Scorecard

NCAA Wrestling
Can't Keep 'Em Down

In addition to crowning the best Division I wrestlers in the country, last weekend's NCAA championships doubled as a revival meeting for a beleaguered sport. Almost 12,000 fans converged on the Cleveland State University Convocation Center, as much to testify to wrestling's virtues as to watch the action. "I thought it was important that I showed my support," said Dick Kuzminsky, a high school teacher from Mosinee, Wis., who made a 12-hour pilgrimage through sleet and snow. "We still have the best sport, but wrestling has gone through some tough times recently."

He was referring to the three college wrestlers who died this season while attempting to cut weight, something that has haunted the sport (SI, Jan. 26). Acting with uncharacteristic swiftness, the NCAA within weeks implemented rule changes designed to prevent a recurrence, including banning the use of rubber suits and saunas to facilitate rapid weight loss, and requiring that weigh-ins take place two hours before a meet (rather than 24). Additional mandates, including a skin-fold test to help establish a minimum percentage of body fat for each wrestler, are likely to follow when the NCAA's wrestling and safeguards committees reconvene next month. "What happened was a huge tragedy, but it would have been a bigger tragedy if we didn't learn from it," says Iowa's Mark Ironside, who repeated as 134-pound champion. "Now if you want to lose weight, you have to work hard and not take dangerous shortcuts."

The sport has also been dogged by the elimination of programs. More than half of all college wrestling teams have been axed since the enactment of Title IX in 1972; most were dropped to comply with gender-equity guidelines. Thus, wrestling has become increasingly regionalized. Eight of this year's 10 champs hailed from the Big Ten or the Big 12, while mere was virtually no representation from New England, me South or Texas.

Still, this gritty sport isn't ready to be pinned. "We still have great fans who really care about the sport," says Bruce Baumgartner, an Olympic and world champion who's the athletic director at Edinboro (Pa.) University, "and the caliber of the athletes has never been higher."

That was borne out during Saturday night's finals, as Iowa fended off an unexpected surge from Minnesota to win its fourth straight team title. For the first time in 21 seasons, the Hawkeyes were without legendary coach Dan Gable, who is on leave of absence and is expected to announce his retirement shortly. Long after his interim (and likely permanent) replacement, Jim Zalesky, hoisted the championship trophy, the capacity crowd continued its cheering, less an ovation for the Hawkeyes than an affirmation of the whole sport.
—L. Jon Wertheim

Calming an Irish Storm
Bowl Alliance's Bid Business

Because of the uproar that emanated from the Western Athletic Conference when fifth-ranked Brigham Young failed to receive a major bowl bid after finishing the 1996 season 13-1, college football's Bowl Alliance approved a new plan: Beginning with the 1998 season, a team from the WAC ranked in the top six would automatically qualify for one of two at-large berths in the bowls that, theoretically at least, determine the national champion. The same guarantee was extended to Conference USA, which had also been complaining about being excluded.

The Alliance then had to deal with Notre Dame, which was worried that the new arrangement would scuttle the tacit agreement under which the Fighting Irish got one of the two at-large berths if it met specific criteria. So the Alliance came up with another plan, which seems likely to pass next month: If the WAC or C-USA earns a bid, the Irish are guaranteed the other if they finish 9-2 or in the Top 10.

But what happens if all three should happen to meet the qualifying criteria in the same season? At this point the Alliance admits it hasn't addressed the issue. But it did achieve what seemed to be its most important goal—placating the fears of one marquee team.