This is a bit long, but bear with me, please . . .
First and foremost, props to HWC for being a leader in women's wrestling. I see it as a real pioneer in growing this faction of the sport.
From a pure business side of things, I imagine it has to be difficult to balance funding and program development proportionately between the genders. That is, for donations and other funding that is not earmarked, what is the formula for deciding whether the next resident athlete to be funded will be a man or a woman?
I think this is a potentially intriguing question as it relates to strategy among the RTCs, and how we are now linking collegiate team success so concretely with power and quality of the local RTC. On the one hand, you have the HWC with relatively high female representation, and on the other you have the NLWC with none. Both clubs are associated with highly successful collegiate teams that compete intensely on recruiting.
If one does believe RTC depth and success directly influence success in collegiate recruiting, to what degree do club managers allow college recruiting needs to influence their decisions on how to appropriate funds for new resident athletes at the club? And how much might gender work itself into that equation as women's wrestling grows across the country?
The question has been asked several times how such a well-funded RTC as the NLWC cannot seem to afford a women's program. Joking aside, it makes me wonder whether it is an intentional strategy to be held until such time that women's wrestling comes to Penn State in an official NCAA capacity. Until then, it might make more business sense to sign as many men as possible to help maximize recruiting for the college team.
The flip side of that, however, is that programs like the HWC could be seen as ahead of the curve on women's wrestling and, consequently, will have instant success at the NCAA level, which can only draw more positive attention to the Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling programs as a whole. The men's team could benefit from that indirectly.
If you are running a RTC, how do you balance funds between the genders?