Sorry Gibby, gotta fight you on a couple of things here...
First, are you going to tell me that the four top recruits in the state this year all turned down D-I scholarships? Chances are they weren't recruited or just offered walk-on status while UNO or Ft. Hays offered money.
Second, there are other schools that offer wrestling besides D-Is. Matt Pyle seems to be doing just fine at Luther (private school, but liberal financial aid). And the Blair Academy comment was silly --- Iowa is no more wealthy than Kansas and 90 percent of the D-III rosters in the state are filled with in-state athletes. There are numberous opportunities not that far from the Kansas borders that one can find wrestling opportunity.
Third, don't blame KSHSAA and don't blame the KWCA. Iowa has more DI athletes than Kansas (as does Oklahoma and Nebraska) and the populations are pretty much the same. KSHSAA's rules (other than the points thing) are so liberal in wrestling that I miss them greatly. You want oppressive rules, come up here. And our kids are no more wealthy and they still figure out ways to wrestle at the top levels in the off-season.
The fact of the matter is that overall, Kansas wrestling is stuck in a style that does not translate well outside the state. Robeson and Coleman and Akin got to where they are with a lot of hard work outside of Kansas. Granted, with the lack of scholarship money, D-I schools throw nickels around like they're manhole covers.
But college coaches aren't dumb enough to turn down someone they see as a solid prospect, either. This is about potential more than money Gibby, it really is.
Kansas wrestling is exciting and fun to watch. I enjoyed coaching there and the friendships I made along the way. But with no examples in house (as in KU or K-State) to look at, it just can't grow at the same rate --- and that's not a knock, it's a fact.
P.S. --- For the record, over 8,000 fans from 24 schools showed up Saturday for Iowa's 20th State Duals in Cedar Rapids. C'mon Gibby, can we really ALL be that wrong?
