TheWrestlingMall: The downfall of Notre Dame wrestling

November 10, 9:30 PMCollege Wrestling ExaminerMark Palmer

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TheWrestlingMall talks to Fran McCann about his feelings as the last Notre Dame wrestling coach
Photo/TheWrestlingMall

The University of Notre Dame is one of the most respected institutions of higher learning in the country... and a powerhouse in collegiate sports.

So it seems stunning that a school with a legacy of great intercollegiate athletics would NOT have a varsity wrestling program. But, up until the early 1990s, the Fighting Irish put a wrestling team out on the mat... headed up by Fran McCann, a former Iowa and Oklahoma State wrestler and veteran college coach, and brother of the late Terry McCann, two-time NCAA champ for the Hawkeyes and 1960 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle.

Now Fran McCann shares his memories of Notre Dame wrestling in an exclusive interview with John Raffel, writing for the amateur wrestling website TheWrestlingMall. Here's the introduction to the interview:

Fran McCann still calls it the hardest thing he has ever had to do. He was the man who had to tell the members of the Notre Dame wrestling team that the program was being dropped. That was more than 17 years ago, but the memories still are strong for the former coach of the Fighting Irish. In an exclusive interview with The Wrestling Mall, McCann talks about the elimination of the Notre Dame wrestling program, how it all went down and the reasons why he believes the program was dropped.

Must reading for anyone who wants to know more about the demise of wrestling at one of the most storied athletic programs at any university... from the personal perspective of the coach at the time.

Resources

TheWrestlingMall interview with Fran McCann about Notre Dame

InterMat Rewind, July 2007 profile of Terry and Fran McCann

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