They do - just not for wrestling 

[hornbuckleb]

But hey at least team Mexico has our support.

[crossface21]

crossface21 - who the inappropriate term3 cares what happened in 2012?  Start focusing on the present and stop living in the past.  Get a clue.

Haha, ok champ. I'm assuming you're saying that tongue in cheek since my comment was clearly a response to the comment of UW having 9 qualifiers under Davis 8 years ago. I agree, bringing up the past is stupid. It has no relevance of what is happening today.

But with that said, Davis had 9 qualifiers 3 years later. Who's to say Bono can't do the same thing? And I'm not on board with keeping Bono, I'm just saying you can't selectively choose stats that only fit whatever your narrative is.

Bringing up the past is not stupid when evaluating the performance during a performance review at your job or when discussing how a coaching staff has done.  The truth is hard to hear at times but all successful businesses and athletic programs should be evaluating the past to prevent similar issues in the future and also to develop a strategy to improve.  Your comment is like athletes telling me they don't need to watch film.  Very few people would agree this is a good strategy and my guess is all successful coaching staffs review film to fix problems and improve in addition to discussing upcoming matches.  The forum is public so that is what makes this such a touchy subject.

As far as picking and choosing the history we want to post, I agree that I cherry picked a good year but it did happen right before Bono took over so I do think it is relevant.

Obviously if it's the same person it's not stupid. But it's a different regime so comparing UW now to a completely different staff-in addition to a completely different college landscape when it comes to NIL and recruiting, I don't see how the connection can be made.

As for the year they sent 9, perhaps. But different styles for different coaches. I'm not saying Bono did a good job, but sometimes a wrestlers style doesn't mesh with the style a coach wants to implement. I always said give a coach 4-5 years(before NIL) unless the bottom completely falls out before looking to fire him/her. I think we were kind of at that point last year with Bono that a change needs to be made no matter what you believe the reasons are that he's failing. The job isn't getting done. I don't know if UW will ever be able to compete in the top 3 of the Big Ten consistently, but they should absolutely be in that 4-9 range at worst every year.

[crossface21]

crossface21 - yes, meant tongue in cheek but i can see how it didnt come across that way.
Bono has been here 7 years already - i think the proof is in the results and he's overstayed his welcome.  I just think the coaching staff could be doing so much more than what they are....almost seems like they are not capable of getting with the times and adjusting to the new world of collegiate sports.  I'm sorry, but you are living in the old days if you think a "steak fry" is doing enough for fundraising. 

asfd - i had to check out the Illini site - that direct money link to each athlete is pretty cool.  Why dont the Badgers do something like that?

All good! I agree.

[Harris]

crossface21 - who the inappropriate term3 cares what happened in 2012?  Start focusing on the present and stop living in the past.  Get a clue.

Haha, ok champ. I'm assuming you're saying that tongue in cheek since my comment was clearly a response to the comment of UW having 9 qualifiers under Davis 8 years ago. I agree, bringing up the past is stupid. It has no relevance of what is happening today.

But with that said, Davis had 9 qualifiers 3 years later. Who's to say Bono can't do the same thing? And I'm not on board with keeping Bono, I'm just saying you can't selectively choose stats that only fit whatever your narrative is.

Bringing up the past is not stupid when evaluating the performance during a performance review at your job or when discussing how a coaching staff has done.  The truth is hard to hear at times but all successful businesses and athletic programs should be evaluating the past to prevent similar issues in the future and also to develop a strategy to improve.  Your comment is like athletes telling me they don't need to watch film.  Very few people would agree this is a good strategy and my guess is all successful coaching staffs review film to fix problems and improve in addition to discussing upcoming matches.  The forum is public so that is what makes this such a touchy subject.

As far as picking and choosing the history we want to post, I agree that I cherry picked a good year but it did happen right before Bono took over so I do think it is relevant.

Obviously if it's the same person it's not stupid. But it's a different regime so comparing UW now to a completely different staff-in addition to a completely different college landscape when it comes to NIL and recruiting, I don't see how the connection can be made.

