Podcasts about getrockedup

When November 24, 2019 finally came, it put a close on the building era of the Little Rock wrestling program. It’s been 616 days since the announcement during the 2018 NCAA Division I Championships of a new Division I program. For coach Neil Erisman, it’s been 522 days since he was introduced as the first head coach in program history. For wrestling fans in the state of Arkansas, it was a decade and a half in the making. The only time a major state school had sponsored wrestling, as you learned in Episode 1 of Rocked Up, came in the 1950s at Arkansas State. That was more of a pet project of a wrestling coach rather than a bonafide college athletics program. That also pre-dated the NCAA’s divisional structure. So history was going to be made when the first whistle blew at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 24, 2019 at the Jack Stephens Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. These are the final hours leading to the culmination of the building process and the commencement of competition. One last practice. They weigh in, at home, for the first time, in 24 hours. Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the finale to that story. We started the journey developing the foundation of wrestling in the state of Arkansas and now we’ve moved on to the formation of the team, because to tell the full story of this program, you have to start at the very beginning. Where one door closes, another opens, and in Little Rock, we close the book on how this all got started. Now, the coaches, administration and athletes at Little Rock will write their own stories. Thank you for listening. I’m Jason Bryant. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

On Sunday, the eyes of the wrestling world were on two places – Ames, Iowa and Little Rock, Arkansas. When it comes to wrestling, one of those places is not like the other. While one saw over 11,000 fans come into the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa to witness one of wrestling’s greatest in-state rivalries, just under 1,500 fans came to the Jack Stephens Center to witness college wrestling, many for the first time, as the Trojans of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock wrestled the first dual meet in school history. This is the Short Time Wrestling Podcast, I’m your host, Hall of Fame wrestling writer, broadcaster and announcer Jason Bryant and I had the privilege of being in Little Rock to witness the berth of another Division I wrestling program. While Little Rock isn’t the only new program launching this year at the Division I level, it’s presence in Arkansas makes it the most unique, probably one of the most unique story in wrestling history. I’ve been documenting the story from start to finish with Rocked Up, a serial podcast here on the Mat Talk Podcast Network. Season 1 of that show ends with how this show begins. You can listen there at GetRockedUp.com. Today on Short Time, I’ll talk with Greg Hatcher, one of wrestling’s most prominent benefactors and a man who purchased nearly every wrestling mat to start wrestling programs in the state of Arkansas. I’ll also talk with George Lee, the Athletic Director at Little Rock. Lee has been with Little Rock as a student and then employee and then administrator since the 1980s. He was witnessing history that was set into motion by a previous AD. Then I’ll talk with Neil Erisman, someone who’s spent over a year and a half waiting for this moment to become a reality. It’s the news, reviews, previews and interviews from in and around the world of wrestling. The build-up and anticipation are in the rearview, Little Rock wrestling is a reality and it’s today’s featured story. Hear the immediate reactions, because you’ve always got time, for Short Time. If you'd like to SUPPORT THE SHOW and all the on-demand audio offerings, free newsletters and historical research AND you want to get some of that cool Compound gear, you can support this program by making a small monthly contribution to the network by following this link.. The Short Time Time Wrestling Podcast is proudly supported by Compound Sportswear. And if you haven't already, leave a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts. SUBSCRIBE TO SHORT TIME Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | Google Podcasts | Spotify | iOS App | Android App | RSS GET DAILY WRESTLING NEWS! You like wrestling news, right? Of course you do. Did you know you can sign up for FREE to subscribe to the Mat Talk Online DAILY WRESTLING NEWS e-mail newsletter that's published EVERY morning with the previous day's top news stories from outlets all around the globe. It's free and it's a great way to start your wrestling day.

