Bellarmine absorbs St. Catharine wrestling team
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The closing of St. Catharine College has left thousands of students and student-athletes looking for a new home. Across the Commonwealth, colleges and universities are finding ways to lend a helping hand, but the way Bellarmine University is assisting one program has to be called unique.
Bellarmine announced plans today to establish a NCAA Division II wrestling team by essentially making St. Catharine's team it's own.
St. Catharine's former head coach Spencer Adams and assistant Gary Canter will remain the coaches and any player that was on the team last year can make the transfer and remain on the team if they wish. Bellarmine will also honor the commitment St. Catharine's 2016-17 signees made for the season albeit they must meet Bellarmine's academic standards.
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"Although wrestling wasn't originally in our short range plans, St. Catharine's closing certainly made starting a new program a viable and logical option," said Scott Wiegandt, Bellarmine Director of Athletics, in a press release. "Taking over an existing program allows us to hit the ground running while allowing Coach Adams to build on the inroads he made since founding the program at St. Catharine two years ago."
St. Catharine competed with 41 team members in the NAIA level last year and in their first two years of hosting a team, they placed 39th (2015) and 31st (2016) in the NAIA National Championship. The 2015-16 team was also awarded with the "Championship of Character" award that is presented to a team in each of the NAIA's 23 championship sports. The teams that receive the award demonstrate integrity, sportsmanship, respect, servant leadership and responsibility in everyday decisions.
There is no set schedule for the season yet, however the school does plan to host meets in Knights Hall this winter.
In the NCAA there are currently 59 different schools that compete at the Division II level in 10 different weight classes ranging from 125-285 pounds.
With the inclusion of the wrestling team, Bellarmine now has 22 NCAA competing teams. The addition also bumps the number of schools in the Great Lakes Valley Conference that sponsor wrestling to seven, a number that exceeds the amount of teams needed to have a conference tournament.
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