I would say being young has a lot to do with it. I, being Ms Jenni this time, also watched the DII Nationals this past weekend. Some of our KS boys really shined and some were not so shiny. Cody's boys are young, my boys are young and I think there is still time to hear from all of them. The mental part of wrestling is so important and I am not so sure that any of you can teach that part. Not, every wrestler is a Sanderson and not every coach is a Gable, but that does not mean that what they do is any less noble or correct. I remember last year UCO was on top and UNO had quite a struggle. The tables turned this year. Does that mean that Coach James and Coach Denney need/needed to be replaced? I think not! A coach can only do so much. I could go one but I won't.

Something that was not mentioned in Coach Ed's post...I would say my boys decision not to go to FHSU was solely on the fact that they did not want to be "out in Hays" and they felt more drawn to a larger metro area. The decision was not made against Coach Bickley at all.

Of course, I have paid the price...now that call me an Okie. I am quick to remind all that I am from KANSAS. I also pointed out that that UNO National Champ with the most falls and the OW was from good old KS.

Ms. Jenni

Oh Will,

Now you are taking it personal. It's not personal.

Your history post is inconclusive. Where is the follow on posts by Svo69 apologizing for his previous posts? Getting selective again are we. Let the boys wrestle. Really not attacks, just looking for truth.

As for the number of posts. You have not not broke the "Top Posters" yet. But, rumor has it you are close to breaking the top six. You sure do have a lot of opinions. Right on queue.

Dear Coach G and Iwrestle,
To answer your question: I did not call Coach Bickley to schedule a meeting with him before giving my opinion that a change needs to be made at Fort Hays State University. Coach G, I called my dad and he has lost your number and would definitely enjoy talking to you. I know have moved to Iowa and established residency here but I promise I am a true KANSAN at heart. Iwrestle, I would like to hear your thoughts over the phone as well. You don’t even have to tell me who you are. I have already talked to a few people today and love hearing your thoughts.

Do I think I would make a better/great coach than what they have at FHSU? YES, of course I do. That is a no brainer. Is it a possibility in the near future? No, I plan on going to graduate school at the University of Iowa for Educational Administration and training though the 2012 Olympics.

I felt compelled to start this because the bottom line is FHSU head wrestling Coach Cody Bickley HASN'T GOT THE JOB DONE with the talent he has brought in, which is to win national team/individual wrestling titles while graduating 100%. Not to mention only 13 All-Americans in 8 years!

In regards to what winning on the mat and taking care of business in the classroom can do. Well, I know that as fan, business, or corporation, I would be more willing to donate more money to a team that is making national and state headlines for winning titles and doing something special like winning back-to-back national championships. Plus, when you are on a winning team, and are a national champ/scholar athlete/ all-American. It lasts forever and it would make sense that you would want to donate more/go watch more/and give more support than lets say a non all-American or non-starter. Just look at Kearney and how many former national champs/all-Americans stick around and help out for little to no pay. Or look at how many fans are in the stands at nationals to watch there competitive team compared to how many fans Hays had this year.

As for coaching candidates, who do you think would be the best guy to replace Cody Bickley should he ever leave, or not have his contract renewed?
As for Kansas people I would think would be quality candidates: Trevor Charbonneau, Dennis Charbonneau, Bill Johnson, Mike Garcia, and Joe Renfro.

They all have Division II ties, were solid wrestlers with most winning national titles, and have experience in fundraising. I also believe someone with Kansas roots would be important.

Once again, I am going to email and call Fort Hays State Athletic Director Curtis Hammeke to express my thinking and I encourage you to do the same. His email/phone is: chammeke@fhsu.edu /phone: (785)628-4353.

Sincerely, Eric Luedke

1wrestle: Why are you responding on this forum to Mr. Luedke's comments, have you called him personally and explained your position? Would you like his #, or does the "phone call"theory not apply to you? Why are you resoponding to Cokely on this forum prior to phoning him first? I personally dont think you need to, but neither does Eric need to Call Bickley peronally to state an opinion.(Which I think the facts obviously support.) Especially when you belittle someone for stating an opinion, (which they are entitled to) in the gutless fasion or an anonymous posting.

