The NCAA seems to be more about money than opportunity.  I'm well aware that opportunity comes from money but I feel that the business model is broken.  There is waste is some sports and dire need in others. If it is about opportunity then change needs to happen.

---

I was talking to a good friend of mine who is a Division I head coach.  He is close to getting his Masters degree in Sport Management.  I often wonder what people learn in those types of courses and how it might apply to their day-to-day work as a coach or administrator.  He and I talked about some of the high level classes he has taken and the theory he learned. It turns out that, similar to the MBA's lack of preparation of an entrepreneur, much of what he learned does not help him become the CEO of his entrepreneurial, small-business-like athletics enterprise. This leads me to consider how poorly prepared most coaches are for the entrepreneurship of becoming a head coach and truly developing their program for success. While we might think that we can teach a single leg takedown, 4-3 defense, or breast stroke technique better than the head coach, many assistants are not prepared to be the head coach.  The head coach does much more than simply teach technique... he must be prepared to communicate with the media, direct recruiting (college), woo donors (yes, high school coach, that means you too) and shoulder criticism.

The book The E-Myth Revisited should be required reading for any aspiring head coach.  The E-Myth stands for Entrepreneurial Myth.  Just because you can swing a hammer doesn't mean you can become a contractor.  Just because you can build a software program doesn't mean you can run a software company.  It is not that simple.  Neither is coaching.  This is what I call the C-Myth.

Mike Novogratz, Al Bevilacqua and Co. pulled off a wrestling event the likes of which have never happened before. They are both  action-oriented, "get things done" people to whom the wrestling community owes a debt of gratitude.  The Beat the Streets Gala was a truly unbelievable event.  Riot Sports Marketing supported their efforts to reach the wrestling community, grow attendance and raise money.  Here is what Al Bevilacqua had to say...

"I am convinced and I think our Board is convinced that Riot Sports Marketing allowed us in our most recent Gala & Benefit to double our attendance and total donations.  Last year we had a little over 450 people attend where we raised $450,000.

As of now, as donations are still "trickling in" where we have raised over $900,000 with over 1000 people on the Intrepid.

If we can move a few new cities to become successful it will be provide the validity nationwide that we can reverse the downward curve of participation that wrestling is experiencing in its High Schools and Colleges."

Sincerely,
Al Bevilacqua
A USA Wrestling member since 1971…."

Create a following.  Start a Riot!   www.riotsportsmarketing.com

No one talks about a boring organization- whether it is a team, school, non-profit or business.  What are people saying about your organization? 

• Are you breaking the mold? 
• Are you making noise? 
• Are you applying thinking that is different than status quo?
• What can you do to make an uninterested onlooker stop?
• Is it possible that no one outside of your organization knows about your mission?
• Is it possible that no one outside of your organization knows cares?
• How can you make something worth looking at happen today?
• And what about tomorrow?
• Can you outsource this?
• Have you tried?

If you're scrambling to meet deadlines, running your organization by the seat-of-your-pants, getting work done between distractions and continually getting further behind then STOP!  What exactly is on your to-do list?  What is it that only you can do?  What on that list can be handed off to someone else?  Or maybe dismissed altogether?  
If you fit the above description then you owe it to the others that depend upon your leadership to do better.  It is likely that your mandate is to strengthen and/or grow your organization. If that is the case then you can do it better by evaluating what you are doing right now and (as David Allen author of Getting Things Done would say) doing it, delegating it or discarding it.    

Everyone wants a website.  "You need a website," everyone says.  "If you don't have a website," everyone says, "you're non-existent."

"Everyone" is wrong. 

Websites are cumbersome.  Even the simplest website is technically intimidating not to mention time consuming to maintain.  Consider the fact that if I don't set aside time to come to see it then I'll never know what is on it!  If you don't have a website already, spare yourself the headache. 

The widely used but oft misused Facebook Fan Page is the solution for the organization with limited resources (both time and human):

• They have more functionality than any traditional website (add photos, video, events, schedule, online donation button, discussion forum etc).
• They are free and anyone with minimal technical know-how can maintain one. 
• Anyone (even the aforementioned "everyone") can view it with or without a Facebook account
• Get a custom domain name (www.your-organization.com) for it

Post an update on a traditional site and, like the proverbial tree in the woods, you can wonder if it actually makes a noise.  Post it on your Facebook Fan Page and all of your fans will see it, can share it and comment on it.

Make life easier.  Ignore everyone.

