Friends of SIU-Edwardsville also program's saviors
Fans of the former long-running television comedy may think of Ross, Joey or Phoebe when people talk of Friends. The Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville wrestling program visualizes a real person, a real friend:
Mark Mestemacher.
“He should be the poster child for wrestling,” smiled SIU-Edwardsville athletic director Brad Hewitt, who credits Mestemacher and the “Friends of SIUE Wrestling” for the very existence of the Cougar program, which was supposed to be dropped two years ago.
“Someone should write a book about this or make a movie out of this story,” added Hewitt, who has been with the program for the past 16 years but only the past two as athletic director. That was about the same time SIUE announced wrestling would have to be dropped.
“During my first month of the job, after being told we were in great shape, they informed me we had a $150,000 deficit in our budget, so it was announced that wrestling would be dropped,” said Hewitt, recalling the November 2002 press conference that suggested the wre
stling program, which won three consecutive NCAA Div. II national team championships, 1984-86, would be in its last year.But thanks to Mestemacher, who heads the “Friends” group, the financial blade, induced by a Title IX ruling that has killed nearly 300 college programs since 1972, did not touch the SIUE program.
“Right now, the funding is 90 percent external. We are still providing training, marketing promotions, staff support, etc. Basically all travel, operations and coaching salaries are being paid by the Friends group,” said Hewitt, who added the cost of running this program is $120,000. “We made an agreement a year ago that we would go with this three years and through that process, if the state budget stabilizes, we would look to bring wrestling back under our department, financially.”
Based on the success of this group, it appears there is a good chance of that happening.
“They’ve held golf tournaments, sold T-shirts, brought in several events and they have accumulated nearly $200,000 of new money, besides the initial gift that kept the program going,” said Hewitt. “We are in concert with four potential major donors to look at endowing scholarships. That is the whole key. If you can endow scholarships, you can maintain the program. We will find a way to bring the program back.”
One of the Friends’ fund-raising ideas was to bring the 39th Annual NWCA All-Star Classic to the Vadalabene Center, Nov. 22, 2004, on the SIUE campus, which sits 15 miles east of St. Louis. And based on the fact that event drew over 3,000 fans, there is visible truth that the Friends’ plans are working.
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