Article:Arizona State reinstates wrestling program: Reaction comments

As of 6:51 on the east coast, it's been less than an hour since the news broke that Arizona State announced it was reinstating its wrestling program.

InterMat will be updating the blog with reactions from folks around the country.

Brian Stith, Assistant Coach Brian's currently coaching incoming transfer Erik Nye at the University World Team Trials in Colorado Springs. He didn't have much time to talk with the finals starting just as he answered.

"I'm happy right now and we've got a lot of support. We want to thank everyone. We're going to need continued support and we're going to still need a lot of help."

Scott Casber, Takedown Wrestling Radio "The support for wrestling is strong and passionate, our wrestling family gathered together and accepted the challenge. We followed this thing, we hammered it the right way."

Zeke Jones, Head Coach, Penn; Arizona State alum "I don't know what's going to be a bigger day in history for Arizona State, a national title in 1988 or the reinstatement of the program. This is going to change the face of wrestling for the next 25 years. Lisa Love wrote a new page in the book of how athletic departments can look at the sport of wrestling and she's shown there's another way to look at the sport.

The wrestling community is a strong community, the same character that goes out on the wrestling mat solved this issue. I think the wrestling community says hey, the same intensity we try to persevere through in victory and defeat. This is something, if we work hard, diligent, committed and we think about it intelligently. That's what happened today. Wrestling community relied on its character and applied it to solving a problem like we did this week.

A lot of people are going to learn now that wrestling is in a position of strength at Arizona State University. The work's not done. It got pulled up out of the ground and the casket, but the work's not done. The wrestling community - it's a misconception where we are back to where we were, but we've got a lot of work to do financially to make sure the program is successful."

Mike Moyer, Executive Director, National Wrestling Coaches Association "It's a testimony to the will of the wrestling people where no challenge is too great to overcome. We're also grateful forever for the local organizing group out there who provided the funding. Everyone knows how fragile intercollegiate wrestling is in the Southwestern U.S. and losing that program simply wasn't an option.

Hopefully this is a catalyst to that this can turn the pressure back on the University of Oregon because the Northwest is just as fragile. A lot of people have talked about stepping to the plate and there was never a better time than right now to follow through.

The biggest winners in all of this are the 5,000 high school wrestlers in Arizona. They have a college program they can compete and that program has been the training ground for the teachers and coaches of the state. The education those wrestlers received is a direct result of that program."