"Upon the announcement of the imminent closing of Saint Catharine College, Bellarmine University's administration and trustees began exploring programs that could be transitioned from Saint Catharine to Bellarmine to the mutual benefit of both," said Bellarmine Interim President Doris Tegart. "The wrestling team fills that bill and is a natural fit for our athletics program."
Bellarmine's decision to absorb the St. Catharine mat program is good news for the staff and wrestlers at the soon-to-be-closed school. The Patriots' head wrestling coach Spencer Adams and assistant coach Gary Canter will remain coaches at Bellarmine, and all former SCC team members wishing to transfer will be retained as well. In addition, Bellarmine will honor the commitment to all of the St. Catharine signees for the 2016-17 season, provided they meet Bellarmine admission standards, according to the Bellarmine announcement.
Wrestling will become Bellarmine's 22d intercollegiate sport -- and the tenth men's sport. The new Knights wrestling program will compete in NCAA Division II. The St. Catharine's program had wrestled in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) with 41 team members.
"Although wrestling wasn't originally in our short-range plans, St. Catharine's closing certainly made starting a new program a viable and logical option," said Bellarmine Director of Athletics Scott Wiegandt. "Taking over an existing program allows us to hit the ground running while allowing Coach Adams to build on the inroads he made since founding the program at St. Catharine two years ago."
"On behalf of myself, my coaching staff, our SCC student athletes, and their families I want to sincerely thank the board of trustees, president Tegart, Scott Wiegandt, and the entire Bellarmine University family for all that they have done to save our program," said wrestling coach Adams. "I am ecstatic to start this new journey and bring the great sport of wrestling to Bellarmine University. I look forward to working with Scott Wiegandt and the rest of the Bellarmine University family in efforts to build an outstanding program that is nationally recognized both on and off the mat. This is also a great day for the sport of wrestling in the state of Kentucky as Bellarmine University makes history in adding the only NCAA II wrestling program in the state. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to start yet another wrestling program and to provide my student athletes with a bright future here at Bellarmine University."
With Bellarmine and Drury University both launching wrestling programs in the 2016-17 season, the Great Lakes Valley Conference now has seven member institutions sponsoring the sport, which exceeds the NCAA's criteria for a conference to sponsor a championship. Other league members competing in wrestling include: Indianapolis, Maryville, McKendree, Truman State, and Wisconsin-Parkside. An official announcement from the league office regarding sport sponsorship is expected this month. https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/15092
Founded in 1950, Bellarmine (pronounced BEL-ur-men) University is a private, Catholic, four-year school located just outside downtown Louisville. Bellarmine has an enrollment of approximately 3,600 students.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now