Wrestling alumni saved program from extinction

Most Princeton athletes go to practice day after day simply expecting that their coaches and team will always be there, that there will always be competitions, and that there will always be next year. But for the Princeton wrestling team, which had competed since 1905 — 100 years ago next month —this wasn't always so.

On March 17, 1993, then-Director of Athletics Bob Myslik '61 and the University announced that varsity wrestling would be discontinued due to financial constraints, gender inequity and limited admission openings. The team had the mat pulled out from under it. And Princeton, it appeared, had hopped on the bandwagon with the other 170 NCAA institutions that had dropped their varsity wrestling programs since 1972, when Title IX became law.

Those who cared deeply about Princeton wrestling, particularly the alumni, were outraged. Demonstrations during the P-Rade and a 24-hour wrestling marathon in front of Firestone Library were held. Many alums wrote letters and some vowed never to support the University again.

As media outlets put pressure on the University for the decision, President Harold Shapiro announced that he would review the decision. A few months later, he and the board of trustees upheld Myslik's original decision.

Besides the University's funding and admissions issues, the wrestling program also had Title IX working against it. Signed into law by President Nixon, it stated that, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

Title IX had allowed Brown University's women's gymnastics and volleyball teams to sue when their programs were cut for budgetary reasons the same year.

However, Princeton wrestling did not have the same opportunity. If reinstated, the program would worsen the University's standing under the requirement of the Office of Civil Rights' athletic standards of which Princeton was already in violation. The OCR's three tests for compliance are proportionality with the general student body, a history of program expansion for the underrepresented gender and accomodates the interest and ability of the underrepresented sex. If Princeton brought wrestling back, it would be expanding opportunities for the overrepresented sex.

The outlook for the wrestling program looked bleak. But as one wrestling alumnus wrote in a letter to President Shapiro, "Wrestlers are different. . . . Wrestlers are fighters."

His words rang true as the Friends of Princeton Wrestling, led by chairman Clay McEldowney '69, started a successful campaign to raise $3 million, which became an endowment for the wrestling program.

Wrestling alumnus Eric Pearson '87 put his career on hold to coach the new club team. While the program continued to survive, it did not prosper. No admissions help was offered by the University and some years the team had to compete with just six wrestlers.

Meanwhile, current Director of Athletics Gary Walters '67, who was hired in 1994, made it a priority to "strengthen gender equity." He upgraded women's water polo from a club sport to a varsity sport and established a new women's lightweight crew.

The wrestling alumni came to the University's executive board with their offer in 1996, and the program was formally reinstated in 1997. Current head coach Mike New took over for Pearson. The program was then allowed to recruit again thanks to help from Dean of Admissions Fred Hargadon.

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At the time of reinstatement, however, there was no place for the team to practice since the wrestling room in Jadwin had been converted to a varsity football weight room. There was room for a weight room in the plans for Princeton Stadium, but not enough funds to build one.

"The Friends of Princeton Wrestling offered to pay for the football team's weight room in Princeton Stadium in order to get the wrestling room in Jadwin back," to get the wrestling room back, McEldowney said.

With the roadblocks removed, Princeton wrestling was on its way back. In 2004, the Friends of Princeton Wrestling reached their endowment goal of $3 million and thus the program will be eligible to receive university funding again.

This year, the program will celebrate its 100th anniversary in February. It will be a special centennial, one that almost didn't happen.