For his efforts to improve the visibility, promotion and importance of college wrestling and its championships have been rewarded, as he was awarded the 2010 NWCA Dan Gable America Needs Wrestling Award.
This award is to recognize those individuals who have given significant time and effort to the sport of wrestling. Those efforts must have had significant impact on the preservation or promotion of the sport.
Under Buhr, who has worked at all three levels of NCAA wrestling championships, attendance and media exposure of the NCAA wrestling championship events has grown to new heights.
The NCAA Division I championships have gone from the finals shown via tape delay to the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals being shown live on ESPN.
Buhr, who joined the NCAA in 1999, has worked to bridge and foster relationships between existing wrestling organizations like the National Wrestling Wrestling Coaches Association, USA Wrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“Working with Randy on a variety of projects and initiatives has not only been beneficial to the NWCA, but to the heath of wrestling as a whole,” said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. “Randy has adapted and learned the sport and its policy to the point that he became one of the sport’s biggest allies within the NCAA office.
“His efforts are recognized with the Dan Gable America Needs Wrestling Award and we are pleased to honor his work over the past decade for the benefit of wrestling,” said Moyer.
According to his peers, Buhr helped elevate the level of professionalism at the NCAA Championships and has been active on the board of USA Wrestling. He’s helped transform wrestling into one of the five revenue-producing championships the NCAA hosts annually.
The NWCA has developed a very strong partnership with the NCAA and much of the credit can be given to Buhr.
Seven of the 10 NCAA Division I Championships Buhr has overseen have drawn over 90,000 fans and on Buhr’s watch, a new all-time attendance record was also set. Buhr was also instrumental in spearheading the Division I qualification system.
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