We all wish we had wrestling at KSU, KU, Wichita State, etc.. Well, if Coach Bickley isnt filling the arena with fans at FHSU and making National Champions out of some of our finest state wrestlers, there is a problem, and it's not going to assist us in making KSU and KU heavily consider adding the sport. I've got to be honest with you, I thought Grater sold him self short going to FHSU, and highly expected to dominate early on. That hasnt happened, and I cant say from 1st hand experience, but I cant beleive the majority of the blame falls on his talent, ability, or desire....so...? Ubben...??

on the topic of the "gutless fashion" of anonymous posting. I do sign my posts because if i did, i may be written off as some kid who doesn't know what he is talking about, or who wasn't even that good of a wrestler. if you really want to know who I am you can find out, or just ask, i will be happy to let you know who i am.

it is a rule of thumb that coaches are given 5-6 years to show real results. this is to allow them time to implement their system and their recruits. (case in point, the fighting Manginos of Lawrence) given this, we should now be seeing results. FHSU has finished in the top ten 3 times since 1987, with a high of 5th. Coach Bickley has been on the doorstep of the top ten twice now, but has also finished near the middle of the pack a few times. He does have a winning record in duals and the ever impressive 100% graduation rate padding his record, but can that make up for not cracking the top ten in his tenure at FHSU?

Chime, chime, chime. 1wrestle. At the point of "if" my son "CHOOSES" to wrestle at the college level, he will be asking "what can you do for ME"!!!!! Call it selfish, call it whatever you want. But, at the college level you don't go where you can be an asset to a room. You go where there are assets already there. Are you implying to go where you can walk in and have the varsity spot without a challenge? I think they call that running from the competition. Get real.

About Mr William. If you had any clue to what he has done for this state when it comes to wrestling you would apologize to him for your dis-respectfulness. What have you done for wrestling in the state of Kansas? Did you call him before you posted on here? I think that his # is posted along with his FULL name.

I didn't want to say it but, I feel that Eric would be the best candidate. I can tell you this. A BIG name coach brings in HUGE names. HUGE names bring in the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

I do agree that there may be factors that may be holding Bickley back from doing what needs done.

I am wondering one more thing. Is Sportsfan02 your brother?

Have a great life hiding behind your mask. Those who hide are those who end up second. Second is the first looser.

The best candidate for this job, if it were to become open, is Eric Akin. He has been an assistant under Gable at Iowa and an assistant at Univeristy of Nebraska (where he trained and coached NCAA champion Jason Powell.) He has recently retired from competition and I think he would be very interested in this opportunity.

I don't have a dog in this hunt, I do know the forum rules though. Let me paste in the waiver every user must sign and agree to when becoming a member of these forums.

This is a free forum, created for the purpose of promoting Kansas wrestling, and those who wrestle, through the exchange of thoughts and suggestions, and for the recognition of the accomplishments of those involved in our sport.

There are just two basic rules that are necessary to keep in mind. First, remember that this is a family oriented forum, and is regularly viewed by young wrestlers. Second, "cheap shots" will not be tolerated. If you are going to post a message critical of an individual, group or idea, you must give your true name and/or email address. Be willing to stand behind your comments, or keep them to yourself.

Comments regarding this policy may be directed to Mike Juby at mikejuby@usawks.com.



I accept the Board Rules.

Agreed, Mr. Furches.

Nether do a lot of other!

Having "no dog in this fight", I nonetheless decided to weigh in after Cokely reminded me of 1wrestle's earlier remarks.

Keenly aware that 1wrestle would never do anything to "tarnish the freedom of speech", he professes to so cherish (as Cokely reminded me), I decided to "waste a little more oxygen", and suggest to 1wrestle that, from my vantage point, Mr. Luedke appeared to be simply exercising that "freedom of speech", which 1wrestle so cherishes.

I'd also note that by virtue of Mr. Luedke disclosing his name to his post, that he, at least, in some measure, has the courage of his convictions.

By 1wrestle's earlier remarks, it strikes me that, in 1wrestle's estimation, "freedom of speech" is only "tarnished", when someone is "moronic" enough to disagrees on a matter with the patriotic and intellectual poster known to this post as "1wrestle".

O, and by the way 1wrestle: Svo69 is not slang for moron.

Here are Cody Bickley’s career results as Head Coach at Fort Hays State University:

2000-2001 (6-7-1), Nationals- 40th-0 All-Americans
2001-2002 (6-5), Nationals-21st-1 All-American
2002-2003 (7-5-2), Nationals-24th-1 All-Americans
2003-04 (10-4), Nationals-10th-3 All-Americans
2004-05 (6-6-1), Nationals-22nd-1 All-Americans
2005-06 (9-3-1), Nationals-11th-3 All-Americans
2006-07 (7-6), Nationals-14th-3 All-Americans
2007-08 (6-6), Nationals-24th-1 All-Americans

Coach Bickley is 57-42-5 as the head wrestling coach of FHSU. With a winning percentage of 57/104=.548.
Presently, he sits in 3rd place as the most losing coach in FHSU wrestling history.

