Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - SHOWDOWN: Iowa Wrestling's ALL-IN Approach to Beat Penn State | Will It Pay Off or BACKFIRE?

Starting point is 00:00:00 I was being aggressive in the transfer portal, maybe a little too aggressive, but is it enough to catch Penn State? You are locked on College Crossover, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. You are locked on to College Wrestling and thank you so much for checking out this locked on crossover featuring locked on Nittany Lions and locked on Hawkeyes. I'm Zach Seiko of Locked on Nittany Lions. He is Trent Condon of Locked on Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:00:35 And well, I was being aggressive in the transfer portal again, but it's necessary to keep up with and maybe catch up and pass Penn State. So that's what we're gonna talk about today. Also the debate around the transfer portal aggression because West Virginia called out Iowa. West Virginia coaches named Iowa saying, you're coming after our wrestlers. So is there a matter of ethics here?

Starting point is 00:00:57 And then AJ Ferrari has been linked to Oklahoma State. He's been linked to Penn State as well. But does he still end up at Iowa at the end of the day? Today's show is brought to you by Five Hour Energy. Head over to fivehourenergy.com to find over 15 flavors to choose from. Do you need one now? Grab a Five Hour Energy shot at your local grocery

Starting point is 00:01:14 or convenience store. Stock up today and stay energized. If you're new to our channels, make sure you subscribe to each of the YouTube channels and wherever you get your podcasts, let us know your thoughts down in the comments section. Trent, Iowa's made some really solid moves and they're linked to some other wrestlers as well.

Starting point is 00:01:30 They did land Nasir Bailey and Jordan Williams as a package duo from Arkansas Little Rock. Those are instant All-America contenders. Nasir Bailey seems like he's going to project at 141. Williams will stay put at 149. So you definitely get a little more production at those weight classes, or there's not necessarily a drop off.

Starting point is 00:01:48 So you get more production at 141, not so much of a drop off with losing Kyle Parco at 149. So I was right there, and then they're linked to Dean Peterson, 125 wrestler, formerly from Rutgers. Jory Volk ended up at Minnesota. So Iowa is continuing to add these All-America caliber wrestlers and maybe they just need some better coaching to potentially maybe put them in

Starting point is 00:02:09 a title conversation. I don't know that it's enough to catch Penn State, but how does Iowa feel about it? You know, there is a lot of excitement and Zach, when you go through and you kind of look at them, you know, Nasir Bailey, I think a lot of people anticipated something like that could be in the works. And when you bring in a guy like that you get excited But then Jordan Williams there was some talk that maybe they were gonna go their separate ways very quickly and found out that wasn't the case We talked about that kind of the background of both those guys Bailey and all-american two years ago back in

Starting point is 00:02:37 2024 when he finished fourth, he's got a couple of years of eligibility You know I understand that there is some frustration and some frustration from other fan bases, even frustration inside the Iowa fan base about, well, why do we have to do things this way? I go back to the reason that you have to do it this way is because Penn State has broken the paradigm, right? The Nittany Lions, what they have created, this juggernaut,

Starting point is 00:03:00 you can't compete with them just trying to build up on your own. It doesn't work. And because of that, this is what Iowa has to do. Will it work? We'll talk about that and give our thoughts on it. But this is the only path. This is the only realistic path to be able to, within the next couple of years, hopefully

Starting point is 00:03:17 be able to track down Penn State. So you think they would need Dean Peterson. They can't go back to Joey Cruz at 125. In respect to next season, look, I'm all for, you know, development. I thought Joey Cruz showed a lot of promise. He did end up in the top 20 at one point, tough postseason, but there was at least potential. And I feel like another off season to go through the rigmarole and everything. And then Joey Cruz becomes a solid, solid lightweight for them that eventually will, will hit his peak. But

Starting point is 00:03:44 people are probably not going to agree with me. Well, the thing, Zach, that I was like, okay, you're going to have to retool some things, but what they did in the portal, they're going to be able to go out there, not pick and choose whoever they want. But with their NIL budget, they're going to be able to go out there and at minimum get a couple of all Americans that come in. You're hoping guys that can be on the contention for a national championship, But then Penn State on top of it, they go out and not just bring in Rocco Welsh, but also bringing in Ono. And it's like, all right, here we go again. Just what do you think? And you see all these guys finally moving on from Penn

