Kansas Wrestling
Posted By: Coach Brown Pratt Community College adds program - 11/23/05 03:16 AM
According to a very reliabel source (my father, a member of the PCC board) Pratt Community College will be adding a wrestling program starting next year.
Being from Pratt this is a great addition to Kansas and specifically to the South Central wrestlers. I hope and wish this program succes and a long life.
For further details please go to http://www.pratttribune.com for more details.
Coach Brown
WOOO HOOOO!

PCC adding wrestling program

By Gale Rose of the Tribune Staff



The newest addition to the athletic program at Pratt Community College is projected to bring another 40 students to campus.

A new wrestling program was approved by the PCC Board of Trustees at their regular monthly meeting Monday night.

The additional students will add a new dimension to the athletic program and provide another source of student activities for PCC students and for the community.

"I think this is exciting. I'm looking forward to it," said PCC Athletic Director Kevin Hackerott.

Bringing in another athletic program will bring in additional revenue but will also create additional expense not only to start and maintain the wrestling program but for the additional instructors and instructional needs caused by adding an additional 40 students.


The new program is expected to generate about $217,000 in revenue against expenditures of $206,000 for a net cash flow of $11,000.

The program would create $14,000 in additional fees for scholarship use.

Those fee dollars along with money from the booster club and the PCC Foundation would provide enough money for the first year of operation. Additional fees could be raised to provide future scholarships. Several area donors have expressed an interest in a wrestling program.

Creating a wrestling program will have a positive impact on PCC. It will help fill the residence halls which need to be at 90 percent capacity to assure that the income from the residence halls will be enough to pay off the halls debt service without having to draw money from other sources.

"We need to maintain a strong student base or we aren't going to fill our residence halls," said PCC President William Wojciechowski.



Although Wojciechowski's position has not necessarily been to use athletic programs to recruit students, athletics does have the biggest draw, Wojciechowski said.

The traditional source of student population at PCC has come from the area high schools. With high school populations dropping, that pool of income becomes less and less. Having a wrestling program provides another hedge to keep the number of full time students up on campus.

"We are hoping to net 40 students," Wojciechowski said. "For this reason it's in our best interest."

Getting students into the wrestling program could prove to be less challenging than with other sports programs. Only three community colleges in the state currently have wrestling programs so the competition for athletes will not be as intense as with other sports programs.

"This (wrestling) is one of the least recruited areas in the state," Wojciechowski said.

Because only three other community colleges have wrestling programs, PCC could draw wrestlers from as far away as Topeka and Kansas City. Drawing those wrestlers would require getting the right coach, Hackerott said.

High school wrestling programs at Pratt High School and other area high schools are well supported and will provide an ample supply of wrestlers, said PCC Trustee Darrell Shumway.

An added benefit to bringing in an additional 40 students is that their buddies and girl friends tend to come to the same school which will bring in additional revenue, said PCC Trustee Chairman Ken Van Blaricum.

The sports medicine program would benefit from the addition of a wrestling program. An additional 0.25 full time equivalent trainer would have to be added. The remaining 0.75 FTE of that position would provide for an instructor in the expanded sports medicine program which is a goal of the mid-range plan. The sports medicine program would increase from the current six to a total of 18 students.

The search for a coach will be a priority and Hackerott has had some prospects who have previously express interest in coaching wrestling at PCC if a program was started.



A wrestling room would be established in the basement of the Riney Student Center which would have to be remodeled at an estimated cost of the $60,000 which would be paid off over a 10 year period.

The team would host three matches that would be held in the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena and would be scheduled during away basketball games so the events would not conflict.

The team would travel to meets at Colby, Neosho, Labette, Hays and Newman. There are 13 individual weight classes and most meets allow two competitors from one school in each weight class.

With another wrestling program in the college ranks, it will allow the other colleges with wrestling programs to have another instate match and that would be favorable to the other colleges.

"The conference would be excited," Hackerott said.

