It's unfortunate that you have had those kinds of experiences with college wrestling (or athletics in general). What's really too bad (for this area) is the fact that there aren't more D-III programs around, or at least more exposure to them.

Division I and Division II wrestling are big business and they always have been. And if that story about the wrestler getting in trouble for not dropping a class is true, that's unfortunate as well (although I will tell you Dan Gable once got in trouble with the University of Iowa for exactly the same thing and it no longer happens there).

D-III is still the purest form of college athletics; you are a student before you are an athlete, and if you can't keep your grades up, you aren't an athlete anymore.

As an Iowa native, I was surrounded by some of the top Division III programs in the area like Wartburg, Upper Iowa, Simpson, Cornell and others. In all, (if I've counted right) there are over a dozen Division III schools in Iowa, always hungry for top-notch wrestlers who want a chance to compete at the college level, while getting a QUALITY education.

No, these places can be expensive and don't give athletic scholarships, but they have generous aid packages and are looking for quality student athletes; like the kind we have right here in Kansas.