Starting point is 00:04:17 State. Finally, maybe there is a path while they go out and are doing some of the same things that Iowa is. Well, I'm glad that you bring that up that up because I mean Drake Ayala is going to be there at 133 Drake Ayala helped recruit Nassir Bailey. He recently said that in an interview with Justin bash So I I always trying to do what it can when I look at 141 Okay If that's where Bailey's ultimately going to end up and then he also mentioned that he has a red shirt on the table As well because he's never wrestled at 141. He's always been a 133 guy I so I was intrigued maybe Ayala goes to 141 and then Bailey is at 133 either way

Starting point is 00:04:55 I don't know that you necessarily go wrong with it. But you mentioned Oh No Oh No could be at 133 he still hasn't wrestled folk style. So we got to see there He's got a red shirt available to him that would shock a lot of people if Ono ends up taking the red shirt I'm just saying it's possible and it's on the table Braden Davis is still in the mat room Aaron Higao still in the mat room. Marcus blaze is going to join the mat room He's defeated Former NCAA finalist NCAA all-americans at the high school when he was wrestling in the high school level He went to these tournaments and defeated NCAA wrestlers, All America finalists, you

Starting point is 00:05:29 name it. Blaze has even wrestled Ono. Ono defeated him, but what your point is, Penn State's loaded. Luke Lilladal is still at 25. So whether it's Joey Cruz, now I know Dean Peterson did defeat Lilladal. But that was a different version. That was a younger, inexperienced version of Lilladal, not the same version of Lilladal. But that was a different version. That was a younger, inexperienced version of Lilladal. Not the same version of Lilladal that took third place.

Starting point is 00:05:49 Third place in pin Matt Ramos at the NCAA tournament. So it's not enough. The Hawkeyes are gonna have to do more. We're gonna talk about A.G. Ferrari. They would, if we're talking about when the difference between winning and competing with Penn State, you need to go get Ethan Miller at 157. You need to go get a Dean Peterson at 125. You would need to bring back AJ Ferrari, maybe swallow your pride here and say, we got to do what we can

Starting point is 00:06:16 if they really are intent on competing with the Nittany Lions. We know Dean Peterson, he doesn't like Penn State. And he's made some comments. Oh, is that right? He's made some comments letting that, just, you know, hashtag F Penn State. And there was a little bit more than just the F that went along with that one.

Starting point is 00:06:37 After he went into the portal in right away, somebody of Penn State fans said, I'd say Penn State, but he wouldn't be able to wrestle. And he said, well, your starter's 0 and 1 against me. So Deep Peters, this is the thing, though. This sport with what Penn State is, that's OK. I mean, sometimes you've got to poke the bear, right? You have to go after it.

Starting point is 00:06:54 Yeah. And I liked Gabe Arnold and talking. Yes, we didn't get to see him on the mat. And we talked about that at the time. But a little bit more flavor, a little bit more intrigue, we're still talking about a sport. That's a niche sport, right? We're not talking about this is not football. This is not men's basketball. This is a sport

Starting point is 00:07:13 that still needs growth in order to get deeper into the sports lexicon every single year. And because of that, these kind of things, these kind of background stories that in the grand scheme of things don't matter, you go out on the mat, you go one on one, and then you decide it in the seven minutes. However, these are the things that can prop your sport up and build a bigger fan base. It is condensing though. It's really just Penn State, Iowa and Oklahoma State because they're the schools that have positioned themselves to be aggressive when it comes to and spend the necessary resources because we, if you don't know, wrestling is not a profitable sport.

Starting point is 00:07:49 It does, it does not make money. So you were pulling from other parts of the athletic program to make sure that wrestling, because wrestling means something in Pennsylvania, wrestling means something in Iowa, wrestling means something to Oklahoma state specifically because you could, well, the state of Oklahoma, then the Sooners would be here. Right? No, it means something specifically to Oklahoma State specifically because you could well the state of Oklahoma then the Sooners would be here right? No it means something specifically to Oklahoma State so other schools are going to have to really start getting this aggressive. Ohio State, Michigan, schools that financially can compete but it's a shame because I wonder how does Northern Iowa is Northern Iowa able to keep up? Is Arkansas Little Rock able to keep up because they just lost to perennial All-Americans?

