You read that correctly, Stanford wrestling is saved! After a nearly year-long battle, the San Francisco Chronicle announced on Tuesday afternoon that Stanford University is reinstating 11 varsity sports programs. This was later confirmed in a Stanford University press release on May 18.
This is huge news for all 11 programs, but wrestling in particular fought a heavy battle. NCAA Champion Shane Griffith and his teammates refused to wear the traditional Stanford singlet, instead opting for a black singlet with no logo. Griffith made a huge impact in the case to save Stanford Wrestling when he won the NCAA title and trended top 5 on Twitter after the arena cheered to “Keep Stanford Wrestling!”
Questions About Stanford Wrestling
Now that the wrestling team is reinstated at the university, there are plenty of questions that need to be answered. First, which wrestlers will stay? Most of the team entered the transfer portal, and you can expect most will return. But could this whole experience leave a bad taste? Also, who will be the new head coach? Last month former Stanford Head Coach Jason Borrelli took the head position at American University. While many questions remain unclear at the moment, at least there are questions to ask about Stanford Wrestling in the future.
The Fight to Save 11 Stanford Sports
Stanford initially announced that they would be eliminating these sports programs on July 8, 2020. Alumni quickly started 36 Sports Strong, an effort to reinstate these cut programs. They raised over $40 million, including over $10 million alone by the wrestling team, and continued to pitch their value to the school. On May 13, athletes from eight of the teams even filed a lawsuit against the school to help save their programs. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Stanford made the decision to keep these programs before the lawsuit was filed, so there could potentially still be a court case. All of these efforts, in tandem, seem to have worked and saved these programs.
11 Saved Stanford Sports Programs:
- Wrestling
- Fencing (men’s and women’s)
- Field hockey
- Lightweight rowing
- Rowing (men’s)
- Sailing (co-ed and women’s)
- Squash
- Synchronized swimming
- Volleyball (men’s)
Read the original announcement by the San Francisco Chronicle here.
