Athletic donors are in the catbird’s seat. While the typical response is to cheer (we can’t win without them), we don’t always talk about how their involvement is changing the sports we love.
During the decades I coached (1972-1990), high school cross country, wrestling, and track and field were often referred to as “non-revenue sports.” When an administrator or coach of another sport used that phrase, it was frequently expressed with disdain, as if any activity that did not “produce” was flawed and not worth its price.
I despised that attitude then, and still do, because, simply put, any activity that helps a student become better in any way is worth its price.
As far as I know, some sports still do not “produce” and suffer from such Neanderthal-like thinking. Sadly, some such sports have been cut from high school and college programs—baseball, swimming, diving, and others have felt the ax from believers in production over program. However, the profit of any activity cannot be measured in dollars alone.
All of this is to show readers how I think and feel about “non-revenue” thinking. So, I twinged recently when I read about colleges cutting athletic programs due to budget concerns. And as a coach for three programs I follow, I worry about their future as valuable activities for students and their schools.
I read the press release for the National Dual Invitational wrestling tournament, which took place November 15-16 at the BOK Center in Oklahoma, sponsored by a business, featuring a 16-team dual meet format and a million-dollar purse. I was pleased on one hand, and concerned on the other.
National Duals Invitational
From the January 2025 press release: “Hosting the National Duals Invitational by our fantastic sponsor, Paycom, is a game-changer for D1 wrestling. Due to the unprecedented challenges in NCAA Division I athletics today, it is more imperative than ever to have more big moments in intercollegiate wrestling so we can substantially grow our fan base and viewership,” said Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
One more quotation from the news release: “I am excited for the sport of wrestling to have a competitive field at the inaugural National Duals Invitational,” said Chad Richison, Paycom’s founder and CEO. “Investing in student athletes and non-income-generating sports is important in today’s ever-evolving collegiate landscape.”
Now, “my” team won the $200,000 top purse and bonus money for its high number of takedowns, so I am not sour about the outcome. Several top-ranked teams and wrestlers were competing, and I enjoyed watching them. Every team went away with at least $20,000 for just entering.
But many decisions, such as the well-meaning integration of public schools, have unintended consequences. One such unintended consequence of this tournament is that it extends an already long season for collegiate wrestlers. The competition in college athletics is fierce, and in a sport like wrestling, it is especially so. But now, with the allure of a million dollars, one more taxing tournament appears on some team schedules.
Mr. Richison is obviously a successful businessman who, like me, wants to help wrestling become more popular and appreciated. But I offer that popularity may not always be worth its price. If that were so, then I suggest that he would not have used the phrase “investing in student athletes and non-income-generating sports is important in today’s ever-evolving collegiate landscape.”
Is he implying that wrestling needs to become like “income-generating sports”? I hope not.
Sports are about the games played….
Understanding the importance of “hitting the cut-off man,
controlling the four center squares on a chessboard,
racing a negative split,
scoring an escape in the last seconds of a period,
And I could go on…..
Those are the things that constitute the foundation of fans’ love for sports. Not all the money in the world can buy that.
I encourage Mr. Richison to help “the student-athlete” he talks about by first helping them become a student of business, math, science, history, philosophy, language, or another discipline. Then, he can support a student-athlete who enjoys whatever is chosen as a “bit of lagniappe” (French-Creole for ‘something extra’) to round out their education.