Starting point is 00:08:26 Maybe, maybe national fringe, national title contenders to Iowa because at the end of the day, they couldn't outbid for NIL. And Iowa does for what it's worth have better res... I don't know. Some people might debate me and say that, no, Arkansas Little Rock gave them their start, gave them the development, the coaching.

Starting point is 00:08:42 So we'll see how it translates to Iowa after Jacori teamer and Kyle Parko did not exactly live up to expectations. But is there a sense of injuries though? Yes. Injuries, injuries that is fair, especially in Jacori teamers case dealt with it all season. So appreciate that. The, the transfer portal chaos though, not only on Penn state side of it, but West

Starting point is 00:09:03 Virginia calling out Iowa saying that you can't, you can't directly contact our wrestlers, but no shame anyway. So is there a sense is in etiquette being too aggressive and does Iowa need to be tamed here when it comes to the transfer portal discussions? We're going to discuss that coming up next next during this Lockdown crossover. And today's episode is brought to you by Fabric. Life moves fast, especially when you have a family. One day you're watching your kids take their first steps and before you know it, they're

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Starting point is 00:12:00 named. I'm just saying it because Iowa needs a 125 and a 157 pounder based on the way that they have behaved. And then we'll also talk about Zach Wright or Rocco Welsh and everything here because Penn State certainly had its own transfer portal drama. Trent, is there a fine line that Iowa needs to follow or doesn't need to follow? Look, let me put it this way. They're not going to follow any sort of unwritten rule here. And I don't blame them because the NCAA is spineless and anything that they're going to try to say and do, they're just going to get run into court. So this is the wild, wild west.

Starting point is 00:12:34 It's still going to be that way. So Iowa, do they need to have shame here for trying to gauge some interest and share some NIL ideas? Look, is it unethical? To an extent, yes. Yes, it is. trying to gauge some interest and share some NIL ideas. Look, is it unethical? To an extent, yes. Yes, it is. But nothing's going to stop them.

Starting point is 00:12:51 This is the world of college athletics that we're living in, though. And if you believe that all these players that enter the portal, not just wrestling, but enter the portal for basketball, for football, and they enter with a no contact tag, what does that mean? They already know where they're going going because the conversations have all happened. It's just wrestling. Keep it up with everybody else. I mean, that's what it is. It is an

Starting point is 00:13:12 incredibly dirty business. This is the reality. One pushback though from the West Virginia side. All right. So you have this ammunition, right? You're going to go after you, in fact, tag in the tweet, Hawks Wrestling. But you didn't name that individual coach. If you think you've got ammunition here, then go say it. We've seen coaches in other sports do that and go out and call the coaches out by name. If you got a name, name them.

Starting point is 00:13:36 If not, shut up. That's how I get it. Is it a booster? Is it a booster though, working behind the scenes? Well, and that's okay, because all those things are above the board. He said coach, and he said whatever a coach is doing it. If it's a coach, then name them. If it's a agent, if it's somebody involved with the collective, that is all above the board, because

Starting point is 00:13:55 we do not have parameters. We do not have guidelines that were put in by the NCAA. If you got a name, name them. If not, West Virginia, shut up. It's also, I mean, nobody forces anybody to go into the transfer portal. Nobody forces anybody to commit to Iowa. Nobody forces anybody to commit to Penn State or leave Penn State. So there's, I think I'm willing to take the middle ground in all of this, right? Yes, it's unethical. If you're going after wrestlers that aren't in the portal and trying to say, hey, we just want to educate you about our NIL opportunities here in the great state of Iowa for the, for the hot guys wrestling program. Okay. But you also don't have

Starting point is 00:14:34 to listen to them. You don't have to pick up the phone. And until the NCAA does something different to neutralize all of this, then that's, that's I have, is that if there's an issue with it, do something about it. So the bigger story here is that the NCAA just let everything run out of control. So the problem isn't Iowa, the problem is that, as we've talked about here, no guidelines, no standards, nothing, and everybody else is doing it. So why is Iowa the exception?

