Here is this years Nebraska Schedule:
Thursday: Weigh-in Class A & D 8am
Class B & C 2:30pm
1st session
1st round - 10 mats A & D 9:30am
Qtrs - 10 mats A & D Follows 1st round
2nd session
1st round - 10 Mats B & C 4pm
Qtrs -10 mats B & C follows 1st round
Friday: Weigh-in Class A & D 8am
Class B & C 11am
3rd Session
1st rd Cons - 10 mats A & D 9:30am
2nd rd Cons - 10 mats A & D Follows 1st rd cons.
4th Session
1st rd Cons - 10 Mats B & C 12:30pm
2nd rd Cons - 10 Mats B & C Follows 1st rd cons.
5th Session
Semifinal and 3rd round Cons 8 mats 5pm
Saturday: Weigh-ins All Classes 8am
6th Session
Cons Semis 8 mats all classes 9:30am
3rd & 5th place matches all classes 8 mats
Finals all classes 4 Mats 3pm

John Ostrom

That will never work. If it's 1 venue, then everyone has same rules. Not fair, for one group to hold weight, while another gets to eat.
Imop, there are only 2 places that can hold ALL CLASSES, in one place and that is, Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita. Or, Sprint Center, Kansas City.
Now, look at PRICES, to pay each, to hold it.
That's why, Kansas goes, where we go.

It will NEVER happen.

For 5A/6A, Hartman is way cheaper, than Intrust, and they are WAY MORE LEINIANT THAN INTRUST, would ever be.

Too bad the Kansas Coliseum is out of the picture.. It would have fit all classes. The environment there was something like I haven't seen in years when it was 4,5, and 6A.

When we had state at Intrust in 2010 right after it opened it was AWESOME. However, the prices were outrageous, you are correct.

The Sprint Center would be nuts.

Should at least try to keep it in Kansas.

Maybe if it was at Bramlage at Kansas State University, that would help to get wrestling back in the DI ranks in Kansas!! Bramlage could easily handle the people just like Mizzou Arena does if it is done in the same format...such as 321A and 4A early and 5/6A later in the day and as the participants dwindle then it goes to all classes...I wrestled at State in Hays when I was in high school and I graduated from FHSU...I have alot of love for Hays but after coaching my son in the Missouri State Tournament, I have to agree with Travis on this one!! One venue...one tournament...shoot maybe Kansas and Missouri could end up having Grand State again!!

Just my $0.02!!

KSHSAA will not bring back Grand state. They are going to keep it separated like this because it is a money maker for them that way

Isn't the Sprint Center on the Missouri side?

Lets not confuse terms. "Grand State" is not having all classes of tournaments in one venue, but having the top two, three or four placers of each classification come together in a tournament. THAT would be great.

In regards to a single venue. . .I have seen a real downturn in the past 3, 4 years in how the tournament in Hays is run. Those in charge there just don't seem to care whether they do a good job or not; attitude is more "let's get this over with." I would be in favor of a central venue but there are no facilities IN Kansas that are big enough (floor space for mats, parking, seating, ancillary space for operations) to accommodate it. Alternate scheduling at a same site; Wed-Thu & Fri-Sat or some such, would need to be looked at.

This happened at 5A and 6A this year.

RULE #1 of running a State Tournament

Please do not roll up mats while place medal matches are still going on.

Take longer break if they were worried about the 45 minute limit in between matches.

Thank you and sorry. Other than that great work.

Sean McCarthy

Oh I am not confusing what Grand State is...I know what it is I was just saying it would be great to bring it back...in all states!!

Like I said if Kansas would run the tournament like Missouri does with 2 classes going in the morning and 2 classes in the afternoon for day 1 and 2 then all classes for the last day then there are plenty of venues that can hold the event.

Mizzou Arena has a capacity around 15k and Bramlage is around 13k...by no means is Mizzou Arena completely packed during the first couple days...there are more people there for the finals than the rest of the tournament!

Seating capacity is not the issue. Parking and floor space for mats is.

Expocentre is the only place that could hold it in Kansas i think. You can put down 8 mats and have close to enough parking.

From the standpoint of parking space and floor space I agree. Also,the Expo-Center has adequate attached space for weigh-in and check-in activities. Topeka is also located such that many could go home for the night which would lower the pressure for motel rooms in or close to Topeka. Also, there are communities of size within easy driving distance (Manhattan and Lawrence) for additional motel space.

A split schedule as used in Missouri might work in this venue.

The United wireless center in Dodge City would be able to handle mats and parking. The drawback is the location, it would be quite the drive for a good number of schools.

United Wireless would hold the mats, but not sure about seating. If I remember correctly they hold less that 6,000 people.

I agree with Mr.Mann 321A in Hays used to be an awesome and electric event. Used to be elbow to elbow seating for the finals, and was so loud you could here the crowd outside. Not close to that anymore. Not sure if it just lack of interest, or some just following on Track now or what the problem is. But it is disappointing. As Mr. Mann also stated the tournament does not seem to be run as smoothly as before. And appears to be annoying to the workers, and this year some of the table workers were pretty bad. (take their cell phones away so they pay attention to the match).

