Fresno State President Castro: Wrestling coach coming in spring 2016

Fresno State will hire a wrestling coach in the spring in its next concrete step toward restarting the program, university President Joseph Castro said Wednesday.

In a meeting with The Bee’s Editorial Board, Castro outlined the latest on the school’s efforts to reinstate wrestling and add women’s water polo.

Castro said the university will begin the hiring process for a wrestling coach in January, continuing a commitment he made shortly after he was hired in August 2013. The local wrestling community, as expected, hailed the latest move.

“It’s a huge step in the right direction,” said Stephen Abas, who was a three-time NCAA champion for the Bulldogs and silver medalist at the 2004 Olympics. “It’s exciting news. It’s huge for the community.

“It’s a blessing to see Fresno State making moves to bring wrestling back.”

With input from the coach, Fresno State will then determine when the program will begin competition. Athletic director Jim Bartko in February had laid out a three-year plan, with the coach hired in year 1 and the team competing by year 3. Castro confirmed Wednesday that the team would start competing no earlier than 2017.

Fresno State has not had wrestling since 2006, when then-athletic director Thomas Boeh announced the program would be cut, citing budget constraints and gender-equity issues. Fresno State men’s soccer, men’s water polo and swimming had been cut in prior years.

“There was a lot of controversy why wrestling was disbanded at Fresno State in the first place; many of us believe it should’ve never been dropped,” said former Fresno State wrestling booster DeWayne Zinkin Sr., a real estate developer and attorney who has been assisting efforts to restore the program. “As a result, the state of wrestling at Fresno State always has been an underlying topic of conversation. I don’t believe we ever lost faith it would return.

“I think Fresno State recognized that. Their new president and AD saw how huge our wrestling community is here, and recognized how beneficial it would be for the university and the Valley to fulfill that.”

Fresno State has never fielded a women’s water polo team, but its addition would help the athletics program maintain gender equity. Most large high schools in the area field girls water polo teams, as do several Valley junior colleges.

The number of scholarships for wrestling and women’s water polo remains to be determined, though Bartko has said the careful rollout is in part to ensure the teams will be competitive.

Fresno State produced 33 wrestling All-Americans, benefiting from being at the center of one of the nation’s wrestling hotbeds. Clovis High has won seven state titles in the past 18 seasons and is the current five-time reigning champion.

“Having wrestling at Fresno State means some of our kids don’t have to go so far from home to keep wrestling after high school,” Clovis coach Steve Tirapelle said. “If you were putting together a program based primarily on which sports we’re good at in the community and what’ll benefit our kids most, wrestling should be a priority sport.”

There are about 27,000 high school wrestlers in California, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, but only three Division I wrestling programs in the state – Cal State Bakersfield, Cal Poly and Stanford.

“College wrestling is so underserved that the Fresno State program could become nationally competitive overnight,” NWCA executive director Mike Moyer said. “There’s an overabundance of wrestlers at the high school level and just 77 Division I programs in the country.”

Castro said substantial private support has come through to aid Fresno State’s efforts. Bartko’s rollout called for a year 3 total annual cost of $689,293.

Moyer added he’s spoken to Castro and could supply a list of candidates for Fresno State’s vacancy should the university seek assistance.

“There’s no substitute for a great coach,” Moyer said. “Years ago, a great college coach could just be a great tactician. But you’ve got to know more than just wrestling nowadays.”

Former Fresno State All-American Stan Greene believes wrestling should thrive as long as the community supports the program.

“It starts with us alumni and guys who wrestled in the program,” said Greene, who owns a local plumbing business. “When it comes back, let’s make sure it’s done right, supported right.

“I’m beyond happy to know wrestling’s coming back to Fresno State. It’ll be neat to go back and see that mat.”

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Fresno State President Castro: Wrestling coach coming in spring 2016."