First off, Eric - you have an extreme passion for wrestling. That's very evident. You're a former Western Kansas wrestler who wants to see Western Kansas high school and college wrestling succeed. Quite frankly, you bring up some very valid points. However, a "can the coach" mentality is certainly not the answer.

I handle the public address and announce duties for Tiger Wrestling. I'd like to think I'm close to the program. We all have high expectations for FHSU wrestling. Coach Bickley would be the first to tell you those expectations were not met this year. Fort Hays, like any program, has wrestlers who have not performed well and others who surprised us at Qualifying and National time. Is Coach Bickley an inept coach? I don't think so.

What has Cody accomplished at Fort Hays? Earlier this year, he bacame the all-time winningest dual coach in Fort Hays history. Not a big deal? I think dual record, in addition to tournament success proves a lot about a coach's ability. I agree, though, it would be nice to see more success at the National level. Cody has also helped turn Fort Hays wrestling into an event. I think you'd be hard pressed to find many better D-2 wrestling atmospheres than Fort Hays. I don't know if wrestling matters at most D-2 schools. It matters at Fort Hays.

I'm disappointed when a wrestler chooses Kearney, UNO or Central Oklahoma over Fort Hays - especially a Kansas prep. It's tough to recruit against the best schools in the nation. But that's an ongoing battle with any sport at any level. I hope Fort Hays will be in that class soon. I guess the answer is to keep plugging away, recruit hard, and instill staying fairly close to home and being a part of a (hopefully) up and coming National power.

Again, I think simply getting rid of the coach is a "quick trigger finger" move. Cody has done well. But I agree - it's time to do better. Let's see Fort Hays climb the ranks of the most successfull D-2 programs in the country. You know what I love about wrestling? Fans like Eric have passion. You don't get this with cross country, track or tennis.