Week-End Salvo: Special Early East Coast Edition

[1/2NELSON]

"Have a great weekend everyone. Sunny and warm here in Chapel Hill," says Oracle

BITE-ME pal,..12th straight weekend of RAIN here in the Garden State!

Tired of ALL this NIL bullshit/enticements, etc. I say,.."Fuck-ya if ya don't wanna come to LEHIGH!"

[FloridaGuy]

>>>>>>NIL == Freedom. Freedom can be uncertain and even messy, but what it provides is Opportunity.

We now have the opportunity to match any offer a targeted recruit receives.

Crookham and Beard are the two elite recruits (ranked in the top 20) on the team———no surprise they are AAs. Rogers will be the 3rd top 20 ranked recruit———-an obvious excellent addition to this years recruiting class.

Use NIL/LVWC funding to help land several elite recruits each year and the prospects for a consistent top ten team increase dramatically.

[Mountain Hawk]

>>>>>>NIL == Freedom. Freedom can be uncertain and even messy, but what it provides is Opportunity.

We now have the opportunity to match any offer a targeted recruit receives.

Crookham and Beard are the two elite recruits (ranked in the top 20) on the team———no surprise they are AAs. Rogers will be the 3rd top 20 ranked recruit———-an obvious excellent addition to this years recruiting class.

Use NIL/LVWC funding to help land several elite recruits each year and the prospects for a consistent top ten team increase dramatically.

I see you’ve committed to handing over your massive estate to kids who are already receiving 4 yrs of free college (at Lehigh apparently now a $300k+ “value”) so they can wrestle there and earn another 200-600k in the process.

[FloridaGuy]

>>>>>>>>> Reply to MH: I want to attract the best, academically qualified, wrestlers to Lehigh. The way to achieve that now is to raise more funding and re-direct funds from LVWC post grad wrestlers to a guys like Crookham, Stanich, Beard etc.

Years past there was resistance to implementing athletic scholarships for wrestlers——— thankfully forward looking supporters overcame that resistance and raised the necessary funds.

From a ‘return on investment’ standpoint, I believe targeted funds to attract/retain AA caliber wrestlers is a better use of funds than adding more wrestlers to the LVWC stable.

I’d rather attract another Crookham , etc to the Lehigh roster than more guys to LVWC.

[HFO]

NIL. Not quite a 4-letter word, but it should be. A vile, corrupt, illegitimate vehicle to bring professionalism to college athletics. Profane indeed.

D1 college athletics are in total disarray. Conference realignment that makes no sense and de-emphasizes natural regional rivalries that fans want. Do Big 10 fans want Oregon vs Rutgers, or do ACC fans want Stanford vs Wake Forest? Insane.

However, at this particular moment in time if you are not in the NIL game, you will be bull-dozed by those who are. Boosters who have been put in a box by the NCAA are now free to spend as never before. College championships are for sale. Period. The end.

Where does this leave Wrestling? Great line from the classic film The Guns of Navarone by Gregory Peck to David Niven: "You're in it now mister, right up to your neck!" Don't be fooled by the relative secrecy of NIL payments to wrestlers. It's happening--big time. When asked if would return for another year, RBY responded, in effect, "we'll see how much." None of it stuck to St Cael publicly.

Lehigh will *never* sign a guy like Alirez, or Parco, without massive NIL. It's just not in the cards and not how LU does it. Fans should accept it. Doesn't mean Lehigh can't be really good and "have fun and score points" at the NCAAs. It does mean it won't be by signing elite 1-year NIL rentals.

So...if all this is true, then logic dictates -- yes -- we emphasize what we can offer: alumni pipeline to Wall Street for example, as well as several other lucrative industries one can make a career in. We emphasize an elite wrestling facility, an historic arena, fan support better than most, majors that offer a path to a degree while training for a very difficult sport, and a staff that prepares a person for life after wrestling -- yes, character matters.

For all this, LU needs 20 top 50 recruits at any given time in the room; roughly 2 per weight. Perhaps the total roster numbers come down, I don't know. The staff has been having some recent success in Jersey. However, LU absolutely needs D11 talent to stay with the home town team. This is not negotiable if we want to rise. Not too many elite teams fail to sign their elite local talent. If Lehigh wants to be elite, they have to sign their elite local talent. Arguments?

Have a great weekend everyone. Sunny and warm here in Chapel Hill.

I bet Iowa landed Iowa City High state champs through the years.

There was a period in the 1970s and early 1980s that majority of D11 State Champions wanted to come to Lehigh, but still pesky issues of grades and the default was to go to NC State under Bob Guzzo and a number to Penn State.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, D11 State Champions were going primarily to EIWA schools whether Rider, Drexel, Lehigh, etc.

Since 2000s, it has been more national, but the number of programs decreased. Now it is from West Cost to East Coast with the elite primarily going Big 10 and Lehigh getting fewer and fewer local kids.

The more Lehigh wins, the more it will land the locals again.

The next elite is Class of 2026 Keanu Dillard Becahi (D11)
Brandt Harer (D4) Reagan Milheim (D4)

Then there are the 6 from Faith Christian from D1. Adam Waters the most elite of them.

You land these 9, you have a future NCAA Team Championship.

[Oracle]

Easy HFO! Simmer down now.....
NCAA team championship with only (mostly) D11 recruits? I think not.

