Westfahl, I have to — at least partially — disagree. Football does have to shoulder some of the blame for what has happened to non-revenue men's sports.
Why does a Division I college football team need as many people on full-rides as they have? Why do they need that many assistant coaches? Why do many of them have to spend the night before home games in some fancy hotel? Why? Because they can get away with it. Everyone's afraid of football.
Who cares if the fourth-team right tackle is going to school for free? How many of those 80-100 scholarship players are EVER going to see the field?
At the current time, the University of Northern Iowa splits 10 full scholarships among the 31 wrestlers on the team. I believe the University of Iowa has 12 to 15 for 35 kids. The seniors and top kids earn what full rides are given while the others split money between them — sometimes getting only books and fees one semester.
Coach, I will grant you that Title IX has hurt wrestling a great deal; there is no question about that. But to give football a free pass is wrong — they can afford to share a little of the wealth when it comes to scholarships.