Starting point is 00:15:04 Yeah, and they're gonna get the arrows because they have an IL budget again it's about chasing down Penn State that's what this whole conversation is about. It is but you know I had somebody somebody was doing on one of the message boards I saw a post imagine that Iowa you know was able to get Spencer Lee at his peak and he put Kyle Dake in the lineup and there there was one more national champion. They pinned their way to the championship. They still wouldn't have had enough to beat Penn State this year. I mean, that's what you're going through when you're trying to chase down. You're talking about having five finalists, having four champions in there, and it still wouldn't be enough because of the depth of what we saw from this Penn State lineup.

Starting point is 00:15:42 That is the new reality. So you have to cut some corners, do you have to do some things? Do you have to do some things that you could look at is unethical, but yes, there is a trophy for second place, but nobody cares. There, nobody is celebrating second place at the University of Iowa for their wrestling program. Nobody's celebrating a fourth place trophy.

Starting point is 00:16:00 All that matters is number one. And there's one way to do it. More talent. Coach them up all those different things. Zach, I'm sure you see all the cliches, right? What you got to do to do it. It ultimately comes down to talent. And without talent, you're not beating Penn State. So I guess that's the grievance that I have here with Iowa. When I'm looking at it as just a neutral situation, no allegiance to Penn State here. I'm not a Penn State podcast host, but speaking freely is that at some point you're going to have to pay the piper if you're Iowa. And

Starting point is 00:16:30 does it hurt recruiting in the long run where yes, you're going to get the Bo Bassets and the Angelo Ferraris, maybe get the AJ Ferraris, but that's the transfer portal. I'm talking about recruiting specifically is that you alienated the Seabrecks, the maybe a Joey Crews down the line, where guys were ultimately pushed out. And I know there were some other wrestlers in, because in order to make room for Stephen Buchanan, Kyle Parco, you have to push others out that gave their blood, sweat, and tears to an Iowa program.

Starting point is 00:16:56 If you were a high school senior, and I almost, I can't imagine that you consider Iowa anymore because you don't know if they're gonna stab you in the back,. And that's what it was at the time to go get Buchanan, to go get Parko. It was a backstabbing. So there's two ways to look at it. And I completely understand your thought process behind that is those young guys that are building themselves up the back, the old backbone of what Iowa wrestling once was. And, and in general, collegiate wrestling once was and doing that. But we also have to remember the new limits that are happening in rosters and some of those fringe

Starting point is 00:17:30 guys, those guys that you probably wouldn't see until their junior year on a varsity mat out there. Those guys that maybe you're an All-American as a junior, first time full-time as a then a senior, you're hoping to be somebody that can get to Saturday night, you know, in wrestling for a championship. Those guys go fall by the wayside. But here's the thing, go out and go to a UNI, go to a West Virginia, go to basically any other program outside of the big three that we've talked about, go earn your stripes there and then come back

Starting point is 00:17:58 and earn your money at a place like in Iowa. That's the way you have to do it. But what Penn State have, 40 some guys on the roster this past season? Well, 30 is going to be the limit next year. And how that's going to look, there's going to be a trickle down effect that is going to impact things. I was not going to bring in those same kind of French guys. Neither is Penn State. Those guys that were a big part of the wrestling room. It's disappointing. And I've had no plenty of people that never wrestled a varsity

Starting point is 00:18:24 match for Iowa wrestling, but good friends of mine, but they were on the team. And I've had plenty of people that never wrestled a varsity match for Iowa wrestling, but good friends of mine, but they were on the team. And that was important. The sad thing is when we're talking about this all encompassing, those guys are not gonna have that opportunity anymore. The same thing, I'm glad you brought up the roster limits because that's why Penn State has finally seen this exodus,

Starting point is 00:18:41 if you will, that Kale Sanderson has actually been really good, one of the best at managing a roster that, yeah, guys are never gonna see an opportunity in the collegiate lineup, but, but gosh darn it, they just want to go out there and scrap and be in the best mat room in the country. And so where the NCAA gets it right and hey, you increase the scholarship limit, you're gonna have up to 30 scholarship athletes on a wrestling team. It goes from 9.9 to, I don't think anybody's, unless you know differently, Trent, I don't think I was going to carry 30 either. It's either it's going to be in that 20 to 25 range.

