The best thing we as fans can do is ATTEND home matches! We have a responsibility to see that this program has every chance to succeed. So, we must go from an all day kids or high school event to attend a home dual at Newman that evening. We may have our club miss one Saturday kids tournament to attend a Newman match as a team. We must attend weekday home matches even if it means canceling a practice. In other words we all must now put our time and money where our mouths have been all these years!

Excellent post for your 300th sportsfan02. I couldn't agree more...Support our teams! College programs aren't set in stone, we must attend matches like crazy and maybe other schools will follow suit.

Looks like Newman has taken the time to set this up correctly and will do all neccesary to make it as successfull as possible. Definitely cant do worse then the last attempt to add college wrestling in Kansas. St. Mary of the Plains got off to a good start but do major financial probs(enoegh for the entire school to go under) the wrestling program lasted one season. Lets hope the only thing these two schools have in common is being tied to the Catholic church. They have been considering wrestling for some time. Great to see them get it pulled off. If all goes well this could get other schools in the KCAC to look into it and enoegh to get Baker over the fence...Would be almost better if they go NAIA next year, much easier to qualify for Nationals then in Div II. Need to get some early success to help the program going.

I think they will be fine in D2 depending on what regional they get thrown into.

The Wrestling Mall - Newman (Kansas) University to Add Wrestling Program

Newman (Kansas) University to Add Wrestling Program

3/22/2004 9:45:00 PM

From Newman Sports Information

Wichita, Kan. - Newman University President Dr. Aidan O. Dunleavy announced today that the university would launch an intercollegiate wrestling program for the 2004-2005 academic year. In preparation, the university has hired Newman graduate and current Bishop Carroll Catholic High School wrestling coach Mark Stovall as head wrestling coach.

Newman officials said launching the program would fill a void in collegiate wrestling programs in Kansas.

“This is about providing opportunities for students who want a quality education and who want to wrestle at the collegiate level,” said Newman Athletics Director Curtis Hammeke. “We want to provide students the chance to do both.”

Hammeke noted that while more than 600 high school athletes compete in the Kansas State Wrestling Championships each year, those interested in wrestling at the college level have limited options in Kansas.

The only four-year university in the state that now offers wrestling is Fort Hays State University, a member of the NCAA. Three Kansas community colleges - in Colby, Labette and Neosho - also compete in wrestling as members of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

Newman is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC). Earlier this academic year the university announced it was formerly exploring a move to NCAA Division II athletics.

“Newman is definitely filling a need with this new program,” said Stovall. “The Wichita metro area alone is a hotbed for wrestling, and there are great high school wrestlers across Kansas that we are now losing to colleges in surrounding states that have wrestling programs. This is an exciting opportunity and I am delighted to be joining Newman.”

With the addition of the wrestling program in fall 2004, Newman will offer 17 varsity sports, plus programs in dance and cheer. The university currently fields men’s and women’s teams in basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and volleyball, as well as men’s baseball and women’s softball.

“The continued growth of Newman’s athletics programs, as well as its overall student body, is a true benefit to Wichita and South Central Kansas,” said Rick Nuckolls, chair of the Newman Advisory Board. “This is a great time to be associated with the university.”

Hammeke said that Newman is, “very fortunate to have a coach of Mark Stovall’s ability and character to lead this program.” Stovall is a 1997 graduate of Newman, where he earned a degree in education. He worked as a non-paid assistant wrestling coach in Caprock High School in Amarillo, Texas, in 1989, and as assistant wrestling coach at Ponca City High School, Ponca City, Okla., from 1994 to 1996. After serving as assistant wrestling coach at North High School in Wichita for a year, he moved to Bishop Carroll, where he has served as head wrestling coach from 1998 to the present.

Under his stewardship Bishop Carroll teams captured the Greater Wichita Athletic League title the past three years, won the 5A regional title the past three years, and finished in the top five at the 5A state tournament each of the past four years, including winning the 2001-2002 state championship. Stovall has been named the Greater Wichita Athletic League Coach of the Year three times, and has helped coach Kansas wrestlers at the High School Nationals since 2001. He is a member of the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association board of directors.

To qualify for NAIA membership, a collegiate wrestling program must have 10 weight classes, with at least one wrestler in each class. Stovall said he hopes to have more.

“The ideal number for me would be 25,” Stovall said. “That gives you backup for each weight class and room to develop and move wrestlers among different weight classes.” Stovall said he will immediately begin recruiting students to the Newman program for the 2004-2005 season, which runs from November to mid-February.

Stovall and his wife, Christina, who is assistant vice president at Commercial Federal Bank, reside in Wichita. The Stovalls have a son, Kent, 5 months, and are members of St. Francis of Assisi Parish.

Newman University is a private, Catholic regional and international liberal arts university focused on education for life. Offering more than 40 undergraduate and four graduate programs, Newman University features small classes with personalized instruction. The university meets the needs of traditional freshmen, as well as returning adults who take advantage of convenient evening and Saturday class formats.