@ChristianPyles -- I've gotta push back a little on this one.
During the FRL, you Bratke, and Nomad referred back to the RTC funding disparities. PSU has an order of magnitude larger RTC budget than any other club. They are in a tier of their own. You mention that "money isn't a thing" for PSU and they can pay for any wrestler that they want. Then less than 5 minutes later, you hypothesize (while disclaiming that you don't know this for a certainty), that other clubs didn't pursue Gilman.
You never made the connection that the reason for this might be due to the fact that no other club has $5 million + in the bank to be reaching out to every single potential "free agent". Isn't it disingenuous to ignore the factor that money and funding plays on this?
Here's what you said (rough transcription):
"More than the money, they (PSU/Cael) have the eye of the tiger. They're aggressive, they're going out and trying to make moves at the next level. Did anyone else (other coaches/clubs) make calls? Who else was beating down Gilman's door saying we can do this we can do that, etc. I feel like they (PSU) just have the aggressive mentality to make things like this work, that maybe other people aren't thinking of."
No connection is made that the $5M + might be the reason they have the ability to do this and other clubs do not. Just praise for Cael's ingenuity at being able to bring in Gilman and Snyder as if it was just as simple as picking up the phone or being a relentless recruiting and negotiator.
You then go on to mention the impact this has on high school wrestling recruits:
"If you're a HS wrestling recruit, how do you not ask yourself why all of these amazing wrestlers leave to go to PSU. The best wrestlers are having success at schools, (referencing Snyder and Gilman's world medals at Ohio State and Iowa), and then are leaving to go to PSU thinking I can get a little better if I go there. If you're a HS wrestler how do you not think wow these guys are reaching this conclusion".
Again, no reference to the pocket book that might've been a factor to Snyder and Gilman choosing PSU over any other RTC.
CP in reference to contacting wrestlers and bringing them into your RTC:
"It can work both ways. right now it's working one way. and it's going the Nittany lion way."
No mention of funding disparity between RTCs within the context of this conversation.
Another quote by CP on RTCs:
"The game is there to be played if Iowa enters it, I think they could bring in some more elite guys".
Again no mention of funding disparity.
Obviously, in Thomas Gilman's situation, the biggest factor on him leaving Iowa City is Spencer Lee being in the room, so don't misconstrue my point here to mean that PSU just outbid Iowa for Gilman. I also doubt that was the case. But when you reference, no other club making these big moves, or pursuing athletes, how do you just attribute it to PSU's ingenuity and not look at the biggest factor - $$$$$$? This is a career for these athletes. You can be damn sure they are making financial decisions when making moves between RTCs. Gilman himself said he made a spreadsheet on his possibilities and the only reason for going to Arizona State would be b/c Perry is there. Do you think if Arizona State could offer him $150k per year to compete there, that that might've swayed his decision?
Wrestling is in a very weird spot right now with the RTCs being so interconnected with HS recruiting, college transfers, and these athletes making career decisions which are in in their best interests. To add to the complexity, everything is done in private. The contracts aren't publicly disclosed unlike most professional sports. We're all aware that the RTCs have a massive impact on college recruiting, and that the primary contributing factor to RTC's operations is funding and budget, yet you referenced PSU getting Gilman and Snyder over other clubs as if money didn't play a massive impact on their decisions. There are only a few clubs in the country even capable of paying more than 1-2 athletes to compete, and then out of the clubs who do have some ability to pay, there still isn't equity. PSU can outbid any other club if they value the wrestlers equally.
I fully understand that Iowa has more funding than every other program besides PSU and that other schools and fans can say all of this about Iowa. This isn't "boohoo, it's unfair that PSU has more money than other schools". I just don't see how you mention all of the factors about RTC funding disparities, but then write all of that off when praising PSU's success over other programs at bringing guys into their RTC.
During the FRL, you Bratke, and Nomad referred back to the RTC funding disparities. PSU has an order of magnitude larger RTC budget than any other club. They are in a tier of their own. You mention that "money isn't a thing" for PSU and they can pay for any wrestler that they want. Then less than 5 minutes later, you hypothesize (while disclaiming that you don't know this for a certainty), that other clubs didn't pursue Gilman.
You never made the connection that the reason for this might be due to the fact that no other club has $5 million + in the bank to be reaching out to every single potential "free agent". Isn't it disingenuous to ignore the factor that money and funding plays on this?
Here's what you said (rough transcription):
"More than the money, they (PSU/Cael) have the eye of the tiger. They're aggressive, they're going out and trying to make moves at the next level. Did anyone else (other coaches/clubs) make calls? Who else was beating down Gilman's door saying we can do this we can do that, etc. I feel like they (PSU) just have the aggressive mentality to make things like this work, that maybe other people aren't thinking of."
No connection is made that the $5M + might be the reason they have the ability to do this and other clubs do not. Just praise for Cael's ingenuity at being able to bring in Gilman and Snyder as if it was just as simple as picking up the phone or being a relentless recruiting and negotiator.
You then go on to mention the impact this has on high school wrestling recruits:
"If you're a HS wrestling recruit, how do you not ask yourself why all of these amazing wrestlers leave to go to PSU. The best wrestlers are having success at schools, (referencing Snyder and Gilman's world medals at Ohio State and Iowa), and then are leaving to go to PSU thinking I can get a little better if I go there. If you're a HS wrestler how do you not think wow these guys are reaching this conclusion".
Again, no reference to the pocket book that might've been a factor to Snyder and Gilman choosing PSU over any other RTC.
CP in reference to contacting wrestlers and bringing them into your RTC:
"It can work both ways. right now it's working one way. and it's going the Nittany lion way."
No mention of funding disparity between RTCs within the context of this conversation.
Another quote by CP on RTCs:
"The game is there to be played if Iowa enters it, I think they could bring in some more elite guys".
Again no mention of funding disparity.
Obviously, in Thomas Gilman's situation, the biggest factor on him leaving Iowa City is Spencer Lee being in the room, so don't misconstrue my point here to mean that PSU just outbid Iowa for Gilman. I also doubt that was the case. But when you reference, no other club making these big moves, or pursuing athletes, how do you just attribute it to PSU's ingenuity and not look at the biggest factor - $$$$$$? This is a career for these athletes. You can be damn sure they are making financial decisions when making moves between RTCs. Gilman himself said he made a spreadsheet on his possibilities and the only reason for going to Arizona State would be b/c Perry is there. Do you think if Arizona State could offer him $150k per year to compete there, that that might've swayed his decision?
Wrestling is in a very weird spot right now with the RTCs being so interconnected with HS recruiting, college transfers, and these athletes making career decisions which are in in their best interests. To add to the complexity, everything is done in private. The contracts aren't publicly disclosed unlike most professional sports. We're all aware that the RTCs have a massive impact on college recruiting, and that the primary contributing factor to RTC's operations is funding and budget, yet you referenced PSU getting Gilman and Snyder over other clubs as if money didn't play a massive impact on their decisions. There are only a few clubs in the country even capable of paying more than 1-2 athletes to compete, and then out of the clubs who do have some ability to pay, there still isn't equity. PSU can outbid any other club if they value the wrestlers equally.
I fully understand that Iowa has more funding than every other program besides PSU and that other schools and fans can say all of this about Iowa. This isn't "boohoo, it's unfair that PSU has more money than other schools". I just don't see how you mention all of the factors about RTC funding disparities, but then write all of that off when praising PSU's success over other programs at bringing guys into their RTC.