I messed up on the average team placing under Bickley earlier. Assuming they got 40th place in 2001. Under Bickley, FHSU average finish at D II Nationals is 21st place.

He has coached only 13 All-Americans in 8 years! And No NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

The RESULTS speak for themselves. Its time for change! And its time for FHSU to become dominant!

You want a Division I program in Kansas? Lets field two extremely dominant Division II programs. It will only help KANSAS with every aspect of the sport. Success starts with the coach, he is the one held accountable, and he is the one that has to persuade the Administration and boosters to give support. Guaranteed, the more successful a program is the easier it is to raise money.

Let’s quit waiting and hoping. MAKE IT HAPPEN!


Holliday Hays,
Very nice response. I am glad the wrestling atmosphere is respectable and people like you are giving their time to help. In the future, if the current coach ever steps down or doesn’t have his contract renewed, I would hope you would continue your support. That goes for everybody. I support Bickley and his wrestlers. Unfortunately I, along with many others, don’t think FHSU will reach the top with Cody Bickley at the helm.

In regards to Bickley being the most winning coach in FHSU history. His career dual winning percentage is only .548. That isn't very good at all. Especially, with the talent he has had to work with. He is also about 4 years from becoming the most losing Coach in FHSU history as he is 19 losses away from accomplishing this negative milestone.

One thing to think about is would you rather wrestle for a coach that accomplished being a national champion or a coach that never even earned all-American status? Bickely never got it done in college as a wrestler or a coach and has had 8 years to try as head coach. It’s not a “dagger” I am throwing at him as a person.

I am just stating factual results.

It is time for a change!

Maybe keep Bickley around as a teacher or Associate to the AD but he hasn't got the job done. Money and scholarships is a factor. BUT REGARDLESS, Bickley coached teams haven't performed at the end of the year. That is what matters, that is what people remember. Results at the NATIONAL TOURNAMENT are what you use as a wrestling program to sell kids on coming to FHSU. That is what you use to help raise money for the program.

Sincerely, Eric Luedke
ericlued@hotmail.com
(785) 443-3001

This will be a cowardly anonymous post with zero credibility.

I have at least 2 dogs in this fight. One, I am an alumni of FHSU and a fan of its wrestling program. Two, I know Coach Bickley and his wife, and I am proud of the way they represent my university.

In my very humble and inconsequential opinion, firing a good person is not something that should be done on a lark. Coaches tend to be treated very much like commodities and I'm sure they know that's part of the territory, but it seems a little cavalier to say that you went to a tournament and didn't like the product, so here's the number for us to call and get him fired.

Without being negative to any person, place or thing, and in as nice of way as possible, what is the motivation for this post?

We shouldn't be using this forum to go head hunting people. Especially not people like Coach Bickley.

Feel free to delete if necessary.

Windjammer

I also think Eric Akin would be an excellent choice. I don't know coach Bickley, I am sure he is a good guy but he is not getting results. He has good talent and isn't doing much with it.
Sometimes change is good, I think 8 years is long enough. If Bill Self at kansas had that kind of record would he even last 8 years?
Tom Baughman

Just be careful when you start making comments or statements.

Defamation, Libel & Slander: Overview
Defamation is a legal action sounding in tort based on an intentional or reckless public false statement that injures another person's reputation. Libel and slander are types of defamation. Generally, libel is defamation in print and slander is spoken defamation. Court cases have blurred the line between libel and slander, however. Defamation is governed by state statutes or common law. To find defamation statutes for a particular state, go to MegaLaw's state law pages and conduct a statute search.

This topic came up last night on the national news about people making statements about individuals on the internet or in writing.

Sean McCarthy

Eric,

Let me begin by saying that I don’t know you personally but I have watched you compete a number of times and even coached against you as an assistant under Joe at Labette in 2005. I have always respected both the way you took care of business on the mat and the way you carried yourself off of it. Being a proud Kansan myself, I also took a lot of pride in your accomplishments throughout your career and I will continue to do so as long as it continues. I do wish you the best with everything you choose to take on.