One venue would be cool, but honestly don't see it happening anytime soon. 3 venues for KSSHAA to milk close to $50 a person for 2 days at each is too inticing for them.

$50 a person for 3 days would be more enticing I would think. One building to rent rather than three..... seems like KSHSAA is leaving money on the table.
There are a ton of match's in 321a and 5a & 6a that would justify the extra day's expenses for me.

L. Geyer, you saw the issues in Hays that I saw. Whoever was on the clock Friday night on table 3 needed to be relieved, at least after the 4th or 5th screw up!

3-2-1A in Hays was a ROCKING packed place in the 80's and 90's when the old-school powers were the main players: esp. those years that Sainty, Oberlin, Hoxie, Sainty, Atwood,Noton (Leoti slipped in there too!) etc. were cranking out qualifiers and strong teams. Those towns showed up!

Remember the pre-final cheer when all of the cheerleaders fro the old NWKL schools ringed the floor and led the chant: "Up, Up, On Your Feet, North West Kansas Can't Be Beat!" At that time IT WAS NW Kansas vs. the State. Now, 3-2-1A is the rest of the State chasing Norton.

It is first and foremost a population thing. Most of the traditional NW Kansas powers are now small 2A or 1A schools. They simply do not have the numbers needed to field full or close to full teams. This reduces their number of qualifiers and therefore the number of fans attending. This also leads to those schools losing the grip on their wrestling tradition; it is no longer a living tradition but is becoming dusty, museum quality history.

My best reason for leaving the 3-2-1A in Hays was the amazing wrestling experience it gave the participants. Unfortunately that is no longer the case there. I think it is time for a change; if nothing else to send 3-2-1A to Dodge City and maybe a host that really wants to host it.

Another issue that would need to be addressed if we went to one venue. . . You know how big of a pain in the a** it is now getting wrestlers checked in, weighed in (esp at Hartman Arena) and fed at one-class sites? Can you imagine all 4 at ONE venue?

It would (should) require that whoever is in charge of the venue be a lot more user friendly than is now the case. Having adequate adjacent ancillary spaces available for check-in/weigh-in would be critical. . .(or not, I guess; Hartman makes kids stand outside in the cold waiting to weigh-in/check-in).

Kind of off-topic, but why can't satellite weigh-in/check-in locations be established for the Friday morning weigh-ins?

bottom line is this. it takes a lot of work to get everything set up and working to make this happen. kshsaa is not ever going to put work into wrestling. i would love to see it happen and do think it would make money. the grand state would make money but it takes work. thats the problem kshsaa is lazy and wont ever let it happen until that board is full of people who care about wrestling.

And that is the issue Bockman. "The Board" will NEVER be full of people who care about wrestling; that is not the purpose of "the Board." The Board is full of people who care about ALL student activities, period. Therefore, the focus on specific issues of specific activities gets diffused.

IMO,each sport/activity needs a standing advisory committee made up of people who DO care passionately about a specific sport or activity and who are actively involved in them. They would meet on a regular and scheduled basis, 3 to 4 times per year, with the KSHSAA executive in charge of the sport or activity. Issues such as why FHSU doesn't want to host the state tournament could be discussed and recommendations advanced for consideration. With the coming change in leadership of the KSHSAA there is an opportunity for some changes to be made.

At the time of the big broo-ha-ha over the descent plan the KSHSAA formed an advisory group and it met regularly for most of 2 years. Agree or disagree with the work that was done, the changes came from a group that was "in the field" and did not "toe the party line." The group even got into advising Mr. Bowden on areas not connected with weight loss. . .it was quietly disbanded, but I don't think it was Mr. Bowden who wanted it gone. It was exactly the kind of group that is needed to be formed and in place in order to advance some new ideas.

In my opinion, one venue so needs to happen in not only wrestling but most other KSHSAA sports also. My soapbox speech here: Think of the ridiculiousness of EVERY football state championship on the same day, at the same time, at 6 different locations, AND recently at the SAME time as the KSU-KU football game. This is embarrassing! Also, in my opinion for basketball. Play your first round games where you do now, then bring all semifinalist teams to Allen Field House. I'm a Kstate guy, but come on, what kid wouldn't want to play at that place.

As for wrestling - I also agree wholeheartely that Kansas needs one venue for it's 4 different state wrestling tournaments. I have been at the 4A tournament for several years, this year I was in Wichita on Friday and Hays on Saturday. First off, from a fan standpoint - Kansas had so many great kids to watch this year and KSHSAA forces a fan to pick only one venue. This is poor.
Secondly, the crowds were dismal at Hays and Wichita. I can't speak for Salina this year, but the past few years were even worse than that.
Thirdly, Bob Phillips and I ran some numbers with Rick Bowden several years ago and I honestly think KSHSAA loses money with 3 different sites. You could cut down on tons of expenses, the number of referees, hotel comp rooms, etc, etc, etc.

If enough people or coaches agree, where to have it becomes the only question. You would need a third day and a venue to lay down 8 mats. You do not need 10 mats. You would have to wrestle a different schedule as you do now. But, all of that is worth it. Like some of the people mentioned above, the Expo seems to be the most logical. No way Hays, Salina, or Hartman arena could handle it for sure. Get this done Coaches and Admin!