Minot State: looking to add two sports

The Open Mat.com

By MICHAEL LINNELL – Minot Daily – (Original here)

In keeping with Minot State University President David Fuller’s quest to make the university a “premier university in the Great Plains,” MSU announced it’s looking to add two sports to it’s stable of teams.

Minot State Athletic Director Rick Hedberg made the announcement at a press conference Wednesday at the Christensen Room in the MSU Dome that the university is moving to the public phase to bring back its wrestling program that was cut due to budgetary concerns in the 1989-90 season and add women’s soccer beginning in 2010.

“Today is a special day for us here at Minot State University,” Hedberg said. “We are announcing the public phase to bring back wrestling and to start up soccer. We have been in the silent phase as the committee has called it and have had a number of gifts come in.”

According to Hedberg, the university has raised $98,000 of the projected goal of $130,000 the school needs to add the sports. He believes the public phase will “cast a broader net to interested parties” looking to bring back wrestling and start soccer.

“We set the goal of $130,000 about four months ago during the private fund raising,” he said. “We want to thank the donors and the committee for the work they have done so far.”

Fuller believes that by adding sports, the university moves closer to his 2013 date for increasing the school’s profile.

“I am very pleased to participate in this event and look forward to starting wrestling and soccer,” he said. “When I came to Minot State, I have heard often, especially from the wrestling community, how important reinstating wrestling on our campus is and I am certainly interested in making that happen. What this does for us is clearly show that we are committed to engaging and supporting our athletic programs for the good of our community and the good of the region.

“These two sports will help us raise the bar. To reach our goal by 2013 will depend on us moving in bold and interesting directions. I think adding these two sports is one step closer to achieving that.”

If the fundraising aspect is successful, MSU will begin to look for coaches for both sports as early as the end of the spring semester and have both in place by the fall semester.

“If the time frame is successful, we would plan on conducting a national search for coaches and that would start in the spring,” Hedberg said. “We would like to have them on board by the fall to start working on their teams and begin playing in 2010.

“Once we declare, which would be next year about this time, we would be eligible to play right away.”

Former MSU wrestling standout and current member of the committee, Steven Lipp, was pleased with Wednesday’s announcement. He feels adding the sport at the collegiate level will, in turn, help the sport at the local level.

“It is a great day. We have been trying to reinstate wrestling for at least 15 years and we are starting to see the impact that not having it has made on the wrestling in our community,” Lipp said. “There aren’t as many opportunities for high school wrestlers to go on to college and with Minot State getting that program back now … it is very exciting. I have talked to coaches around the state and they are excited for their programs to have wrestling come back to Minot State.”

Minot Soccer Association member Dale Christensen echoed Lipp’s comments about more opportunities.

“It is very exciting for soccer,” he said. “For Minot State to come up and have a women’s soccer program – I am with the Minot Soccer Association – it is just such a big benefit for our program on so many levels. First and foremost, a place to play. If you wanted to play soccer before on the college level, you had to go out of town. Now, you can stay in Minot, get a great education and experience a collegiate team at Minot State. I would like to thank all the folks who have made this possible and there are some fantastic times to come.”

MSU would begin soccer as an independent sport as only Jamestown College offers it as a varsity program in the Dakota Athletic Conference. JC and Dickinson State have wrestling programs.