Starting point is 00:19:09 I could see Iowa, you know, all right, is Penn State carrying 20 will carry 21 something like that. Right. But that's why we're seeing that is that now you can actually go get a scholarship somewhere else. But you also if you do want to sacrifice that and give that up, you can't be in the Penn State mat room unless you make the top 30. Same with Iowa.

Starting point is 00:19:27 So that's why Alex Facundo and Aurelius Dunbar and Gary Steen and Penn State diehards are going to recognize most of those names. Alex Facundo, of course, was a starter once upon a time and he'll probably start at Oklahoma State here. But Zach Ryder is now in that too. He's entered into the transfer portal. Rocco Welsh comes in and yeah you have to you have to make some sacrifices at the end of the day. So one question I had for you Zach is I've heard a lot of people talk about obviously the 20.5

Starting point is 00:19:55 million dollars that's going to be handed out from each athletic department. I was going to fully fund it. I'm going to guess most everybody in the Big Ten is going to be able to fully fund all that 20.5 million dollars a year That's gonna go to the student athletes about 75 to 80 percent will go to football We're having the conversation I will with a new men's basketball coach with Ben McCollum They have really worked to build up their NIL funds on that front You know women's basketball important one for Iowa after the runs from Caitlin Clark the last couple of years They're well funded on that one, is how much of that money,

Starting point is 00:20:25 how much of that 20.5 is going to be allocated to wrestling? And because Iowa's NIL funds are so good, I think that's kind of a reason for it. There's a real possibility that they're not going to spend any of that money, any of that max 20.5 million dollars, none of it is going to go to wrestling from Iowa. Some people push back on that, say, you know, might be a million dollars, none of it is going to go to wrestling from Iowa. Some people push back on that say, you know, might be a million dollars. Regardless, do you know on the Penn State side

Starting point is 00:20:49 kind of what they're thinking and if any of the money is going to be out of that big chunk is going to go to the wrestling program? To my understanding right now, I'm not, I can't say this with 100% accuracy though, even though I should and I'm going to get to the bottom of that, so I'm glad that, you know, that's why we have these conversations and these discussions to investigate these things to my understanding all 20 and a half's going to football. That's, that's. See, and I don't know if that's the other part. But I might be, I might be wrong there because men's basketball needs just a boost. They need something. Wrestling's obviously very prioritized, but I know

Starting point is 00:21:22 that select programs, particularly wrestling in this case, have private donors that support the program through NIL and funding the program. Penn State spends the most money of any athletic department when it comes to the, even Outspends Iowa, I think the total was 3 million to Iowa's 2.5, 2.6. You can do a lot with 400K. Yeah, and we've definitely seen that.

Starting point is 00:21:45 So you mentioned the full allotment going to football. I believe they're trying to stay away from that because then you get into antitrust things. And that's why they're saying probably 75% to 80% will go to football. That would be so. Yeah. So maybe it's not so much about, OK, I think the way I read it,

Starting point is 00:22:03 because there was an article and I can't quote it directly, but it's that they're going all in to as much as the limits will let them. So if that's 85%... Yeah. So maybe I'm... Yeah, I will do the same. Yeah. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:22:16 I'm misunderstanding the, well, 20 and a half is available, but 20, whatever the maximum amount of that 20 and a half can go to football, that's what's going to go to football. Because football is king. We know, and you don't have a wrestling program without a solid football program. You don't have a football men's basketball because of the TV contracts, they're self-sustainable. We saw the wrestling ratings. It's just not, it's a negative, it's a loss. It operates at a loss, but it is what it is, but you got to grow the sport. So do things to grow the sport to make it financially profitable. AJ Ferrari talks about that.

