By Roger Moore 

When Mark Cody became head wrestling coach at American University eight seasons ago, the program provided four scholarships.

            When the 2010-11 campaign kicks off this November, there will be 9.9 scholarships given to wrestlers attending the Washington, D.C, school

            “It’s been a combination of things that’s helped us get to nine,” said Cody, whose squad competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. “We have to raise money every year and there’s been a strong commitment by the administration.

            “I didn’t have to read between the lines when I took this job. They were looking for a well-rounded student-athlete.”

            The culture, not just in wrestling, but in every collegiate sport fighting the Title IX battle, has changed due to the on-going financial struggles of the United States. Taking chances on those superstar wrestlers who have limited motivation in the classroom will never completely go away.

            That being said, coaches at schools with limited resources are being forced to do a little more homework in an attempt to maximize dollars.

            “What we do (at Clarion) and the smaller schools is 10-fold compared to the bigger schools,” said Clarion head coach Teague Moore, who has five scholarships to work with.

            The magic 9.9 scholarship number refers to a maximum, not a set number for all Division I programs. There are 82 schools competing in Division I for the 2009-10 season.

            At least 15 programs offer anywhere from one to five scholarships for its wrestling program. A short list of those schools include: Campbell, California-Davis, California-Fullerton, Clarion, Davidson, Duke, Gardner Webb, George Mason, Liberty, Millersville, Seton Hall and Stanford. The Ivy League schools do not give wrestling scholarships.

            So how do you field a competitive team with four available scholarships?

            “When I first got (to American) we gave four guys full rides and then just tried to fill in around them with walk-ons,” Cody said. “It certainly didn’t make us very strong in duals but we had to get on the map. I had to get away from answering the “Where is American” question.

            “Having success at the national tournament has obviously helped.”

            Daniel Waters became the program’s first All-American, finishing eighth in 2005. In 2007, Josh Glenn was the national champion at 197 pounds.

            “American is very strong academically, so we can’t really take any chances,” Cody said.

            The Eagles compiled a 3.28 grade point average for the 2008-09 season. It was the nation’s best and earned AU the title of NWCA academic national champions. It was the second straight season Cody’s team earned the honor.

            The process of going from 4.5 to 9 has been a seven-year process at American.

            At Ohio University, a member of the Mid-American Conference, head coach Joel Greenlee was able to work with a full allotment of 9.9 just last season.

            “It’s made a big difference, you could see that in our results last year,” said Greenlee, whose Bobcats won 10 of their first 13 duals this season.

            “One of the strengths of wrestling is its representation at the NCAA tournament,” said Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association.                         “Every year 75 to 80 percent of the schools send someone to the national tournament.”

     (You can read the rest of this article by subscribing to WIN Magazine. Either contact our office at 1-888-305-0606 or subscribe through this website by selecting the “Subscribe” section on our front page.)