Could Drake make a solid comeback?
Supposedly others out there adding wrestling.
Positive news.
Drake University Wrestling
- Thread starter IAROY
- Start date
Could Drake make a solid comeback?
Supposedly others out there adding wrestling.
Positive news.
Cue @MitchL with a remark about another team to be ahead of Iowa State in Iowa. In all seriousness it’d be a tough road to have any sort of competitiveness. Already 3 D1 programs in the state and some smaller powers, not to mention the current state of Iowa HS wrestling. Add in the location in Des Moines and it makes it tough.
But good luck to Drake. I’m all for more teams!
But good luck to Drake. I’m all for more teams!
Can you provide context to this statement? I'm not following? Thanks in advance ...
If Drake restored their wrestling program I doubt "competiveness" is even a consideration. And, Drake is a very fine private liberal arts college that could draw athletes from all over the country, not just Iowa. There is ALWAYS room for more wrestling programs.
Football is the only sport that they do not offer scholarships for.
Division I Athletic Scholarships are offered to outstanding student athletes in both men's and women's sports. Men's scholarships are awarded in basketball, soccer, track and field, cross-country, golf and tennis. Women's scholarships are available in basketball, track and field, cross-country, golf, soccer, volleyball, softball, tennis, and rowing.
This. Great news. Honestly, why do they have to be "competitive", as in placing highly at tournaments as a team? Lots of teams don't, the majority don't. Now, surely they shouldn't be losing ten weights every night, but even kids just from the DM metro would be "competitive" nightly, and they would pull nationwide.
That would be an interesting way for Nick Mitchell to get into D1 coaching.
If Drake adds a D1 program, I think it would hurt the Iowa D3 and NAIA teams a lot more than it hurt the D1 programs at first. It would be great for the sport, and would be another place for former Hawkeye's to make some money as coaches!
If Drake adds a D1 program, I think it would hurt the Iowa D3 and NAIA teams a lot more than it hurt the D1 programs at first. It would be great for the sport, and would be another place for former Hawkeye's to make some money as coaches!
Drake neighborhood is pretty sketchy when compared to Iowa City campus, Ames campus, etc. Do you disagree?
Why do you think that? If they are funded and serious, they can be similar to a lot of schools. The thought that a private school would only recruit Iowa is probably not what anyone starting a program would think. They added a program in Arkansas last year as a D1 school Campbell is getting serious and they have a respectable program. The chances of it competing on the level of the Hawks is slim, but how many teams can do that?
If they go D1 there are plenty of quality D1 kids to go around. As it stands now, you have PSU stockpiling those kids and OSU and tOSU also stock piling those kids. Now they have another alternative for school.
Go Drake Go!!!
LG- My opinion is purely a guess, not backed with any historical data or fact. I just doubt that many top 100 kids would go to a brand new program right away. I would think their first few recruiting classes would be full of kids that are borderline D1, that often end up at Wartburg/Coe/Grandview otherwise.
They aren't pulling Spencer Lee, but a kid like Brock Rathbun (3x Champ 4x Finalist) decides to test the waters in D1 instead of going to Wartburg. Maybe they get some "room guys" from Iowa/ISU/UNI, but I'd think it would be 5+ years before Iowa lost a scholarship type athlete to Drake.
They aren't pulling Spencer Lee, but a kid like Brock Rathbun (3x Champ 4x Finalist) decides to test the waters in D1 instead of going to Wartburg. Maybe they get some "room guys" from Iowa/ISU/UNI, but I'd think it would be 5+ years before Iowa lost a scholarship type athlete to Drake.
Gotcha. I didn't connect the dots you were talking about the physical location of the Drake campus ... I agree the Drake area is not like Iowa City and Ames ... I don't know the location of the campus makes much of a difference when it comes to Drake resurrecting wrestling or not. Drake football and basketball teams do fine with players and fans, etc.
I would agree with YG07. I think Drake would be a destination for the top tier kids that maybe go Wartburg or GV. Iowa has had kids that go NDSU/SDSU...maybe if Drake is in play they stay in state. Not to mention that the DSM area is loaded with talent. I'm guessing there's a few in there that wouldn't mind staying home and wrestling D1.
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More D1 wrestling in Iowa? What's not to like?
They're not adding any D1 programs in PA or OH are they?
Iron sharpens iron.