Starting point is 00:22:48 Ferrari's been linked to Penn State, linked to Oklahoma State. I have some sources that go contrary against the whole Penn State AJ Ferrari rumors. At the end of all this, could he end up back at Iowa? We're gonna discuss that to finish up this locked on crossover, coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Five Hour Energy.

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Starting point is 00:24:20 The NCAA Tournament is here and so is the bracket breakdown. Locked on Podcast Network and Amazon Fire TV channels are teaming up to deliver NCAA tournament coverage like never before. Watch studio shows featuring former players and Locked On's local experts as they guide you through every upset, buzzer beater, and bracket matchup. Stream it all for free on Amazon Fire TV channels. Search bracket breakdown to see it all for free. It's your team, every day. AJ Ferrari is a polarizing figure with any destination between Penn State and, I was absolutely floored when I saw the initial report

Starting point is 00:24:58 that AJ Ferrari and Penn State have been in contact. AJ and Ferrari and Oklahoma State have been in contact. That's where a lot of those off the Mac issues happened. That's where it all started. David Taylor's new to the coaching ranks. Why would you bring him back? And then Iowa just didn't sit right with the fans between some discourse, some decisions. A double bird. Yes, yes, the double bird. It became, not everybody was on the same team. You're here to support Iowa, but everything became a mercenary type of instance. Look, I, you know, I want to give everybody the benefit of the doubt, second chances and

Starting point is 00:25:35 everything like that. I'm not here to discuss AJ Ferrari. We're here to discuss AJ Ferrari and where he ultimately ends up. It's not going to be at Oklahoma state because David Taylor is not going to, the risk is not worth the reward. Penn State, same thing, the culture that you built, you also have answers at 197 and heavyweight because people are trying to argue that, well, heavyweight's open, Greg Kirkfleet's gone, he could carry the weight appropriately, he wouldn't have any trouble cutting and he's so athletic that he would just overwhelm some of the other heavyweights. So be it, but the Mirasola twins are still there. Josh Barr is an option, even though I think he cuts to 184 at the end of the day.

Starting point is 00:26:08 That's my opinion. I think Barr goes back to 84 and Mirasolas take over at 97 in heavyweight. So if you bring in AJ Ferrari, who has multiple years of eligibility, you displace all of that, your lineup plans, everything that you worked for in recruiting, and then the culture, the culture and the authenticity that Kale Sanderson has built. Why would you undo all of that? Because of one wrestler. So Iowa in a different story, like the whole conversation here has been about what are

Starting point is 00:26:37 they willing to do to compete? Is it worth to swallow your pride and say, look, bygones are bygones. AJ Ferrari, you are not an enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So if, if, if Penn States are number one enemy together and we can use your help to defeat them, then we'll bring you back. This conversation goes deeper than just the wrestling room. This goes deeper than the brands brothers making the decision or just Tom on his own making the decision. This goes to Beth Goetz, new athletic director, who people believed told the Brands in no uncertain terms after the double bird, that is not happening in

Starting point is 00:27:17 an Iowa wrestling singlet. That is not happening, certainly for this year, and it's not going to happen. So this is a conversation, I think, that goes so much deeper than even on the surface level it feels because there are people in the athletic department, there are school presidents, there are people on the board of regents that say, Absolutely not. In no way is this guy. We gave him an opportunity, and he left with a double burden. Because of that, there is going to be no second chances. So because of that, I think this is a conversation that can go deeper than any of our understanding. It's not having a contact with the wrestling room or having a contact in the athletic department. This goes so much deeper than that with AJ Ferrari's background, with the charters that have been levied against him, an opportunity that has

Starting point is 00:27:59 been given to him before, and then what happened because of it. I think this thing is, it's just going to have some more twists and turns. And when we talk about the big three of Iowa, Penn State and Oklahoma State, what would be the betting favorite right now? If we talk to our friends over at FanDuel to put up the odds, is he end up at the big three or somewhere else? We put out all the other college programs. I think I might say any other college program would be my betting favorite.

