NCAA Championships: Pick a host city and stick with it?

The NCAA Championships are a much-anticipated annual ritual. Not just for college wrestlers and coaches, but also for wrestling fans who schedule their vacations -- and their lives -- accordingly.

And, along with arguing about preseason rankings and making predictions as to individual champions, another yearly ritual in the wrestling community: discussing the idea of naming ONE city as THE host for the NCAA Division I Championships, now and forever.

Now, with the recent news stories announcing host cities for the NCAAs in 2008-2011 -- and as the 2005-06 college wrestling season is about to begin -- the discussion of a permanent site for the NCAAs starts all over again.

Host City History 101

The very first NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship was held at Iowa State in Ames in 1928. Among the schools selected most often to serve as host: Iowa State (seven times), Iowa (five), Maryland (five), Oklahoma (five), Penn State (four), and Lehigh (four). Among the schools that have hosted the event in the past that might be a surprise to today's wrestling fans: University of Washington (1973), Auburn (1971), Brown (1931), Washington and Lee (1936) and Franklin and Marshall (1939).

Iowa State University has hosted more NCAA Division I Championships than any other school. Their current arena, Hilton Coliseum (pictured), last hosted in 1993.

The NCAA Championships have always been hosted by a college … even if the site of the tournament was not on campus. For the first seventy years, the tournament was usually held at the host school. There are a handful of exceptions, such as Oklahoma City serving as the site for the championships in 1983, 1985 and 1992, and the Meadowlands outside New York City in 1984.

With the arrival of the new century, the location of the NCAAs seemed to shift away from "college town" sites to "big city" venues. The last on-campus NCAAs appear to have been the 2001 Championships, held at the University of Iowa.

In the new millennium, the NCAAs have been held outside the traditional college towns (with the exception of Iowa City). Since 2002, Albany, Kansas City and St. Louis have all served as host … with upcoming championships booked in Oklahoma City, suburban Detroit, Omaha, Philadelphia, and St. Louis (again) through 2011.

Why the Move Off-Campus?

Some traditionalists lament the decision of the NCAA site selection committee to locate the Division I Wrestling Championships away from college towns to major cities. There's something to be said for holding a collegiate sporting event on a college campus. Having the event on the host school's grounds makes it more readily accessible to students, faculty and staff. And, for fans whose college days are long behind them, there's a bit of a nostalgic rush to be back on a college campus … even if the campus hosting the NCAAs isn't your alma mater.

The principal reason given for moving away from on-campus sites is venue size. In the past two rounds of NCAA site selection in the new century, arena seating capacity has been mentioned repeatedly as the major concern. Most of the sites hosting the NCAAs since 2000 have a seating capacity of approximately 19,000. In the most recent announcement of upcoming sites for hosting the NCAAs in 2008-2011, Des Moines was told that its otherwise attractive bid was rejected because their brand-new Wells Fargo Arena did not have enough seats.

In recent years, the NCAAs have been a virtual sell-out. The largest recorded attendance was at the 2000 NCAAs in St. Louis, with a six-session total of approximately 98,000 fans. A close second was the 2005 NCAAs in the same arena, with a six-session attendance of 95,459.

In 1970, at McGaw Hall on the campus of Northwestern University (pictured), Larry Owings of Washington upset Dan Gable of Iowa State in the NCAA finals.

For a decade or so -- before the move to 19,000-seat arenas -- the NCAAs were usually held in arenas seating approximately 13,000 - 15,000 fans. Before that -- up until the 1970s -- the championships were conducted in large fieldhouses half that size. For example, 8,800 fans filled McGaw Hall at Northwestern University for the 1970 NCAAs, according to published reports on the legendary finals match in which Larry Owings upset Dan Gable.

Even as the venues grew, fan demand was never completely satisfied. Most host schools held a lottery to determine who got a ticket… and who had to stay home and watch the championships on TV. In other words, demand outstripped supply.

Other factors may have also weighed in on the decision to locate the championships to major cities. Some traditional college towns lack adequate accommodations to feed and house the out-of-towners … forcing fans to find hotels an hour or more away. In addition, lack of easy accessibility is also a factor. Some university towns are not located on a major interstate highway, and do not have commercial airline service.

My, How You've Grown!

In addition to greater numbers of wrestling fans wanting to be present for the NCAA championships, the event itself has grown in size and scope. At the 1928 NCAAs at Iowa State, just forty-one wrestlers competed in seven weight classes. Similar numbers were posted at the NCAAs up to World War II.

