[jcmanson]

this also sounds like it would be a hindrance to stepping up to FBS for football, if we are already having trouble complying how will we be able to add the schollies to go from 63 to 85?

Or you could say, we're cutting this sport so we can step up to FBS.

[Sly Fox]

Bingo!

[BJWilliams]

As Mr Barber said in the interview...EVERYBODY on the male side is gonna see cuts in participation despite this as a result of the title IX issues...football, baseball, track and cross country...EVERYBODY

[SuperJon]

One more time...it's not a scholarship issue. It's the number of athletes. I don't THINK there are more athletes on an FBS team than FCS, just more scholarships.

Exactly. Football's not going to lose scholarships, but the amount of walk-ons they're allowed to have could come down. This happened at Coastal two years ago.

[Dan P]

BJWilliams --- Do you really believe that? or are you just naive?

No other sport at LU will suffer as the wrestling team did. Sure, men's soccer might lose 2 or 3 spots - Men's baseball may lose a slot or two --- but really??? --- That CANNOT even compare to the sacifice of the wrestlers!
The decision to drop the sport demonstrated a remarkable lack of imagination and leadership.

Heck, LU was ALREADY in compliance with prong 2 of Title IX! They (claim) they were concered the regulators might begin requiring institutions to be in compliance with both prong 1 and 2 (which, in 20+ years, they never have required both).
There is something sinister going on here.

[SuperJon]

Only at Liberty is every decision made a conspiracy.

[Dan P]

Again --- a remarkable demonstration of poor leadership by the administration. Shame on LU - Shame on Jerry Jr and the AD.

Their action to cut the program is either a ploy to generate a huge donation from a wealthy benefactor to “save wrestling” or they just wanted to re-focus LU resources on their sacred cow- footbally.
I paid thousands (and thousands) of dollars to send my child to LU because I thought the institution was willing to take the RIGHT stands for good (Godly) causes –I thought this institution was beckon of light in an otherwise dark world. Now, I feel duped. http://www.themat.com/section.php?secti ... leID=23415

[olldflame]

I understand why some people are upset. I understand why they may disagree with the decision. Sinister? I don't think so.

[jbock13]

I understand some of the conflicts of interest that some have by wrestling being cut, but some of the bashing of Barber or Chancellor Falwell is getting absolutely absurd.

And SJ, I agree, it does seem everything LU does is somehow viewed as conspiracy.

[Dan P]

Wow – are you THAT brainwashed that you refuse to believe that some folks aren’t fit to lead (even your “exalted” leaders at LU?) If they make a poor decision, we have a right (and an obligation) to point out the poor decision.
If my 20+ years in the US Marine Corps taught me one thing it is this – the best leaders are the ones who GENUIELY take and heed constructive criticism.
If “”off with the wrestler’s head” is the best these guys (and Meredith) could do given the challenges they were facing, then they are NOT fit to lead.
Wow --- to think of the 10’s of thousands of dollars I poured into that school --- just to learn this brutal lesson – “just because they wear sheep clothing, doesn’t mean they aren’t wolves!

[alum82]

Hey guys, I happen to know that Dan P is the parent of one of the wrestlers. He posted the same comments word for word on Facebook earlier today using his full name. Give Dan P a break and take his posts with a grain of salt. Don't expect him to be rational. He is emotional because his kid is impacted by this decision. If some of you are not yet fathers, you will one day find out how easy is to make a fool out of yourself on your kid's athletic field either because your kid didn't get to play as much as you thought he or she should have or because your kid got cut from the team. It is part of being a parent.

[BJWilliams]

BJWilliams --- Do you really believe that? or are you just naive?

No other sport at LU will suffer as the wrestling team did. Sure, men's soccer might lose 2 or 3 spots - Men's baseball may lose a slot or two --- but really??? --- That CANNOT even compare to the sacifice of the wrestlers!
The decision to drop the sport demonstrated a remarkable lack of imagination and leadership.

Heck, LU was ALREADY in compliance with prong 2 of Title IX! They (claim) they were concered the regulators might begin requiring institutions to be in compliance with both prong 1 and 2 (which, in 20+ years, they never have required both).
There is something sinister going on here.

Do I believe that? certainly...am I naive? I may be but I highly doubt that. I understand that as a parent of a wrestler this is something you have a personal stake in and that is understandable. As SJ said, I dont think this is part of some grand conspiracy against wrestling...heck, if anybody should be upset about it in there its Bob Good...(who I think was a wrestler during the first heyday of wrestling at LU and actually announced for a few matches if Im not mistaken)

[Dan P]

Alum82 --- if you know who I am (and I don't make it a secret- like SOME people), then you'll also know that I wrestled at a very high level, coached at a D-I institution, and have been around the sport for the better part of 30 years. When it comes to recognizing a poor leadership in the AD / Administration office; I've been around the block.
My grip isn't because my kid "got cut" "didn't get playing time" etc ....

My grip is with the poor decision making at the most senior levels at LU. The funny thing is .... 3 years ago I was warned to be wary of LU adminstration --- was told they are more driven by $$ than the Christian principles they expouse. I told those people: "you are wrong, LU was the real deal ...." now- Wow ---do I have egg on my face.
But at least now I see the light ... (10's of thousands of $$ poorer)

[jbock13]

As I said before, this is getting absurd. (intro twilight zone music)

And if you even knew anything about me, I far from agree with much of anything our leadership does...

[Hold My Own]

Liberty did not just stumble upon not being in compliance, and this is not a JB/JLFJR issue either. We have not been in compliance well before JB got here and before JLFJR became our Chancellor...although the NCAA knew we had intentions on taking care of the differences by adding more women's sports so they were fine with our progress.