Who will lose? Maybe Grandview or maybe Wartburg. Maybe, but I doubt it. Different level.
I could see a whole new Iowa Duals:
Iowa, UNI, Ia. St., Drake, Grandview, Upper Iowa, Wartburg.
Pick any four with at least three D1 schools included. Great f*n at least 83% of the time!
They're not adding any D1 programs in PA or OH are they?
Iron sharpens iron.
Who will lose? Maybe Grandview or maybe Wartburg. Maybe, but I doubt it. Different level.
I could see a whole new Iowa Duals:
Iowa, UNI, Ia. St., Drake, Grandview, Upper Iowa, Wartburg.
Pick any four with at least three D1 schools included. Great f*n at least 83% of the time!
If this is true my daughter will be going nuts!! She is a HUGE wrestling fan and is going to Drake to play softball. She is planning on a being a nurse or orthodontist. The only negative thing for her was they don't have a wrestling program and honestly it never really factored into her decision but now she won't have to drive to Iowa City to see wrestling.
As for Drake and where it is located yes it's less than ideal and it crossed our mind. But the campus itself is AWSSOME and further away than the "bad" part of town than most think. The campus is located in one area and my daughter loved how it's all connected. She's only a junior in High School so they got a couple of years to get some quality kids.
As for Drake and where it is located yes it's less than ideal and it crossed our mind. But the campus itself is AWSSOME and further away than the "bad" part of town than most think. The campus is located in one area and my daughter loved how it's all connected. She's only a junior in High School so they got a couple of years to get some quality kids.
How many schools do you think take an Iowa kid away from Iowa now? - 10 maybe? If you are an Iowa type scholarship athlete kid there are not many schools that you are looking at. I could easily see Drake being a 12-25 team with good coaching and administrative support. To think they will compete with the Hawks is silly for anyone to think. The Hawks will own Iowa for as many years as TnT are coaching there. Barring any crazy thing happening,of course.
Compared to Ames, it's a little sketchy. Not as sketchy compared to Yale, Penn, or many others.
It's Des Moines, not Detroit.
Restoring wrestling to Drake would be the greatest way possible to honor Mike Duroe. A bit of historical trivia: the first IPTV College Wrestling broadcast was a Drake dual.
Some good points. I agree with all of them. With that said, being a private school, with a student base from all over the country, maybe it would be more appealing to kids that wouldn’t normalLy consider going to school in Iowa? Let’s face it, if there is a scholly money, kids will come. Ready to compete with the big boys? Well of corse not. At least not right away. But I’m not sure any of us saw coming what Grandview has done, right?
I think it’s great.
I was just pointing out some possible struggles. I still want them to do it. And I’ll be that much more impressed when they start becoming successful.
Didn’t mean to imply you weren’t pulling for them. My bad. Like I said. I agree with all u said
Why doesn’t Tulsa have a wrestling team? I don’t much about the university, I’ve always hated them since they beat Iowa in football in ‘96.
If they had agreed to this a few months ago before school started… They could probably have put together a team that could beat Iowa State this year.
But I guess that doesn’t necessarily make them competitive with the nation as a whole.
I was at that game. All game long Hayden had linebacker John Hartlieb trying to jam Tulsa's top wide receiver at the line of scrimmage. The Tulsa wideout would be 5 yards down the field by the time Hartlieb woke up and notice the ball had been snapped. It was comical.
Looking at the teams getting scholarships, they may need to add wrestling just to comply with Title 9.
I don't think scholarships matter with Title 9. It is strictly participation numbers vs enrollment numbers. I guess if no one complained, they might be ok. but it is doubtful that would happen. Adding a women sport or dropping football would probably make adding wrestling a possibility.
As a side note, I would be willing to bet, we start seeing colleges drop football in the near future.
Let's face it - the real need is for money. The fact that Drake is a private school is beneficial. The argument can be made that a 25 man roster would generate $1,000,000 annually in tuition revenue, less 10 scholarships (I know - 9.9) leaves $600,000 to help cover the costs of the program. Add a 20 woman women's team roster along with the men, and no real appreciable cost - maybe $50,000 for one additional coach - and you have a winning situation all around. Knowing Mike Moyer and Pat Tocci as I do, I'm willing to bet that this was part of the presentation.
That being said, there would be start-up costs that some generous donors would need to cover.
That being said, there would be start-up costs that some generous donors would need to cover.
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