There was some growth in the years after the war. According to A Turning Point, an excellent account of the 1953 NCAAs held at Penn State, 166 wrestlers competed in ten weight classes -- about sixteen men per weight bracket. A record-breaking crowd of approximately 6,000 fans packed Rec Hall to the rafters. (As authors Jamie Moffatt and Roger Olesen point out in their book, most of the fans and participants were from the eastern U.S. In the 1950s -- before interstate highways and commercial jet service -- it was a huge undertaking to travel from Alabama or Oklahoma to central Pennsylvania.)

In terms of the number of wrestlers participating in the event, the turning point seems to have been the 1967 NCAAs, held at Kent State University in Ohio. That year, 32-man brackets were pretty much the rule in each weight class … up from the approximately 16-20 competitors per weight class at the 1966 NCAAs and years before. This 32-wrestlers-per-weight-class structure is still in place; at the 2005 NCAAs, 318 wrestlers competed.

What's Expected of a Good Host?

The NCAA has a 73-page booklet available online, spelling out in incredible detail the requirements for hosting the Division I wrestling championships. The booklet covers everything from fundamentals such as number of mats required on the floor of the arena for the opening rounds … to seemingly nitpicky items such as how many pens should be at officials' tables. The document also addresses issues such as transportation and accommodations for the participants, tickets, security, and press credentials. .

Just about all of these rules and recommendations focus on the wrestlers, their coaches, officials and NCAA personnel. That's all well and good. But what about the fan experience?

Let's look at the elements that make a site ideal for hosting the NCAAs from the fans' point-of-view:

• Easy access. The city should be within a few hours of the majority of college wrestling fans, with good highway access, and commercial airline and passenger rail service. Icing on the cake: an easy-to-use mass transit system that whisks fans from the arena to hotels, restaurants and entertainment areas.

• An accommodating nature. There should be thousands of hotel rooms at all price points within a few minutes of the arena. Likewise, there should be a wide range of eateries easily accessible from the venue that can accommodate the hungry masses between sessions.

• Things to do when not in the arena. There should be plenty of entertainment, shopping and cultural options nearby.

• Price protection. Fans don't want to feel like they're being gouged with higher-than-normal prices for hotels, parking, and food inside the arena and out.

Should There Be a Permanent Home for the NCAAs?

It would not be unprecedented for the Division I Wrestling Championships to pick a host city as a "permanent" site. The NCAA Division I Baseball Championships are held each year in Omaha, which seems to work well for both the athletes and attendees. There's something to be said for a city and venue that's experienced at hosting the event, and knows all the fine points of accommodating the specific needs and expectations of participants and fans.

The Qwest Center in Omaha (pictured) will host the 2010 NCAA Championships.

However, many college wrestling fans seem to relish the idea of visiting a new location each March. One can argue that an arena is an arena is an arena … but fans appreciate the opportunity to visit a different city each year and experience its unique attractions.

One can also argue that it helps the sport of wrestling to have the event take place in different parts of the country. Bringing the sport to a site that's not in a traditional wrestling hotbed can only generate publicity and interest among would-be fans and participants, expanding the sport's base … and ensuring its survival.

And… not having a permanent location prevents complacency…and price-gouging. It would be all too easy for a city that knows it has the NCAAs all sowed up for the rest of time to get fat and lazy, and become unresponsive to the needs of the wrestling community. Likewise, there might be a temptation on the part of the hosts to feel as if it has participants and fans "over a barrel" in terms of prices for tickets, accommodations and incidentals.

A Referee's Decision

Perhaps the ideal solution is something of a compromise: Select three "permanent" host cities, and rotate the event among those cities each year. Ideally, each location could be in its own geographical area as to attract potential new fans, yet never be too far from fans in wrestling hotbeds like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa and Oklahoma. Possible "permanent" cities could include Philadelphia, Baltimore or Washington in the east … St. Louis, Chicago or Omaha in the center … and Oklahoma City, Tulsa or Denver in the west. (This assumes that each city has facilities that meet NCAA criteria, including a 19,000-seat arena available in mid-March).

This solution brings together the best of both worlds. Each location would become very good at hosting the event… yet would never become too cocky or complacent in terms of meeting the expectations of the wrestling community. And, by rotating the sites -- an eastern site one year, the Midwest the next, and the west the third year -- it would provide participants and fans with a welcome change-of-pace in terms of off-the-mat activities.

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