Coach Dennis DeLiddo: Fresno State needs more sports, not less, including wrestling
A direct answer to your editorial “Fresno State wrestling program’s legacy?”
Whatever the reasons for eliminating the teams, there is unmatched value in reinstating the men’s wrestling team along with the other sports the school was forced to cut: men’s tennis and women’s lacrosse.
Athletics should be an important part of Fresno State and available for area high school students as a pathway to a college education as well as an opportunity to establish the character and work ethic they will need to succeed as an adult.
I would like to note my disagreement with The Bee on one important point: We need to work right now, not “many years from now,” to find a way to restore these opportunities for young people in our community. I am keeping my focus on the positive role the entirety of the wrestling program has provided the school and its students. I want those opportunities to continue to be an option. I believe we are a better community with more, not fewer, athletic teams.
So, if you are a community or business leader, a parent, a fan of college sports, or just somebody who, like me, cares about the Central Valley and its future, then this message is for you: Join us in calling on President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval to find a way to bring back all of Fresno State’s varsity sport programs.
Fresno State is the most important academic institution in the Central Valley. The school made its decision to cut athletic teams in the fog of the pandemic when the economic future of the school and the state were uncertain. Of course the school didn’t know when it made its decision that the state of California would have a budget surplus or that the combination of state and federal support to its communities would include millions for Fresno State.
These teams also represent a commitment the school has made to bolstering diversity and supporting the surrounding communities. Fifty-seven percent of athletes on the teams scheduled for elimination are from the San Joaquin Valley. Since the wrestling team was reinstated in 2016, 72% of the wrestlers have been minorities and 47% have been first-generation college-bound students. Across all three NCAA Divisions, men’s wrestling has the second largest percentage of first-time college students. A wrestling program is an opportunity that everyone can access. According to the NCAA, men’s wrestling has the second largest percentage of LatinX student athletes and fifth largest percentage of Black student athletes.
Participation across all high school sports nationally is on decline while wrestling is incredibly popular in California and especially here in the Central Valley. Across the state, more than 22,000 young men and 6,000 young women participate in high school wrestling. And closer to home the men’s wrestling teams at Buchanan and Clovis high schools are dominant state champions. Wrestling is core to the community.
As a coach, you are always happy to learn about what your wrestlers have gone on to achieve. For me, I am proud that many have gone on to be public school teachers and wrestling coaches — like Steven Abas, a champion in his own right who is the head coach at Fresno High School.
We should all be focused on the future of these programs and how we can work together to bring back these teams. I invite members of the Fresno community to visit https://keepfresnostatewrestling.com and join our efforts to work with President Jiménez-Sandoval to reinstate all of Fresno State’s varsity athletic opportunities.