I'm going off memory but we've now added 3 women's sports recently and need to add at least 3 or 4 more to get within what the NCAA considers ok (if all of the other teams scholly's stay the same). Think about the financial impact of adding 3 sports then add another 3 or 4. That's not chump change, that's a serious amount of money.

People who work directly for the NCAA sometimes will a problem being able to explain the in's and out's of their rules (not their fault it's the NCAA for over complicating regulations). As far as I know though they do not judge Title IX based on one criteria, but is made up of a few different things similar to the APR. I do NOT know this part of it well but it could be made up of 1. Those on a roster 2. Revenue 3. Scholly's and maybe some other things...like I said, I'm taking a serious stab in the dark there but I'm quite certain it is not as simple as just one thing.

This decision means coach's could lose their jobs and athletes who anticipated on being here as a student athlete on the NCAA level will now not be, causing many of them to relocate as well. This is sad, but looking at the situation I'm not sure what else could have been done...which is really the unfortunate thing.

[alum82]

Dan P,

What is wrong with the LU administration being good stewards of LU's money? After all, every penny that is saved/earned goes right back into the Christian education programs at LU. You make it sound like a bad thing that LU's administration is careful with the school's money. It is not a for-profit school and the money they raise or save for LU is not going into anyone's pocket. All the administration's salaries are public info so please get hold of your emotions on this. Your boy will be OK and will find something else that appeals to him as much as wrestling.

Hell hath no fury like the parent of an athlete who thinks his child has been wronged.

[Dan P]

Hold My Own ---- You said it better than I could have :
"That's not chump change, that's a serious amount of money"

At the end of the day it wasn't about title IX --- it's about money. Such hypocrisy!

Your signature block which quotes J. Falwell (sr) speaking of burning the place down should it no longer be "God's University" is most approperate --- in my mind, with leadership like this in place, it CANNOT BE God's University.

Good stewards --- rightttttt .............open your eyes.

I do feel sad for both Jesse and Bob Good --- at the very least I hope the university does right by them. But I wouldn't be surprised (now that I see the true colors) if they don't.

And to think I used to tell people about how LU was the real deal in Christian principles ....

[alum82]

OK, we get it, Dan P. LU's leadership were hypocrites and wolves in sheep's clothing when they cut wrestling in the 1990s and Sr. should have burned the place to the ground rather than cut wrestling. Then, they became Christians again when they reinstated wrestling a few years ago and you told the world how LU was the real deal. Now, they cut wrestling again so they are damned to hell once again. Guess you don't believe in eternal salvation. Are you serious? People are not good Christians only when they support the sport of wrestling. When your emotions calm, you are really going to be embarrassed by these posts, I am afraid.

[El Scorcho]

...or they just wanted to re-focus LU resources on their sacred cow- footbally.

Um, maybe you don't realize why we have DI athletics at Liberty in the first place, but...yeah. Football is pretty much the priority. No big secret. I think most of us want football to be as successful as possible because, well, that best fits the mission of the athletic program as I've always understood it.

Title IX is crap and it's not really great that wrestling ended up being dropped, but to attack other programs is kinda lame.

In summary: Settle down, Beavis.

[El Scorcho]

Wow --- to think of the 10’s of thousands of dollars I poured into that school --- just to learn this brutal lesson – “just because they wear sheep clothing, doesn’t mean they aren’t wolves!

Also: That kind of whining isn't going to get you much sympathy here. We ALL paid 10's of thousands of dollars to attend LU, save for a few who worked hard enough at something that earned them a scholarship.

Seriously. We all paid. So you can drop that junk.

Also, regarding Prong I: Just because we could spend the money and stick with Prong 2 doesn't mean we should. That's terrible logic. Believe me, there are a lot of other things we should be spending money on that don't involve sweaty dudes touching each other so much.

[Dan P]

Alum82 --- I'm willing to retract what I posted and humblely apologize if Jerry Jr. could convince me that I have it wrong. But with his statements about how this was $$ motivated (see his earlier post) is pretty much all the proof I need that I am reading this situation correctly.

Scorch --- as for attacking f-ball --- I'm not ... but tell me --- where has the majority of the LU sports budget gone?? In the past 20 years we've seen nearly 80 NCAA D-I wrestling programs dropped --- yet, f-ball gets bigger and bigger budgets each year.

Yeah -- college athletics are suppose to be about the kids and opportunities --- yet, at the end of the day it's about 1 thing- Money.

[BJWilliams]

Not only did a vast majority of us pay 10s of thousands of dollars...some of us are gonna be paying that money back to the government for a good long while (well except those of us who are in positions that allow for student loans to be paid off...which is a very small number of us Im sure)

[jbock13]

Yeah -- college athletics are suppose to be about the kids and opportunities --- yet, at the end of the day it's about 1 thing- Money.

no way....

[Dan P]

El Scorcho --- " sweaty dudes touching each other so much"

Dude --- you have issues.
Obviously, you've never been man enough to gt on the mat. But with comments like that, it's best you don't. The "closet" is a better choice for you ....

[Kolzilla41]

I know we needed to spice up the board but this is getting interesting. Football and basketball pay for most every schools athletic budget, whether or not it is fair, that's life. I was guaranteed a certain benefit when I started working at LU and you know what, it was reduced. Life goes on. It is my understanding that the student athletes have the choice to transfer or continue on with their degree from Liberty, scholarship still intact. That's the most important part.