COWBOY RTC

[CowboyUp61]

OK guys, we wanted to know how to get the club back up and running! Here is the answer. Want 1 competitor in the room? 3? 5? Count on $50K per athlete, apparently the endowments elsewhere are driving up costs. Several would come back to the fold, if they could afford to.

Next question-how do we get that kind of money?

 

[Wrassler17]

Did you speak with the coaches? Anything you can share on the current state of the RTC and the planned efforts to grow it?

Yes, we could start a fund drive on this forum (I will participate). Or as I have mentioned in the past, we could form a joint partnership with another school (Missouri), or draw on alumni and celebrities for fundraising raffles (DC, Rickie Fowler, Garth Brooks, etc). But
I think we really need a structured approach to plan and grow the RTC. A strategy.

How do the coaches want to involve Cowboy supporters - is it through donations? Or do they want us to play a larger role?

 

[tim73034]

My opinion... I think people would be more than willing to give and donate if they were asked directly and felt more connected to the program... maybe start with sending a flyer out to all season ticket holders, white jacket members, and to the head high school wrestling coaches laying out who we would like to add to the staff. Maybe do this in conjunction with Coach Smith and his staff holding a open wrestling practice in Gallagher Iba Arena.. everyone would have a chance to watch the practice and get to know the team members beyond just seeing them during duals... I know Im just speaking for myself, but I would be thrilled to be a part of something like this and would give at minimum $500 towards getting back on top.. thoughts?

 

[osu2082]

I think you would bee looking at raising a $100k per wrestler per year when you factor in salary, insurance, housing, gear, travel and fees.

I think we need to get a committe of coaches, donors and some fund raisers together to identify exactly what the need is and then to put together a strategy to raise the needed funds. One lead gift could put this thing in warp speed.

 

[Wrassler17]

I like some of the ideas being posted.

I should probably clarify my earlier comment. I'm not looking to take anyone's job, nor am I looking to have a new one created. There's a number of ways to approach this I think. Some examples... We could do a basic donation thread. We could have an email account set up that is monitored by one of the coaches (so any great ideas are not openly posted). Or we could have some type of fundraising committee, like the Iowa fans seem to have. What do you guys think?

 

[CowboyUp61]

Did you speak with the coaches? Anything you can share on the current state of the RTC and the planned efforts to grow it?

I did speak with Coach, at the end of a conversation regarding other things (yes, I do have to work occasionally). With the time constraints today, I just wanted to open the dialog for the future. Just wanted to figure out what it takes to keep the guys around to begin with.

I think you would bee looking at raising a $100k per wrestler per year when you factor in salary, insurance, housing, gear, travel and fees,.

I think that gear, travel, and entry fees are taken care of through the other clubs(Titan Mercury, NYAC), plus USAW for the top guys. So if we can keep it at 50, gives us something to shoot for. To break it down into a more palatable bite, that would be 100 people donating $500, or 500 donating $100 each.

I will try to visit more and see what they are thinking about. I know that today he mentioned it would be pretty tough in todays economy it wouldn't be impossible by any stretch. Although a person of modest means I want to do my share. Unless I win the big lottery, then I can do a little more..

Until we can get something more formal started, I plan on finding a way that we can donate small amounts in a way that maybe will drive more, and bigger, donors to help.

 

[osu2082]

I did speak with Coach, at the end of a conversation regarding other things (yes, I do have to work occasionally). With the time constraints today, I just wanted to open the dialog for the future. Just wanted to figure out what it takes to keep the guys around to begin with.




I think that gear, travel, and entry fees are taken care of through the other clubs(Titan Mercury, NYAC), plus USAW for the top guys. So if we can keep it at 50, gives us something to shoot for. To break it down into a more palatable bite, that would be 100 people donating $500, or 500 donating $100 each.

I will try to visit more and see what they are thinking about. I know that today he mentioned it would be pretty tough in todays economy it wouldn't be impossible by any stretch. Although a person of modest means I want to do my share. Unless I win the big lottery, then I can do a little more..

Until we can get something more formal started, I plan on finding a way that we can donate small amounts in a way that maybe will drive more, and bigger, donors to help.

I just think someone needs to put something together (website, marketing material, etc) to show the need and what the money will go towards and the benefits it will have on our program and then hit the ground with it. I think strategically approaching some key donors could get it off to a fantastic start.

The only reason I don't think $50k is enough because it doesn't encompass taxes, insurance and housing. I also think some detailed research into how the other RTC's are setup and what they provide would be key.

 

[CowboyUp61]

I just think someone needs to put something together (website, marketing material, etc) to show the need and what the money will go towards and the benefits it will have on our program and then hit the ground with it. I think strategically approaching some key donors could get it off to a fantastic start.