With that being said, I felt compelled to respond on Coach Cody Bickley’s behalf, and namely with your point that since he was not a national champion or all-american as a competitor, he could not lead a national championship caliber program. I can’t help but feel that you’re somewhat off base with this line of thinking. If you are going to make this part of your campaign then there are some things you should understand. I can tell you that Coach Bickley dealt with some major injuries that heavily factored into him coming up empty handed at the national tournament. The details of all that are irrelevant, other than that he did all he could to wrestle through them. During his career he beat numerous all-americans and was a game opponent for whoever he faced. I have no doubt Coach Bickley would’ve accomplished his goals if he could’ve stayed healthy. I know injuries are a part of the sport, but some have more unfortunate circumstances to deal with than others. For the record, this is nothing he ever spoke of to me about. That is not his way. To him that would be making excuses. For some people that maybe true, but not in this case according to those closest to him. I was told about Coach B.’s circumstances on a couple of different occasions by the likes of Bob Smith, Myron Ellegood (teammate & 2X AA and national runner-up for FHSU), Josh Gooch(teammate & 2X or 3X AA HWT for FHSU) and Ben Loggains (teammate & FHSU first DII AA, and one of the toughest people I have ever met). All 4 men would rave about what a tough SOB Cody was and how he made himself that way through his focus and preparation. Coach B. preaches that same focus and preparation to his guys. On top of this, I contest that Coach Bickley is a great teacher of the sport as well, and I feel like I’ve been around some really good ones during my career. However, I don’t want to get into all the details that others have done a good job of covering such as Chas T. and Coach G. The point that drew me in was your belief that a main contributing factor to Coach B.’s lack of success as a coach was his inability to become an all-american or national champion as a competitor.

Before I go into this, I realize that wrestling is different than a lot of sports, and as wrestlers we take pride in the individual aspect of what we do, and that does separate us some, but at the end of the day, it’s about teaching your sport, motivating, and getting the most out of your athletes. And yes sometimes I’m sure athletes take comfort in knowing that their coach has achieved some of the goals they are seeking to, but by no means do I think it is a prerequisite for coaching success in any sport on any level. For example, I don’t think Roy Williams saw too much floor time while playing under Dean Smith, and I’m fairly sure Mike Shanahan never sniffed the NFL as a player, nor did Mark Mangino, Mike Leach, Charlie Weis, or Dennis Franchione ever even played college football. If we need to focus on individual sports more then we can look at mixed martial arts, which has a lot of wrestling ties… Greg Jackson a renowned trainer of MMA has trained 10 MMA world champions, but never even competed at that level himself, or how about Juanito Ibarra who now trains Rampage Jackson, Michael Bisping, and has co-trained Oscar De La Hoya, but also never even fought as a pro and how about boxing the sport of boxing? Freddy Roach who has trained a number of world champions including Oscar and Manny Pacquio, or how about Lou Duva (trained Evander Holeyfield & Pernell Whitaker), both of these men where scrappy but only average to slightly above average in their own careers. Lastly, here are a few examples of wrestling coaches who have had a high level of success without being highly decorated. Mark Leen comes to mind formerly of GCCC and U of Tenn. Chat.(to my knowledge never wrestled competitively in college), Mike Machholz of Missouri Valley has had great success, but I’m not aware of him wrestling at all in college. We could also mention Kevin Klemm, since Aikin’s name has come up on some posts, another phenomenal coach who to my knowledge never was an all-american. Lastly, how about an example that fits right into this DII wrestling discussion, how about Mike Denney. I’m fairly certain he never attained the accolades you’re seeking in a head coach for FHSU and I’m not knocking Coach Denney at all, he is a great man and coach. No one can argue with the results of his program, but I think it helps make my point.

Is being a national champion or all-american an important credential to have as a head coach of a college wrestling program? Sure I guess it could be. Is it the end all, be all of determining who is fit to coach at an elite level and who isn’t? No way. I don’t know Coach Zalesky or anything about his coaching methods, but I do believe he was a 3X national champion at Iowa, and for whatever reason he is no longer the coach there. I know I could make you a list of others as well, but I don’t feel right doing that. My point is that being highly decorated is not a guarantee for success either. Now with that being said, no body wants to be lead by some slug who has never been through the rigors of a college wrestling career. The mental and physical drain that can take its toll throughout a season are things that can be tough to explain to someone who has never had to deal with them, but if you’ve been through it and overcome such things yourself you can better help your athletes do the same. Coach Bickley is battle tested on the mat. His lack of never getting to the podium should not be a factor here, or at least not to me. You can throw out every other stat you like and crunch the numbers however you want, that is your right no doubt. My agenda with this post isn’t to tell you that you’re flat out wrong for what you have posted or what you are trying to do. Although, I do think both Chas and Coach G. along with a few others have made a strong case against your stance.