The wrestling program would start in the fall of 2006 and the season runs from Nov. 1 to the end of February, roughly the same time of year as the basketball season.

Adding another men's sports program will bring their number to seven programs for the men and eight for the women which should not create any problems meeting Title IX requirements, Hackerott said.
This is great news. I am glad to see Pratt finally add it after talking about it for sooo long. The Jayhawk Conference is getting stronger every day . Go whatever Pratt CC is!

Alex
Pratt is the Beavers
Posted By: usawks1 Re: Pratt Community College adds program - 11/23/05 06:37 PM
Absolutely GREAT news!
Posted By: parkwayred Re: Pratt Community College adds program - 11/23/05 07:40 PM
I want a shirt that says "BEAVER WRESTLING"
Posted By: usawks1 Re: Pratt Community College adds program - 11/23/05 09:30 PM
I can think of a lot of catchy phrases for Beaver-style wrestling!
Posted By: Coach Brown Re: Pratt Community College adds program - 11/24/05 12:50 AM
They are actually the Pratt Blue Beavers. I know why a beaver, Pratt is not known for its' large Beaver population. We have the State Fish and Game, Hot and Cold Water towers and it used to be the home of the Miss Kansas Pagent. I have a shirt from the 1988 basketball team (4th in the nation that year) that has a beaver on it. There are at least 3 college teachers that would be great coaches. Kip Chambers was my high school assisstant coach, along with Derrel Lucas, and Dick Kramer, although one would expect that James Morgan, former college all-american at Mo Valley would be asked to apply.
My former coach, Bryan Pixler would also be a great man for the job.
All in all I am excited for my home town and for the State of Kansas, this is great and my Dad said he could probably get me shirts so I'll be taking orders as soon as they get up and running(actually that is a lie about taking orders).
Coach Brown
Blue Beavers? LOL...It still hosts the Miss Kansas Pagent to my knowledge.
My coach in H.S. attended Buena Vista College in Iowa. They were the Buena Vista Beavers.... he still has his famous shirt

"Once a BEAVER, always a BEAVER"
Buena Vista? Isn't that something associated with Walt Disney?
I belive they're in the Iowa Conference, as is Simpson, Debuque, Coe, Wartburg to name a few so I'm going to have so no to the Walt Disney thing.
Posted By: ike Re: Pratt Community College adds program - 12/04/05 10:43 PM
Fort Hays State Graduate Assistant Chas Thompson should be seriously considered for the position. He finishes his GA position this year. Chas has the know how and experience (coaching and wrestling) to make Pratt CC a national powerhouse. He was an All-American in the college ranks. He has been involved at the youth level for years (current KS cadet coach). He has helped turn FHSU around into a national contender. He grew up in the National Champion LCC program. He has outstanding connections throughout the state and region. I hope he applies for the job, and I hope he gets it. Kansas Wrestling needs to keep him around.
I don't think keeping him in Kansas will be too hard....
I think Chas would be a good youthful face to college wrestling in Kansas and someone that we would love to keep in Kansas. I'd like to see someone like him get the job as opposed to one name I heard up for that position.
According to the NJCAA website the last date of accepting applications will be December 9th. So I think we should know who will be the new head coach very shortly.
Posted By: ike Re: Pratt Community College adds program - 12/11/05 08:52 PM
Whoever they hire…..I just hope they don't hire any posers that have claimed to be an Olympian in previous KS HS job interviews. I heard someone of the like has applied. I hope that the hiring committee checks references thoroughly.

Has anyone heard anything on the status of the position?
Yes I've heard. They are planning on hiring in time for the new semester so recruiting and such can take place A.S.A.P.
Posted By: ike Re: Pratt Community College adds program - 01/10/06 05:47 AM
Any word on who the new hire is? Please post it if anybody knows.

Thanks
Hopefully in the next 2 weeks a coach will be named.
Sorry Doodoo, but your post about where the name comes from makes no sense. Are you sure you're a teacher? Just kidding. What I really meant to ask you is, are you really a wrestling coach?

Love, Jhris.
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