Jeremy Spates coach at the NCAAs (Photo/SIU Edwardsville Sports Information)#RestoreTheGlory.
That hashtag -- featured prominently at the official website and in social media promoting the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's wrestling program -- has been a driving force propelling the Cougars to recent accomplishments that build upon past successes.
Now that trajectory may continue climbing, thanks to last week's announcement that SIUE wrestling will be moving from the Southern Conference to the Mid-American Conference as an affiliate member, effective in the 2018-19 season.
Jeremy Spates, head wrestling coach at SIUE since July 2013, sees a number of potential benefits for his Cougars as they transition to the MAC, with recruiting being first of the items the Cougar coach mentioned in an interview with InterMat.
"The move to the MAC will ultimately help our recruiting efforts," Spates said.
"First, when you're talking about the conference tournament, we'll have the opportunity for more qualifiers for the NCAAs," according to Spates. The numbers back up the coach's claim: the MAC ranked third in terms of the number of the wrestlers it sent to the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, behind the Big Ten and Big 12.
By welcoming SIUE, the MAC will become even bigger -- and presumably, have even more of an impact at the NCAAs -- with a total of nine wrestling programs. Six are from full MAC membership schools: Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois and Ohio… while three are affiliate members: Missouri, Old Dominion, and now, SIUE.
Over the years, the Mid-American Conference has grown not just in terms of number of member schools, but also in its geographical reach, expanding beyond its original "Great Lakes states" roots to include schools in Missouri, Virginia and New York state. And that means an even larger geographical pool from which to draw top high school mat talent.
"We're going into a conference with schools located in strong wrestling states -- Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, to name a few," Spates added. "We'll be wrestling in front of more kids in states where there's greater numbers of talented wrestlers. That will help us attract different kids to look at us and consider wrestling for us."
"We're already in a strong wrestling area, here in the St. Louis area," said Spates. "We have tended to concentrate on recruiting wrestlers from Missouri and Illinois in the past. However, we already have wrestlers from a number of other states such as Michigan, and think being in the MAC will help widen that net and make us even more attractive to potential recruits."
"What's more, the move to the MAC is good publicity for our program."
Spates then shared some results from the 2016-17 season that demonstrate that the Cougars are indeed succeeding in their efforts to #RestoreTheGlory. SIUE wrestling had its highest placement in the Southern Conference championships, with three Cougars qualifying for the NCAAs… then placed 29th in the team standings at the 2017 NCAA championships, the program's highest since becoming a Division I program in 1987. And, the Edwardsville school could claim its first NCAA All-American in its 30 years of D1 competition: Jake Residori, who placed eighth at 174 pounds.
"Our program was a power in Division II in the past," said Spates. "Now, our efforts to get stronger in Division I are paying off."
"When I got here four years ago, sometimes we'd encounter kids who really didn't know who we were," said Spates, who had previously been an assistant at Cornell University in upstate New York. "Last year, I coached Team Illinois at Fargo, and saw kids with SIUE shirts. The awareness is growing."
When asked about the process of moving from the Southern Conference to the Mid-American Conference, Spates said, "There's been talk for years about us going to the MAC. However, the first really serious discussions started right after the 2017 NCAAs."
"All that said, I must make clear that we're very grateful for our time in the Southern Conference," Spates added.
What does SIUE offer for a high school wrestler looking to continue in the sport in college?
"I think recruits will immediately be attracted to the school, once they see the campus and meet the people," Spates told InterMat. "SIUE is strong in a number of academic programs, including engineering and business. We have corporate partnerships with major St. Louis-area companies such as Boeing."
"Edwardsville is a beautiful town. And we're just 30 minutes from downtown St. Louis."
"What's more, we have great facilities for wrestling. For example, we've just expanded our weight room."
The move to the MAC looks like a good move for SIUE wrestling continue on its quest to #RestoreTheGlory.
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