Your two posts of earlier today are outstanding. Thanks for bringing a calm voice of reason to an unreasonable situation. It's time to quit beating a dead horse and move on.
Good Luck to you and your Cowboys this season.

"The only differences between a rut and a grave are the dimensions."

Thank you Mr. Ryan

I was fortunate to have an amazing experience as an NCAA student-athlete. During my freshmen year of college it looked as if UNK's athletic administration along with the chancellor at that time were determined to drop the wrestling program. I errored and made some comments during a class to someone in the athletic administration. Those comments got back to Coach Bauer, and I rightly was reproved for them. I wrote a letter of apology and decided to take a pro active approach to understanding the threats to my sport. I got involved in student-government as a rfr. and as the chancellor changed I had multiple opportunities to express the importance of athletics to Mr. Christiansen as he and others sifted through institution wide budget cuts.

That opportunity led to another, and that to another. Soon the opportunity came for me to be on an NCAA committee representing representing all the s-a in my conference in all proposed legislation and s-a welfare. I got to go to gender equity issues forums and sit at round table discussions with Bruce Baumgartner (the AD at Edinbero), meet John Wooden, be on other committees with Mike Racey (president of DII), and talk with Miles Brand numerous times.

At the end of the day I don't know that I changed anything for the better other than my outlook and understanding. I love college athletics, and I appreciate the hard work a countless number of people do so I could have five years of glory.

My intent in responding to this issue is to try and provide facts and share the same understanding of the NCAA that I have.
I can't say that I haven't made mistakes in life, moreover college. I hope my posts haven't come off with any judgment of these guys.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Aaron Dalton:

At the end of the day I don't know that I changed anything for the better other than my outlook and understanding. QUOTE]

You changed things. Even if none of the legislation that you proposed was adopted you made yourself a better person because you learned how to debate an issue without losing your cool, you learned how to make a presentation, you learned how to give and take with people who had a little different point of view, etc.

Now, all of those lessons are subtly being transferred to your assistant coaches, your athletes, other teachers, and your students. Yes, do you changed a lot for the better.

You probably don't know me but last fall I had taken my wife to the OrthoWest office and you were in the waiting room. I recognized you and, this will shock people me who know me, we talked wrestling until they called for my wife.

Thanks for the info on your college experiences. I did not realize that student athletes could be as involved with the NCAA. I'm sure that nothing like that was available when I was in college from 58-62. (That's 1958-62, not 1858-62.)

“If the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence maybe you aren’t taking very good care of your grass.”