Starting point is 00:28:25 I'd have to go with that too. I know he's been, he's been loosely linked to Iowa state. Again, he's been linked everywhere, whether it's, Oh, well, Angelo, Andrew, his brother's there, right? Angelo Ferrari's at Iowa. So this kind of, you know, brotherly, but as you mentioned, people who have more power than the Iowa coaches, if they say no, then it's simply not happening. At Penn State, Oklahoma State, since they operate in terms of integrity, I'm sorry,

Starting point is 00:28:55 it's not worth the risk. And again, I get it. He's trying a second chance, better his life. I'm not trying, this isn't a slam dunk opportunity, but actions have consequences. He understands that. He's told us many times in many interviews now. So what, what pro so now it extends to what program would even take him. Ohio state, Michigan, Iowa state. I don't know.

Starting point is 00:29:16 I don't know. I think he's going to end up at another program that, you know, falls along the lines of Cal State Bakersfield where it it's, it, A.J. Ferrari can help you out because you, you're not a reputable program to an extent. So he basically is going to graduate to a larger version of, of Cal State Bakersfield. I don't know. Yeah. Is there somebody in the big 10 that would make sense?

Starting point is 00:29:40 You know, in Ohio state, they have a little money, you know, kind of laying around. Would that be something that would make sense to go that direction? Too bad we didn't have the SEC in wrestling, right? We know they'd be involved. They'd be jumping at it. I told you, Zach, that my great uncle was a wrestling coach at LSU back in the 70s and early 80s before before basically all the SEC dissipated and just envirog- imagining what SEC wrestling would be, that's about growing the sport though and no it's not gonna happen in today's environment that we're gonna see growth and unfortunately that is off the board but you mentioned the TV ratings a little bit more. I had one final thing for you and it's about those TV numbers and just where our sport sits. So we have the first and second round of the NCAA tournament happening with

Starting point is 00:30:30 college wrestling's biggest event. And I know there's a lot more than just the college schedule and it, and it pertains to the U S wrestling schedule and national schedules and things like that, but got to find a way to move this thing, even if it's a couple of weeks back, moving it even to this weekend. It would be so much better than what it is. this thing, even if it's a couple of weeks back, moving it even to this weekend, it would be so much better than what it is. And a sport that isn't trouble and is continuing to see programs dwindling more and more and more, something needs to be done. I think at the

Starting point is 00:30:55 forefront you have to move this off the weekend that it's currently resting. I agree wholeheartedly. I've said that before, probably in some other podcasts. When has the NCAA done something right? I can find thousands. It's easier to find something that they do right as opposed to what they do wrong. They do everything wrong. So you're going up against your biggest product at the time. I know college football reigns supreme, but why do that to yourself?

Starting point is 00:31:23 It's because they don't care. At the end of the day, they don't care. It's football, it's basketball, everybody else be damned. And wrestling extends to that because they're not putting up the ratings. You see Penn State versus Iowa, the dual meet itself be comparable to one of the days of the NCAA tournament. Maybe that has to do with March Madness basketball. I can't speak for the casual fan. You and I are too heavily invested in Penn State and

Starting point is 00:31:48 Iowa wrestling respectively. So I don't know that I can channel that for myself to say, well, this is what everybody else is thinking because I was glued to wrestling. I had to be March Madness. I didn't watch a lot of March Madness. I'll be honest for basketball. I didn't watch too much of it. Somehow my bracket's doing just fine. All four ones made it to the final four. Anyway, but that's the thing. I think you do need those, yeah, the Dean Peterson, Luke Liddell rivalries. Don't go into the WWE route, but you have to create some narratives that are real because it's going to draw interest.

Starting point is 00:32:24 That's what it is at the end of the day. Try to manufacture some interest where you can and maybe that will get you in the step in the right direction more spot. But the names that control this sport certainly need to show the respect and care that it deserves where other institutions do not like the NCAA.

Starting point is 00:32:40 So that's gonna do it for this Locked On crossover. Again, let us know your thoughts down in the comments section. Thank you so much for checking out this episode, either on Locked On Nittany Lions or Locked On Hawkeyes. And for more content around your favorite Penn State and Iowa teams, keep it right here respectively on both of our channels as we are part of the Locked On Podcast Network.

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