With the days winding down before Little Rock wrestlers take to their home mat at the Jack Stephens Center for the first time, there’s been a change at the top. One of the men instrumental in making Little Rock’s wrestling program a reality, Chasse Conque, left Little Rock in late August to accept the role of Athletic Director at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, which came into being after a consolidation of three separate colleges. You might have heard of Texas-Pan American. You probably haven’t. Conque also brought Molly Castner with him as she assumes the role of Deputy AD and Senior Women’s Administrator. This left Little Rock searching for a person to lead the department, not just into the launch of its new wrestling program, but to the lead during a time of great growth within the school’s athletics programs as a whole. They turned to George Lee, the standing Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Chief Financial Officer. This is a man who’s job was to make sure things were financially viable for anything to happen within Little Rock Athletics. Lee is a Little Rock alum who’s had an association with the school for over 30 years. His wife works at the school and he previously served as an interim AD in the past. Today, we learn more about Lee. Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the 11th edition of this story. We started the journey developing the foundation of wrestling in the state of Arkansas and now we’ve moved on to the formation of the team, because to tell the full story of this program, you have to start at the very beginning. Lee’s background is on the financial side. While a fan of sports, he’s always been one of those administrators who didn’t have to make all the public appearances and address the people. Lee’s role is a requirement in college sports. If no one’s managing the money or asking “How do you expect to pay for that,” then you have balance sheets in the red and athletes potentially out in the cold. First, Lee explains how the campus has changed in size and stature since he attended in the 1980s. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

Sometimes you have to pivot. I had every intention of putting together another episode of The Guillotine Grapevine here on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, but sometimes things don’t go as planned, as you’re about to find out. This is Short Time Shots, a mostly daily look at the scores and more from the world of wrestling, I’m Jason Bryant.  Dual Meets:  The biggest upset of the night and one of the bigger upsets in the past several years saw unranked Rider come into Williams Arena in Minneapolis and knock off No. 6 Minnesota 21-17. The key wins came from Jonathan Tropea at 125 pounds and Dean Sherry at 174 pounds. Sherry pinned All-American Devin Skatzka in one of the most exciting three minutes of wrestling. Instead of talking you through it, I talked with Rider coach John Hangey about the match and its impact on the Rider program. Rider’s Ryan Cloud won an absolutely not thrilling bout 1-0 at 285 over Bobby Steveson to lock up the win for the Broncs. (Hangey Interview) In other Top 25 action, No. 3 Ohio State won six out of 10 at No. 15 Pittsburgh, but it was bonus points that blew the match open for coach Tom Ryan’s Buckeyes. Ohio State prevailed 23-12. Kollin Moore opened the dual with a major at 197, Chase Singletary scored a mild upset over Demetrius Thomas at heavyweight, Luke Pletcher, no, that’s not a typo, got a major at 141 pounds over Cole Matthews, while Sammy Sasso picked up a fall at 149 pounds. The Buckeyes return home to face No. 11 Virginia Tech on Sunday.  In Philadelphia, No. 4 Oklahoma State won eight out of 10 bouts to open its dual season with a 30-6 win over Drexel. Cowboy 165-pounder Travis Wittlake knocked off Ebed Jarrell 5-1. John Smith also tied Bobby Douglas for fifth on the all-time collegiate dual wins list with his 427th victory.  No. 8 Arizona State won its home opener 35-6 over Division II Augustana (S.D.). We’ll save the story of that dual for what’s in the Daily Wrestling Newsletter.  No. 9 NC State always seems to get a fight from ODU and Friday was no different. The Wolfpack would prevail 22-11 after getting a huge fall at 197 pounds from Tyrie Houghton to go along with ranked wins by top-ranked Hayden Hidlay at 157 over Larry Early and Tariq Wilson’s 3-2 win over Sa’Derian Perry at 141.  