Subscribe to Pa Wresting Newsletter at: www.gobanana.com/pwn/

Half-Nelson Report

By Joe Baranik

Thoughts from Omaha:  Once again, if you haven’t experienced the 3-day Div. I NCAA Wrestling Championships, make plans to attend next year in Pennsylvania Proud Philadelphia at the Wachovia Center.  It really is one of the premiere events in sports.

     The Quest Center in Omaha is one of the nicest arenas I have ever been in.  It had an indoor walk-way over the street below connecting the Hilton Hotel where the WIN Memorabilia Show took place and access to the arena.  It also had a huge convention center connecting the building which was great for the NCAA Fan Fest.  And what a treat for the fans?  They had the NCAA team trophy on display, physical activities for the kids such as combatant fights with pads to use, basketball shooting contests and a football throwing and kicking contest.  The Big 10 and Big 12 had a freestyle match using post-grads from those schools competing for the U.S.A. World Team which drew a packed audience of over 3,000 fans.  Free posters were given out for autograph sessions each day to help the young folk get to know the past great collegiate wrestlers.  Such college superstars were there including 3x NCAA champions Gray Simons, Ed Banach and Barry Davis along with NCAA champions Jim and Bill Sheer and Olympians John Peterson, Nate Carr and Bruce Baumgartner.

     The wrestling action is unbelievable.  The intensity, scrambles, the flexibility used to defend takedowns such as full splits, the “funks” and “re-funks” must drive officials crazy.  And the emotion from the coaches, parents and fans is extraordinary.  I must give credit to the Iowa Hawkeyes; they wrestle the full 420 seconds!  At least five of their opponents let up thinking they had the win in the books, but the Iowa dynamos just keep on coming like warriors.

     The greatest moment for me and probably most spectators was the comeback by Jayson Ness (133) of Minnesota in the finals as he was down 4-1 with less than 30 seconds in the match.  He proceeded to gain an escape, maneuver for a takedown with 10 seconds remaining and hold Daniel Dennis of Iowa on his back for the 2 second count he needed before time expired to win 6-4.  Another thrilling moment was watching Kyle Dake of Cornell become a national champion as a rare true freshman.  After his win, he ran to the edge of steps of the platform and when he saw the TV crew trying to stop him for an interview, he jumped off the platform to avoid them and ran to the stands and jumped up into his dad’s waiting arms for an emotional embrace.  His father showed great strength in lifting his son up in midair!  I hope the people watching at home saw that exciting moment.

     Newspaper coverage of the event was good as the Omaha World-Herald dispatched 5 writers to cover the 3 days of grappling that included half-page colored photos.  The crowds were great for all 6 sessions with few seats available and hundreds of people outside were jockeying for tickets.  Next year looks to be an even harder ticket since Philadelphia is in such a large metropolitan region.  When you look at the population base and the popularity of the sport in New York, New Jersey, the Washington DC area and of course Pennsylvania, a new attendance record for the NCAA Wrestling Championships is a great possibility.  An added bonus is the fact that this region encompasses the largest media market in the world.  It will make it convenient for TV outlets, newspapers and hopefully radio stations to access information and feed it out to the public.  Maybe USA Today Newspaper will jump on the bandwagon.  That paper has done a dismal job the last few years of covering the tournament.  And once again, ESPN did a fabulous job of covering the quarter-finals, semis and finals live!!  Go ESPN, You Rock!

     The celebrities at the championships included actor Billy Baldwin, who was there to cheer on his alma mater Binghamton University where he wrestled.  Baldwin was very accessible to the fans.  Also, NFL lineman and World champion Stephen Neal was on hand to root on Cal-St. Bakersfield where he was an NCAA champion.  Neal has 3 Super Bowl rings as a member of the New England Patriots-not bad for a guy who never played football in college.  Bakersfield wore black singlets to protest their school’s decision to drop wrestling because of state budgetary issues.  Neal said he is trying to get the program saved and has a meeting with the school president in the coming weeks.  Both Neal and Baldwin served as honorary coaches for the Big 12 vs. Big 10 Freestyle match.  Another celeb in the stands was Robin Ficker, the famous heckler of pro basketball who now devotes all his fan spirit to the Maryland wrestlers where his son was a member of the team.  Ficker is a lawyer and former representative in the Maryland House of Delegates.  He attended all of the Terrapin’s home matches as well as a dual at Virginia and the ACC Tournament.  He gives all the wrestlers nicknames and is very creative with his chants.  As Max Olson reported in the Omaha World-Herald, he especially supports Hudson (Taylor) River.  “Girls run and hide.  Brave men shiver.  Get ready, here comes the Hudson River.” 

