NCAA installs new rules, explores later date for national championships

It’s the offseason for college wrestling, but that hasn’t stopped the NCAA from making some basic rule changes… handing out misconduct reprimands… and discussing the possibility of a major change in the scheduling of the Division I national wrestling championships.

Rule changes for the 2009-2010 college season...

Get “set” for a verbal command to wrestle: In an attempt to reduce the number of false starts and enhance the competitive equity of the match, referees will say “set” to the defensive and offensive starting positions before the whistle sounds for the participants to begin competing. Previously, officials were instructed only to ensure a pause before blowing the whistle to start the competition.

Weighing against nude weigh-ins: The NCAA is banning a long-standing staple of amateur wrestling; college wrestlers will no longer be “getting naked” before weighing in. The NCAA will now require all wrestlers to wear “a suitable undergarment such as briefs, boxers, shorts or a competition singlet when they step on the scale,” to quote the NCAA press release. Presumably, wrestlers will have to factor in the weight of their underwear or uniform before weighing in.

Overtime rules adjusted for injury: In the event a wrestler takes a second injury timeout at the beginning of or during overtime, the non-injured wrestler will get the choice of position after the opponent’s second injury timeout. According to the NCAA, this change offers the non-injured wrestler the opportunity to win in overtime by riding the opponent for one minute in any sudden-victory period, or for at least one minute in the tiebreaker periods.

Misconduct at 2009 NCAAs...

Public reprimand of Brent Metcalf, University of Iowa, for “his aggressive post-match actions that could have jeopardized the opposing student-athlete's safety” in his 149-pound title match with Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State University. The University of Iowa did not appeal this finding.

Private reprimand of a head coach for comments he made about the officiating of the 2009 NCAAs on a live broadcast on ESPNU. As stated in the general section of the championships handbook, members of the coaching staff of participating institutions shall not make public statements critical of officiating in any NCAA championship event. The institution also did not appeal this finding. Being a private reprimand, the NCAA did not disclose the name of the coach or his school.

Possibly holding the NCAA championships at a later date...

NCAA championships in April? The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee is exploring the possibility of changing the formula for setting the date of the national championships. Presently, the championships coincide with the beginning of “March Madness” – the NCAA Division I men’s basketball championships. With the new scheduling formula being explored by the NCAA, the national wrestling championships would be scheduled the weekend after what is known as NCAA Final Four weekend (the semifinals and finals of the NCAA Division I men's basketball championships)… and the same weekend as the NCAA Frozen Four (the semis and finals of the NCAA D1 men’s hockey championships). The earliest effective date would be for the 2013 NCAA Division I wrestling championships.

According to the press release posted at the NCAA website, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee has developed an internal strategic planning subcommittee, and would like permission to survey the membership if so desired. In addition, the committee also would like permission to survey the general public at the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on various issues surrounding this topic. The earliest a recommendation would be submitted would be in time for the June 2010 Cabinet meeting.

This could have a profound effect on college wrestling in a number of ways, as we’ll explore in a future Examiner article.