Launching the Keep Fresno State Wrestling campaign - a podcast by Jason Bryant, Mat Talk Podcast Network

On October 16, California State University, Fresno announced it was dropping men’s tennis, women’s lacrosse, and for the second time in school history, men’s wrestling. After a decade-long quest to bring the sport back to campus in 2016, a new quest has been started by Keep Fresno State Wrestling.

In conjunction with USA Wrestling, the National Wrestling Coaches Association and Flowrestling, the Keep Fresno State Wrestling group will kickoff its official efforts on Monday, December 21 at 6 p.m. Pacific with a panel of wrestling coaches, athletes, and alumni. That discussion will be streamed live on Flowrestling.org and also available via Zoom. 

The panel will highlight and celebrate the strong history of Fresno State wrestling, not just with its on the mat successes, but the post-collegiate success and leadership of its alumni in the Central Valley and the state of California. Among those participating with local Fresno ties are former head coach Dennis DeLiddo, current Beat the Streets Los Angeles Executive Director Yero Washington, and wrestling World medalist, Olympian and UFC champion Daniel Cormier, who is the high school wrestling coach at Gilroy High School, two hours west of Fresno. Current Fresno State athletes are also expected to participate. 

Also included in the discussion will be World and Olympic champions John Smith, the current head coach at Oklahoma State and Jordan Burroughs. The panel will be moderated by Hall of Fame wrestling broadcaster Jason Bryant. 

“We feel this is a valuable opportunity for the wrestling community to be able to share in the development of what the alumni is doing to try to keep the program at Fresno State,” said Mike Moyer, Executive Director of the NWCA. “The Keep Fresno State Wrestling efforts are just ramping up and it’ll be important for the public to understand the goals and mission, fundraising and pledges to make sure we don’t lose another valuable institution in a state that has the highest participation of wrestlers in the country at the high school level.”

The Keep Fresno State Wrestling effort wants to highlight the importance of wrestling in the Central Valley, the state of California and the entire sport as a whole. Wrestling is insanely popular in the Fresno area and the opportunity to tap into a successful pool of potential Fresno State students is high. The opportunities offered for wrestling from public institutions at the collegiate level greatly underserve the demand on sheer participation numbers alone. 

“There is a lot at stake here with Fresno State announcing that for the second time, their program would be eliminated,” said Brendan Buckley, a Fresno State alum and the current Executive Director of Beat The Streets New York, a non-profit organization whose aim is to make a Lifelong Impact on New York City student-athletes through the benefits and skills acquired by participating in amateur wrestling. 

“There is a strong legacy at play and one that has been the crown jewel for Fresno State Athletics. How many programs on Fresno State’s campus can claim 37 individual NCAA All-American honors, 15 Top 25 team finishes or a three-time NCAA champion and Olympic silver medalist?” said Buckley, speaking to the success of the program. 

Of the 23 individuals who earned 37 All-American honors on the mats, 18 of them are Californians. 

Keep Fresno State Wrestling wants to celebrate the success that wrestling has brought to those students who would have never come to the school if not for wrestling and the impact that legacy has had on thousands of students, athletes or otherwise, who came to Fresno State because they had a teacher, coach or mentor who gained those valuable life skills through wrestling and through it being offered at Fresno State. 

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