CLEVELAND — The situation the Cleveland State Wrestling team finds itself in following the school's decision to eliminate the program following this academic year is not unfamiliar.
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A decade ago, the 2015 squad suffered the same blow when the school axed the program. The move sent shockwaves through the team and the school.
Students rallied behind the team, voting in a referendum that they'd be willing to raise credit hour prices to save the sport. A move that a decade ago led the university to reverse its decision and reinstate the sport. It's a formula some members of the current squad hope to replicate ten years later. An investment in wrestling now is an investment in Cleveland's future.
"I firmly believe that we have 30 guys on our roster that are from Ohio, and most of them are from the greater Cleveland area," said wrestler Joey Lyons.
That's why he launched a GoFundMe account to raise money to mount the case for keeping the team.
A push received attention when CSU wrestling's most famous alum, Stipe Miocic, told his followers on X he was sick to his stomach and heartbroken for these young men and coaches. He said the program shaped him into the person he is. Closing with, "I hope there's still time to make a difference and save this incredible program." Words that were music to the team's ears.
"It's awesome. I mean, to have a guy of that caliber, with that kind of platform and to use that platform for us, it's astounding," Lyons said.
If Cleveland State gets rid of wrestling, it's a move that would come as the city of Cleveland prepares to host the sport's ultimate showcase next spring, the 2026 NCAA Men's Division 1 National Championships.
The wrestling championships last hosted by Cleveland in 2018 are one of the biggest gets in college sports.
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"Outside of the men's Final Four and one of the major college football games it's probably the most meaningful event from a NCAA perspective that a community can host," said Greater Cleveland Sports Commission President and CEO David Gilbert at the time.
That's because we're talking about 640 matches involving 330 student-athletes from more than 70 schools nationwide. According to Sports Commission Vice President Mike Mulhall, wrestling fans travel.
"Actually, in 2018, we set the single session and entire tournament attendance record which still stands," Mulhall said.
The MAC, the Cleveland-based conference that CSU wrestles in, will host along with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. And while it might not be a good look, CSU's cutting wrestling won't impact the championships.
"While we're really disappointed about the news coming out of Cleveland State... the Championships next March— there will be no material change whatsoever," Mulhall said.
But Lyons said that based on what they're hearing from alumni and supporters, they're hopeful they can do what the team did a decade ago: save wrestling.
"We have a large team working behind the scenes. We actually had an alum come in the other day before practice to talk to us," Lyons said.
"They didn't really go into too much depth on what exactly is going on behind the scenes but we were basically told that there's a lot of confidence that we're going to be able to get this thing reinstated and that we should just focus on wrestling and keep grinding right now."