     Another interesting celebrity fan was in disguise.  The Big Red of Cornell had a person dressed up in a full-body, red spandex outfit with a white singlet over top, a headgear, and sunglasses with white rims.  This wild fan got the large section of Cornell faithful all fired up by leading the cheers for Dake and Mark Lewnes in the finals.

     I found it fascinating that Brent Metcalf (149), champ for Iowa and Chase Pami of Cal Poly, who was a runner-up at 157, both played football in high school.  I also discovered that Jermail Porter, who placed 6^th last year for Kent State, now is a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.  Remarkably, he never played football in his life!  The 6’6”, 340 lb. tackle is not a starter, but stay tuned.

  A great quote from Binghamton’s first semi-finalist, Justin Lister (157) a sophomore, “Believing is the hard part; you can’t do anything until you believe in yourself.”  I saw a fitting quote on a shirt worn by an Iowa fan.  It read “Show up-Dominate-Go Home.” 

     Finally, I ran into my college coach while at LHU, Neil Turner, wrestling ambassador, who runs the Mat-Town USA Wrestling Club in Lock Haven, PA “Where the Mats are Always Down” and he is the director of the high school division of the NWCA.  Coach Turner wants to see wrestling get so big that they have to bring the wood in to put down over the wrestling mats to play basketball!

   

     I will defer Lesson #2 on the Extraordinary Success of Former “Wrestlers” from A to Z for my November column.  Until then, keep your grades up, your weight down and be like Jayson Ness - Go 4 the PIN!

I'm not talking about selling cookies or coupon books.  I'm talking about raising real cash to make real progress.

1. Get emotional: The frustrating part about raising money is that logic doesn't work.  Appeal to donors' emotional side and they'll open their wallets.
2. Say Thank you: If you want them back and to donate more next time, you had better say thank you.
3. Communicate: Make it easy for your donor base to receive communication from you.  Let them know the human interest stories from within your program.
4.  Build personal relationships:  In addition to #3, contact large donors and prospects personally to build the relationship.
5. Immortalize donors: Put their name on a brick, a locker, a plaque or just your website. 
6. Get over it and make the ask:  You heard me.

Here we go again with the band-aid solution. 

Step 1: Program gets cut
Step 2: Raise mountains of cash
Step 3: Pray for reinstatement

This temporary solution lasts only as long as it takes for the administration to find another way to cut the program or until the cash runs out.  It is unfortunately a necessary short-term solution but it fails to address the real problem.  It has happened before, it's happening now and will happen again.  How do you make your program relevant?  To be relevant you have to have to have:

1. media that cares
2. fans who care
3. student-body who cares
4. donors who give

In addition to a coaching staff, warm-ups and shoes, every program should have a Facebook Fan Page, an email newsletter, an annual fundraising campaign and a PR campaign. 

In business it is said that it costs seven times more to get a new customer than to retain a current one.  It is the same in athletics.

Break the cycle.

For Immediate Release

Jim Harshaw
Riot Sports Marketing

Top 3 Ways to Market Your Program and Raise More Money

Tues, April 13 at 7 PM EST

Charlottesville, VA – 3/26/10 - With budgets being slashed and programs being cut, strengthening his program is the most important thing a coach can do.  Riot Sports Marketing, a recognized leader in  marketing for Olympic sports programs, is presenting a free webinar on Tuesday, April 13 at 7pm EST. During this live webinar, Riot Chief Instigator Jim Harshaw will be teaching coaches how to work smarter, not harder and the top three ways to market their program to raise more money.

Harshaw, a former Division I All American in wrestling at UVA, feels that “it is time for coaches to take it upon themselves to strengthen their program. Funding will go to some sports while others suffer.  If coaches had a simple and efficient means of marketing their programs without taking up any more of their time, the result would be more media coverage, a stronger fan base, and a larger donor pool. Riot Sports Marketing teaches coaches how to market their programs with the most impact for the least amount of time and effort.” 

Coaches interested in joining this free 30 minute webinar can sign up at www.riotsportsmarketing.com.

The Riot Sports Marketing system implements a "fundraising through fan-raising" system. Grow attendance, increase media coverage and maximize fundraising through marketing. More media. More fans. More money. Less work.