The only reason I don't think $50k is enough because it doesn't encompass taxes, insurance and housing. I also think some detailed research into how the other RTC's are setup and what they provide would be key.

nothing there i disagree with!

I think financially, that would be a stipend (salary) and the wrestler would be responsible for the taxes, etc out of that.
But I will do what I can to find out.

Edit-NLWC has payroll taxes, but not sure if it is paid staff or the wrestlers.

 

[Wrassler17]

Brandon Slay tweeted this about a year ago. If you click on his tweet, further discussion and information is available about medical, housing, and incentives.

 

[CowboyUp61]

Brandon Slay tweeted this about a year ago. If you click on his tweet, further discussion and information is available about medical, housing, and incentives.

wow-guess I need to learn tweeter and how to do research! Would never have guessed about the housing allowance.

The other main question (from 2082) was travel and entry fees.

 

[Wrassler17]

wow-guess I need to learn tweeter and how to do research! Would never have guessed about the housing allowance.


The other main question (from 2082) was travel and entry fees.

Shouldn't be too hard to find out. Just guessing, but I would think that's covered by USA Wrestling for national team members and the RTCs/(TMWC, Sunkist Kids) for non national team members. And don't forget, many of these guys have other sponsors also.

 

[chasepollard]

A good plan with our faithful could go a long way! Fundraising takes a ton of time and effort, but can be very effective.

Is it possible to take the non-profit or religious route? Help remove some of the tax burden?

 

[CowboyUp61]

A good plan with our faithful could go a long way! Fundraising takes a ton of time and effort, but can be very effective.

Is it possible to take the non-profit or religious route? Help remove some of the tax burden?

pretty sure CWC was set up as a 501c3 but if not active, may have dropped. If not, it should be easy to do. I did it for our booster club, just a matter of gathering paperwork and writing the check.

 

[Inky29]

I love this thread and I hope it's a conversation that our coaches and admin are having. I just want to know that we have a plan and vision. This kind of reminds me of when I was in HS and our baseball team wanted to put up a nice out field fence and not a chain link fence. Our coach didn't think anyone would want to do it and knew we didn't have money as a school so the idea floated around for a year until finally we put enough pressure on him to come up with a plan. Once the plan was revealed, it literally took two days to get all the funding we needed. People in our town loved the idea and were more than happy to give money. I really think there's more support out there for Cowboy Wrestling than people think. I think we have our hard core fans that have been to Nationals and will make as many duals as possible but then I also think you have a ton of fans that simply take pride in the fact that we are wrestling and would donate simply to make sure that we remain wrestling.

 

[CowboyUp61]

Do we have any web designers in our midst that wants to donate a webpage setup and maintenance?

 

[osu2082]

Do we have any web designers in our midst that wants to donate a webpage setup and maintenance?

I think OSU could have a hand in this and put together something very nicely done if this whole thing is set up correctly.

Again I think there needs to be a concrete plan laid out before anyone starts soliciting donations. I would talk with the coaches and Derek and go about setting up a committee to really get this kicked off officially.

 

[CowboyUp61]

have been talking with Derek this morning, he is going to talk to John this afternoon. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling!

 

[tfpoke]

Not to rain on any parade.... but there have been discussions on here for at least 15 years about how to improve the marketing of the wrestling program. There have been some great ideas, and a lot of people offering up time and resources. For whatever reason, there hasn't been much support from the Athletic Dept. or the wrestling program. Not to say this time won't be different, but just some historical perspective.

 

[CowboyUp61]

Not to rain on any parade.... but there have been discussions on here for at least 15 years about how to improve the marketing of the wrestling program. There have been some great ideas, and a lot of people offering up time and resources. For whatever reason, there hasn't been much support from the Athletic Dept. or the wrestling program. Not to say this time won't be different, but just some historical perspective.

If at first you don't succeed......

 

[osu2082]

have been talking with Derek this morning, he is going to talk to John this afternoon. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling!

Well let us know. I think there would be a good number of donors, buisness professional and people heavily involved in our wrestling program who would volunteer to be a part of a committee to help enhance our program. There just need to be organization and leadership to really make a substantial difference.

 

[Wrassler17]

I don't want this to sound "preachy", but I know it probably will. I get that past efforts have not gone anywhere. But this time around, I guess I'm not sure what's needed to inspire a concerted effort by the administration, coaches, alumni, and fans to help this program. College wrestling & recruiting have fundamentally changed since the growth of RTCs.