I think your interest in Kansas wrestling should be commended, and I know it is appreciated by many. Do I think this is the right way to go about showing your concern and support, not really, however again it is your choice. I just ask that if you feel you must continue to pursue this cause that you make Coach Bickley’s lack of all-american credentials less of a focal point.

Again, I do wish you the best in all of your future endeavors, but not with this, at least not in this manner. I will send my email to Hammeke, but it will not be to call for a man’s job. It will be to support my former coach and current head coach of the Fort Hays State University Tiger Wrestling Program, Cody Bickley!

Wrestling
Eight Individuals Represent Fort Hays State On NWCA All-Academic Wrestling Team
March 17, 2008
The National Wrestling Coaches Association released its Division II All-Academic Wrestling Team for the 2007-08 season. Eight individuals from Fort Hays State received the honors out of 133 student athletes selected from 35 universities and colleges. Fort Hays State ranked third in team GPA (3.243), behind Truman State (3.394) and Nebraska-Kearney (3.334). Truman State has now won the Academic National Championship as a team the past two years.
Receiving first team honors for Fort Hays State was Danny Grater. Grater is a sophomore majoring in Technology Studies with a 3.43 GPA.
Receiving second team honors for FHSU were Shawn Kuhlman and Blake Malloy. Kuhlman is a sophomore majoring in Health & Human Performance with a 3.77 GPA. Malloy is a junior majoring in Health & Human Performance with a 3.26 GPA.
Receiving honorable mention honors were Cody Gillespie, Dylan Loyd, Dustin Martin, Kyle Patton and Josh Peterson. Gillespie is a freshman majoring in Agriculture with a 3.79 GPA. Loyd is a freshman majoring in Health & Human Peformance with a 3.21 GPA. Martin is a senior majoring in Health & Human Performance with a 3.14 GPA. Patton is a senior majoring in Health & Human Performance with a 3.22 GPA. Peterson is a sophomore majoring in Mathematics with a 3.24 GPA.
Student athletes nominated for the Division II All-Academic Team must have a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA on a 4.00 scale. They must also be in at least his second full year at their school, be a varsity member on his team or a key reserve, demonstrate a degree of skill and have a minimum of two letters of recommendation submitted on their behalf.

Source: Fort Hays State Web Site

First of all, I am proud to say I am a FHSU wrestling parent. I have tried not to post - but think it's time!! I could write a lot more but if someone wants to visit with me about my thoughts, I'd love to have you listen. This is not the place to run Coach Bickley into the ground!!

People - maybe it's time to realize there are other issues more important in life than winning a National Championship or Title!!!! We learned the hard way about that and I hope other DO NOT have to realize it the way Danny, Gavin, and I did!!!!!

Some reasons Danny choose FHSU - Coach Bickley and the staff was 100% upfront with him on the recruting trip, HONESTY, gave us his entire attention, the "team atmosphere", a Kansas Team, and there wasn't going to be any surprises throughout the recruiting period. That meant a lot to Danny and us!! I CANNOT say that for other colleges. It also helped that they have a great job placement %% and an excellent career field and teachers for his education.

Danny is going to FHSU for an EDUCATION (a high priority) and doing well if you read that he was selected to the NWCA 1st Academic team and to wrestle. I doubt wrestling nor a national title will not increase his starting pay when he is done with college. Yes, he is trying to work hard for a National Title and I know his team members would also love to win one, as well as a National Championship for FHSU!! He also knows and will tell you, he needs to work harder at this level BUT he does have other committments due to the death of his father too (taking over family farm, adult figure to Gavin, Mom's support man)

I feel it would be best if you would take the time to talk to the FHSU wrestlers - I would welcome Eric to give Danny a call (I know you had his # and have his email)!!! Others, he will be a Districts this weekend and Kids State if anyone wants to visit with him.

My opinion, I totally support Coach Bickley in his coaching efforts and goals!!! He is making my son into an individual that I can say that I am very proud of with or without the National Title!!

You won't find a better bunch of wrestlers than at FHSU. I'm proud when one of them hollar "Momma G, Momma Grater, or Leanna" -- It's truly the wrestling family that I know and love.


Leanna Grater

Leanna,

Well said and Thank You.

Joel,

Thank you also.

i think that should end this topic