You say elite recruits will come the more Lehigh wins.....the only problem with this statement, and it's significant, is Lehigh needs elite talent to win more. Chicken or the egg.

And yes, Iowa has been keeping Iowa City talent to themselves since forever. Oklahoma State keeps Stillwater HS talent to themselves since forever. It's a common theme except for Lehigh. It used to be, but no longer. This lack of local talent stings like a you-know-what. Not intending to minimize Darian Cruz, or Ryan Crookham.....it's just that LU needs many more.

[1/2NELSON]

Easy HFO! Simmer down now.....
NCAA team championship with only (mostly) D11 recruits? I think not.

You say elite recruits will come the more Lehigh wins.....the only problem with this statement, and it's significant, is Lehigh needs elite talent to win more. Chicken or the egg.

And yes, Iowa has been keeping Iowa City talent to themselves since forever. Oklahoma State keeps Stillwater HS talent to themselves since forever. It's a common theme except for Lehigh. It used to be, but no longer. This lack of local talent stings like a you-know-what. Not intending to minimize Darian Cruz, or Ryan Crookham.....it's just that LU needs many more.

BINGO,..well put!

[The Kid]

NIL. Not quite a 4-letter word, but it should be. A vile, corrupt, illegitimate vehicle to bring professionalism to college athletics. Profane indeed.

D1 college athletics are in total disarray. Conference realignment that makes no sense and de-emphasizes natural regional rivalries that fans want. Do Big 10 fans want Oregon vs Rutgers, or do ACC fans want Stanford vs Wake Forest? Insane.

However, at this particular moment in time if you are not in the NIL game, you will be bull-dozed by those who are. Boosters who have been put in a box by the NCAA are now free to spend as never before. College championships are for sale. Period. The end.

Where does this leave Wrestling? Great line from the classic film The Guns of Navarone by Gregory Peck to David Niven: "You're in it now mister, right up to your neck!" Don't be fooled by the relative secrecy of NIL payments to wrestlers. It's happening--big time. When asked if would return for another year, RBY responded, in effect, "we'll see how much." None of it stuck to St Cael publicly.

Lehigh will *never* sign a guy like Alirez, or Parco, without massive NIL. It's just not in the cards and not how LU does it. Fans should accept it. Doesn't mean Lehigh can't be really good and "have fun and score points" at the NCAAs. It does mean it won't be by signing elite 1-year NIL rentals.

So...if all this is true, then logic dictates -- yes -- we emphasize what we can offer: alumni pipeline to Wall Street for example, as well as several other lucrative industries one can make a career in. We emphasize an elite wrestling facility, an historic arena, fan support better than most, majors that offer a path to a degree while training for a very difficult sport, and a staff that prepares a person for life after wrestling -- yes, character matters.

For all this, LU needs 20 top 50 recruits at any given time in the room; roughly 2 per weight. Perhaps the total roster numbers come down, I don't know. The staff has been having some recent success in Jersey. However, LU absolutely needs D11 talent to stay with the home town team. This is not negotiable if we want to rise. Not too many elite teams fail to sign their elite local talent. If Lehigh wants to be elite, they have to sign their elite local talent. Arguments?

Have a great weekend everyone. Sunny and warm here in Chapel Hill.

I bet Iowa landed Iowa City High state champs through the years.

There was a period in the 1970s and early 1980s that majority of D11 State Champions wanted to come to Lehigh, but still pesky issues of grades and the default was to go to NC State under Bob Guzzo and a number to Penn State.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, D11 State Champions were going primarily to EIWA schools whether Rider, Drexel, Lehigh, etc.

Since 2000s, it has been more national, but the number of programs decreased. Now it is from West Cost to East Coast with the elite primarily going Big 10 and Lehigh getting fewer and fewer local kids.

The more Lehigh wins, the more it will land the locals again.

The next elite is Class of 2026 Keanu Dillard Becahi (D11)
Brandt Harer (D4) Reagan Milheim (D4)

Then there are the 6 from Faith Christian from D1. Adam Waters the most elite of them.

You land these 9, you have a future NCAA Team Championship.

You land 50% of the top recruits from East PA and NJ, they’ll draw a few more elites from around the country and you have a national championship. The clear path to me is develop ties and loyalty to the local area. It takes effort, not just magical thinking.

[HFO]

>>>>>>NIL == Freedom. Freedom can be uncertain and even messy, but what it provides is Opportunity.

We now have the opportunity to match any offer a targeted recruit receives.

Crookham and Beard are the two elite recruits (ranked in the top 20) on the team———no surprise they are AAs. Rogers will be the 3rd top 20 ranked recruit———-an obvious excellent addition to this years recruiting class.

Use NIL/LVWC funding to help land several elite recruits each year and the prospects for a consistent top ten team increase dramatically.

I see you’ve committed to handing over your massive estate to kids who are already receiving 4 yrs of free college (at Lehigh apparently now a $300k+ “value”) so they can wrestle there and earn another 200-600k in the process.

There isn't a college wrestler in the nation getting $600k! Again, I talk with other alumni from programs and the most common deal is a 1 year car lease and about $20k per year. If they are lucky, a few athletes pick up some local endorsement deals for about $10k a pop.

[mookie]

You need to speak to a few more people. Carter Starocci is getting 7 figures to wrestle his final season at PSU.