As for the year they sent 9, perhaps. But different styles for different coaches. I'm not saying Bono did a good job, but sometimes a wrestlers style doesn't mesh with the style a coach wants to implement. I always said give a coach 4-5 years(before NIL) unless the bottom completely falls out before looking to fire him/her. I think we were kind of at that point last year with Bono that a change needs to be made no matter what you believe the reasons are that he's failing. The job isn't getting done. I don't know if UW will ever be able to compete in the top 3 of the Big Ten consistently, but they should absolutely be in that 4-9 range at worst every year.

It's funny.  Last year I posted a list of all the people who have left and I was told that was stupid.  Now you are saying comparing Davis to Bono is stupid.  What do you think an AD looks at when they hire a new coach?  They look at their past results at a different institution with an entirely different landscape.  They also compare the coaching results to other potential hires for the position.  Comparing a coach to another coach is as old of a tradition as sports themselves since they have been keeping score.

The problem I have with the forum lately is no one wants to talk about the hard facts because they don't look good.  Data driven decisions can be really eye opening especially if you can take the emotion out of it.  I can't stand when people ignore these types of things and give people a pass especially in an industry where they do keep score and it is so competitive.  If Bono had these types of results when he was at ISU as an athlete, he would have lost his starting position and they would have found another wrestler to take his place.  Why can't we hold him to the same level as a coach when his decisions directly have impacted staff, fans, and athletes?

No one batted an eye when he replaced staff members or wrestlers who were underperforming over the past 7 years without giving any reasons to his donors.  We still haven't heard what happened with the Women's RTC or some of the athletes/coaches that left.  Why aren't we holding him to the same standard he applies to his coaches/staff and athletes.

I'm not trying to continue arguing with you but I just don't get your lack of understanding on how a coach is evaluated.

[Harper306]

I understand AWA kids are going elsewhere. But what about the top kids from other clubs throughout the state? People can give all the excuses they want, but it's clear that changing the perception of the program will be very challenging, if not impossible, without new leadership.

[Casper the Ghost]

I understand AWA kids are going elsewhere. But what about the top kids from other clubs throughout the state? People can give all the excuses they want, but it's clear that changing the perception of the program will be very challenging, if not impossible, without new leadership.

Agreed. It seems it's not just AWA. Even top out of state clubs like Izzy (IL) , Sebolt (IA), Pinnacle (MN)... to name a few do not have athletes on the roster.

[Barou]

Why does it appear that most of you are okay with accepting mediocrity?  This program is a dumpster fire.  Nothing but excuses for poor results.  The fact that SDSU was able to accomplish a massive 4 million dollar fundraising campaign after Bono left is proof that it can be done.  But that would take hard work - something that I dont think Bono wants anything to do with.  He seems okay sitting back collecting his 250K salary per year.  The results this year wont change the reality of this program.  No blue chippers are coming to WI.  Complain about NIL and blame it on everything that you want - but in order to compete in the new landscape of college sports you need to get out there and fundraise and get donors.  Bono hasnt done any of that and he clearly does not have the personality to do it either.  With the overall issues of the athletic department in general, I would not be surprised to see this program hit the chopping block.

Those that continually complain on here should start the fundraising campaign. You are most likely younger and have more pi$$ and vinegar than us old dudes.

Why not replicate WVU fundraising program? I know, you guys don't have enough time. Complain and don't get involved sounds like a bunch of lazy (deleted word) fans to me.

That or Boner could start that fundraising campaign.

[vsmf2010]

I understand AWA kids are going elsewhere. But what about the top kids from other clubs throughout the state? People can give all the excuses they want, but it's clear that changing the perception of the program will be very challenging, if not impossible, without new leadership.

Agreed. It seems it's not just AWA. Even top out of state clubs like Izzy (IL) , Sebolt (IA), Pinnacle (MN)... to name a few do not have athletes on the roster.

Isn't Wyatt Ingham Pinnacle?

Isn't Cody Goebel AWA?