Dear Kansas wrestling Family,

I was able to attend the Division II National tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa this year. I enjoyed watching my former Team Kansas members wrestle, and especially win. Congrats to the 7 Division II All All-Americans and 2x national champion Cody Garcia.

I must say I was very disappointed in the performance cashed in by Fort Hays State. So disappointed, I felt compelled to start a topic that will be interpreted as negative by some. I am giving my opinion and pointing out a few disturbing facts.
Fort Hays State is supposed to be the premier program of our state. They have a very solid recruiting base as Kansas is a very strong wrestling state. I know they only get like 4.5 or 5.5 scholarships to work with from the school, but that they can/could raise the money to give up to 9.9.

Regardless of the number of scholarships; it’s a fact that FHSU and coach Bickley gets decent talent every year and fails horribly at developing it. It’s a fact that because of the track record head coach Cody Bickley has established that FHSU loses a great amount of Division II Kansas talent to other, local out of state Division II colleges like: Central Oklahoma, Nebraska-Kearney, and Nebraska-Omaha. This is because they compete for team titles and crown individual champions almost every year.

Honestly, these schools coaches have just proven they are better. They are more way more credentialed as coaches and were way more accomplished more as wrestlers then Bickley.

After 8 years you would think that coach Bickley would have built a top notch wrestling program with the Kansas talent he has to work with. Well, he hasn’t! He has coached only 13 All-Americans in 8 years! And No NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
This year they had only four national qualifiers and one All-American. Under head coach Cody Bickley, the Tigers have finished: 21st, 24th, 10th, 22nd, 11th, 14th, and 24th, for an average team placing of 18th place. There are currently only 44 Division II college wrestling teams.

I don’t know Coach Bickley on a personal level. I am sure he has fine morals and is a great man, but believe he hasn’t done a good job at FSHU based on results on the mat. I believe they have done a good job academically under Bickley. Well, why not have a coach that dominates in both areas? A coach, that completely follows the rules and finds a way to get his athletes to dominate the competition in every aspect of the sport: mentally, physically, nutrition wise, technically, spiritually, emotionally, and academically. Someone that puts a product on the mat that is entertaining to watch and fills the stands with people excited to watch great wrestling. It can be done! I’ve seen it first hand built from the bottom up! (In, Division II just look to the North).

As an Ambassador/Athlete of the sport and Kansas Wrestling, I believe its time for a coaching change at Fort Hays State University! A change that would be beneficial to all of Kansas Wrestling. Everyone wants Division I program when we can’t annually field a dominant Division II wrestling team. Maybe, if FHSU rattled off 5 consecutive Division II national team titles the schools President would apply for Division I eligibility to be like Edinboro and Clarion Universities.

The bottom line is FHSU head wrestling coach Cody Bickley HASN'T GOT THE JOB DONE which is to win national team/individual wrestling titles while graduating 100% of the kids he brings in and he hasn't been close to accomplishing this. There are many great/better candidates to replace Coach Bickley living and coaching in Kansas right now. I am writing an email and calling Fort Hays State Athletic Director Curtis Hammeke to express my thinking and encourage you to do the same. His email/phone is: chammeke@fhsu.edu /phone :(785)628-4353.

Sincerely, Eric Luedke