- We have 34 team titles, but haven't won in a dozen years.
- We just finished tied for 13th at nationals.
- We've seen power programs like ISU and Oklahoma virtually collapse, so we know it can happen.
- We have a rich history of winning World and Olympic medals, but haven't placed anyone on a World team since 2012.

Do we need to see Daton win an Olympic gold medal in 2024 - for the Ohio RTC?

Someone in a leadership position needs to champion this effort and paint a picture of the future - in 5 years do we want to be atop the wrestling world or fighting to be relevant again?

They say the NFL is a copycat league. Well here's an interview with the Iowa RTC president that might be helpful, where he talks about what they are trying to do.

https://iowawrestlingblog.com/2017/04/an-interview-with-randy-novak-of-the-hawkeye-wrestling-club/

 

[Harleycowboy]

I don't want this to sound "preachy", but I know it probably will. I get that past efforts have not gone anywhere. But this time around, I guess I'm not sure what's needed to inspire a concerted effort by the administration, coaches, alumni, and fans to help this program. College wrestling & recruiting have fundamentally changed since the growth of RTCs.

- We have 34 team titles, but haven't won in a dozen years.
- We just finished tied for 13th at nationals.
- We've seen power programs like ISU and Oklahoma virtually collapse, so we know it can happen.
- We have a rich history of winning World and Olympic medals, but haven't placed anyone on a World team since 2012.

Do we need to see Daton win an Olympic gold medal in 2024 - for the Ohio RTC?

Someone in a leadership position needs to champion this effort and paint a picture of the future - in 5 years do we want to be atop the wrestling world or fighting to be relevant again?

They say the NFL is a copycat league. Well here's an interview with the Iowa RTC president that might be helpful, where he talks about what they are trying to do.

https://iowawrestlingblog.com/2017/04/an-interview-with-randy-novak-of-the-hawkeye-wrestling-club/

Truth is Coach Smith as the leader of the program needs to get more assertive with demands to get more improvements with facilities and budget. Hopefully some of these younger coaches are assigned responsibility for finding ways to get more money into the program which would include CRTC. We need to get past the ice age. Coach Smith of course has great strengths but in the areas he is not strong in developing a program he needs to find staff to do these other tasks.

 

[Inky29]

Not sure how many of you guys watched the baseball announcement but about 40 minutes into someone asks what's next and Holder pretty much said Wrestling is coming, didn't know what but he talked about that if you can't raise money for OSU wrestling you aren't much of a fundraiser. Mentioned Hedge field being and option. I love baseball but that might have made me happiest today.

 

[Harleycowboy]

That would be good news.

 

[Wrassler17]

Not sure how many of you guys watched the baseball announcement but about 40 minutes into someone asks what's next and Holder pretty much said Wrestling is coming, didn't know what but he talked about that if you can't raise money for OSU wrestling you aren't much of a fundraiser. Mentioned Hedge field being and option. I love baseball but that might have made me happiest today.

Question comes up around the 37 minute mark...

 

[Wrassler17]

This was also retweeted by the Cowboy RTC account, it's an interview with Derek by Pistols Firing. What do people think about what Derek has to say?

https://pistolsfiringblog.com/daton...state-derek-fix-discussion-qa-alex-dieringer/

 

[CowboyUp61]

not enough about how they are planning to fund. know we have talent in the room, just have to have the money to keep them there!

 

[Harleycowboy]

not enough about how they are planning to fund. know we have talent in the room, just have to have the money to keep them there!

He is not wrestling for our RTC but I did see where Dustin Plott is at the US Open juniors wrestling at 74 (163). He will get a shot at some high quality older wrestlers. In looking at his bracket I did not see many name wrestlers. Also just noticed our future HWT Kerkvliet is at 97 for the juniors.

 

[Alpha Poke]

2 part plan IMO. New facility on east side of GIA, exclusively for wrestling. Everything (except matches) under one roof to meet all training and dietary needs. Used by undergrads and RTC members. Funds coming from private donations and raised as capital improvement via OSU. Currently in conceptual stage.

Separate arm - RTC funding. Different set of rules that requires funding being raised separately. Physical structure is priority 1. Without it, there is no RTC funding discussion.

As is the case with everything Holder has done with other sports, he won’t cut corners. If John says he needs it, Holder will work to make it happen. I’ve posted this before, but I really see Holder approaching this as his final mission at OSU.

If Josh could tell John anything I would assume it’s this - get ready because Holder is going to get in front of a lot of people, and he will want you right there with him.

Again, JMO.

 

[Wrassler17]

Everyone has a rough practice now & then. Especially in freestyle.

 

[Wrassler17]

Just noticed that our twitter account tweeted this first. Clever & funny.