Regional qualifying causes significant changes to IIAC wrestling

The beginning of a new era is bringing another to a close.

Like most change, it has been met with mixed emotions.

The NCAA Division III Wrestling Committee released the sites and hosts of the six regional tournaments Monday. The new NCAA qualifying system, announced in April,  for the 2012-13 season has caused the Iowa Conference to eliminate its individual conference tournament, which previously served as an NCAA qualifier, that began in 1948.

"I'm sad to see the Iowa Conference tournament go away," Luther Coach Dave Mitchell said. "It's hard to be overly excited about the new format just because of the strong tradition the Iowa Conference has had for so many years."

The new system places all eight remaining IIAC schools, former IIAC program Cornell, Knox (Ill.) College and Augustana (Ill.) in the Central regional hosted by Loras at Dubuque's Five Flags Center on March 2. The top three finishers in each weight advance to the NCAA Championships at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena on March 15-16.

It didn't seem necessary to battle for conference bragging rights only to contend for more important NCAA berths. Coaches decided in spring meetings to drop the event when other dates didn't work out.

"I'm totally disappointed we're not doing it," Wartburg co-head coach Jim Miller said. "It's one of the best events we have all year."

NCAA Division II has had regional qualifiers for years. It could be added to NCAA Division I in the near future with fewer programs and conference realignment juggling established conferences. Move forward or fall behind, even if it is at the expense of a storied event.

"Times and things change," Coe Coach John Oostendorp said. "You really need to prepare foe them. We talk about controlling what we need to control

"Anytime you have change you can complain about it and live in the past or you can accept the change."

Wartburg won the last 20 IIAC team titles with the last in February hosted by Coe. The tournament is a marquee event for the conference, garnering state and national attention with TV, print and online coverage. Part of the prestige came from trips to the national tournament on the line.

"It's part of Division III history, holding that great tournament with great coaches, schools and wrestlers and now that's going away," Mitchell said. "If it were up to the IIAC coaches only, I don't think it would have been something we would be in favor of."

Miller noted that eliminating the tournament also eliminates some Cinderella stories like Loras of Joe Wood, who scored key upsets to win the 149-pound title and possibly be the IIAC's tournament Outstanding Wrestler. Those conference distinctions will be obselete unless the conference institutes all-conference selection at the completion of the season.

"You're not going to have an Iowa Conference champion crowned. Nobody on the award stand. No picture," Miller said. "We don't wrestle the same guy every single meet and neither do most other teams."

The national changes forced the IIAC's decision. When a plausible solution to an individual tournament was not identified, the conference elected for a dual meet competition to determine a conference champion. The top two teams in final conference standings will dual for the conference title with third facing fourth, fifth versus sixth and seventh and eighth wrestling. The higher placing team in the standings will host.

The idea as to create exciting dual meets to be held on IIAC campuses. Continuing the event could create a risk/reward dilemma for coaches and wrestlers when it came to competing in the IIAC tournament before the regional.

"I guess I'll call it a lesser of (two) evils," IIAC Commissioner Chuck Yrigoyen said. "I think it would have jeopardized the overall integrity of that event.

"We were really in between a rock and a hard place. We're hoping these ideas we developed in March in our postseason meeting will be a good thing. I think there is optimism among the coaches, but none of them, nor I, nor any Athletic Director in the Iowa Conference is real happy with the fact that we got forced into getting rid of a really good event."

The conference choice is not set in stone. The IIAC will evaluate how the end of the season duals work and make needed adjustments, even if that means returning to an individual conference tournament. It is clear this will be a "test case" according to Yrigoyen.

"The coaches' proposal was very specific to say that this was a one-year let's test the waters and see how this works thing," Yrigoyen said. "It's going to be revisited and coaches were hoping to reserve the right to bring back the individual event."

Oostendorp and Mitchell said the conference tournament alternative could produce entertaining duals. This season, the championship dual would have been a rematch between Coe and Wartburg in Waverly. A dual that was decided by a couple points at Eby Fieldhouse.

"I think it can be an exciting Friday Night dual," Oostendorp said. "This will be another night with a big dual format late in the year. I'm excited about it."