Coaches vote in favor of National Duals proposal

To: DI Wrestling Coaches
Fr: NWCA President Rob Koll on behalf of NWCA Board of Directors
Re: Vote on National Duals Proposal

On behalf of the NWCA Board of Directors, I want to thank everyone for sharing your thoughts and concerns regarding the National Duals proposal over the past 4 weeks or so. All 77 DI head wrestling coaches did vote and the results are as follows:

39 in favor of moving forward with the National Duals proposal

36 opposed

2 abstained

Please know we have listened closely to all concerns and they have been communicated to the NCAA Wrestling Committee (the committee that will shepherd the National Duals proposal to NCAA Championships Cabinet for review on September 11). In light of the recent DI coaches affirmative vote, we are going to maintain the NWCA's endorsement of the proposal but we will be sure to communicate the recurring concerns that many of you have expressed so they can be considered by the Championship Cabinet.

This National Duals proposal still has a long way to go before anything is finalized. It will championed by the NCAA Wrestling Committee and NCAA staff members from this point going forward and will be thoroughly reviewed and discussed by conference commissioners, athletic administrators, NCAA staff members, and ultimately a group of Presidents. This vetting process takes time and I believe whatever the outcome might be, it is clear that many more coaches now understand the importance of being much more involved with the NWCA initiatives, our Board of Directors, and our committee infrastructure. In fact, I will do everything possible to facilitate an initial meeting with all DI coaches in Chicago (October 23/24 assuming that works with everyone's schedule) so we can begin talking about wrestling challenges, committee assignments, and so forth.

In summary, our sport has many challenges in front of it. Now, more than ever, we need to be united and committed to rolling up our sleeves to develop viable solutions to our sport's greatest threats. I will communicate back to everyone with an update of what happens at the Championship Cabinet meeting next week.