Oregonian Ponders Future Of Pacific Football, Wrestling

These days you have to have a one-legged softball player or a headless basketball player for your small college to be covered in The Oregonian, Portland’s daily newspaper. But over the last week, The O has featured Pacific on its page twice to address a potential future sport and the health of another.

Monday’s issue (Jan. 26) addressed Pacific’s plans to bring back football after a 17-year absence. Pacific’s plans have picked up considerable more press after Division II Western Washington announced plans to eliminate their football 98 years. WWU officials cited budgetary concerns in the program’s demise.

Pacific Director of Athletics Ken Schumann, however, told The O’s Ken Goe that returning football to Forest Grove would help the University’s bottom line, noting the value of bringing 60-80 new student-athletes into a tuition-driven institution. He also cited the fact that since 2000, 47 non-Division I schools have reinstated or started new football programs.
“(Other programs) are using football to grow their enrollment,” Schumann said. “Division II is different than Division I, because we’re non-scholarship, and the athletes tend to be real student-athletes, fully integrated into the fabric on institution.”

Pacific is in the process of raising $1.5 million to find the start-up costs of the program. Schumann said that a decision on the program will be made “in the next several months to a year.”

Meanwhile, The O’s Jeff Smith took up the issue of dwindling collegiate opportunities for wrestlers in Oregon who wish to continue to the collegiate level. In their Jan. 22 Prep Thursday feature, Smith talked with high school coaches and athletes who are frustrated with the continual number of schools dropping wrestling programs in the state.

With the elimination of the Division I program at Oregon last spring, only six colleges in Oregon, offer wrestling. Pacific is one of four four-years in the whole Northwest to offer it, joining Oregon State, Portland State and Southern Oregon.

The article quoted a couple of former Pacific wrestlers who are among a vast network of Boxer alums coaching high school programs across Oregon. Trent Kroll wrestled for Pacific from 1988 to 1992 and coaches the team at Hood River Valley High School. He sees the demise of the sport collegiately as a warning for the health of the sport at the high school level.

”I think that if we don’t have college wrestling, we are going to see a decline in the next 20 years in the high school level because we won’t have enough qualified educators. It’s kind of scary right now.”

Former Pacific All-American Rick Herrin (1981-83), who coaches the program at Salem’s McKay High School, believes it is important for supporters of the sport to continue grassroots efforts into keeping kids involved in wrestling.

I think that the people that are in wrestling now are going to be seen as pioneers that are taking it to a better place. We’re going to win out in the end. It’s like being behind in a match and coming back and winning.”

One can hope that Kroll, Herrin and other Pacific alums will do their part to try and help keep Pacific’s program vibrant, sending their best and brightest to continue a tradition of excellence that they have helped build over the last 55 years.