Elsewhere in Division I, Northern Illinois beat Bucknell 24-10, Binghamton beat South Dakota State 25-16, Oregon State beat Division II Simon Fraser 40-8 in Tahoma, Washington. I deliberately didn’t post this until Fresno State and Rutgers were finished. Rutgers won 23-13. Did Fresno State set their school’s attendance record? No, but they still drew a solid 3,500-plus. Division II Coker beat NAIA St. Andrews 45-8. In Division III No. 1 Wabash shut out Manchester 45-0, No. 15 Ithaca topped Stevens Institute 29-12, Williams beat Trinity 28-18, Lycoming beat Thiel 40-6 and smashed NJCAA Jamestown (N.Y.) 51-3. Thiel beat Jamestown 44-6. In the NAIA, Concordia (Neb.) beat Northwestern (Iowa) 29-10 and Southern Oregon beat Warner Pacific 36-16. Campbellsville swept a quad at Embry-Riddle. The Tigers beat Arizona Christian 32-6, host Embry-Riddle 33-9 and Vanguard 43-3. So two wins over first-year teams. Play nice Franky James!  In junior college action, Minnesota West beat Northland Tech 36-21.  Late Thursday: Fresno City beat Bakersfield 42-6, while Modesto beat Skyline and West Hills. Central Baptist beat Oklahoma Wesleyan 24-22.  Tournaments In Bristol, Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales is out to an early Day 1 lead at the Roger Williams Invitational. Following the Wildcats are Castleton, TCNJ, NYU and host Roger Williams.  International Wrestling Day 1 of the Bill Farrell came and went as the most important aspect was athletes qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in April in State College. In Greco, five Americans won titles - Ryan Mango at 60kg, Alex Sancho at 67kg, Alan Vera at 87kg, G’Angelo Hancock at 97kg and Adam Coon at 130kg. Also qualifying was Sammy Jones at 60kg and Spencer Woods at 77kg. In women’s freestyle competition at the Bill Farrell, Victoria Anthony beat Erin Golston to win gold at 50kg. Golston qualified for the Trials by being the highest placing American who wasn’t already qualified. Areana Villaescusa and Alex Glaude also qualified. Of note at 76kg, Erica Wiebe of Canada, the 2016 Olympic champion, beat 2014 world silver medalist Aline da Silva of Brazil 4-0 for gold.  Women’s World Cup in Narita, Japan kicked off. The U.S. was wrestling Russia at the time this show was being recorded. Check UnitedWorldWrestling.org or TheMat.com for full results and @wrestling or @usawrestling on Twitter for live results.    GET A FREE MONTH OF PODCAST HOSTING WITH LIBSYN There are approximately 66 active wrestling podcasts out there, with 20 of them on the Mat Talk Podcast Network. I get asked all the time about what people need to start a podcast. One of the most important things is a podcast host. I firmly believe in quality comes at a cost and with Libsyn, my podcast host of choice, that cost is super affordable. Sign up for Libsyn, at L-I-B-S-Y-N.com and use the promo code MTO to get your first month of podcast hosting for free when you sign up. That means you get the rest of THIS month and NEXT month free. They’ve got plans as affordable as $5 a month. They’ve been the backbone of this network and if you don’t reach out to me for technical advice, at least hear me on this one – Libsyn.com, use promo code MTO and get your free month (and a half!) TAKEDOWN CANCER It's time again to think about hosting a TakeDown Cancer event at one of your home meets, tournaments or youth events. TakeDown Cancer raises money for the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund where over 91 percent of all money goes directly to research doctors and other cancer related projects. TakeDown Cancer is an all volunteer group with no paid salaries. TakeDown Cancer has raised almost $250,000. Please consider hosting an event. Go to www.takedowncancer.org for information or contact Mark Neu at mneu@shakopee.k12.mn.usLet’s TakeDown Cancer! - No one fights alone! Notables on the Docket for November 16: There’s like nearly 100 duals or something tomorrow. I can’t possibly list them all. The biggest is No. 4 Oklahoma State at No. 10 Lehigh.  FROM THE DWN: Travis Johnson of Trackwrestling gets a look at Stanford looking to take its next step after its first Pac-12 title, a quick glimpse at Oklahoma State-Lehigh, a look at Northern Iowa’s Bryce Steiert, now up at 174 and a note about Josh Shields from Arizona State.  InterMat’s Tim “T.R.” Foley starts out remembering Paul Wellstone before answering reader questions in his weekly Foley’s Friday Mailbag feature.  Greg Moore of the Arizona Republic features Roman Rozell, a 34-year-old Army combat veteran who will be believed to be the oldest starter in Division I wrestling when he takes to the mat against Division II Augustana (S.D.). This story will be dated by the time you hear this, but it’s still worth the read. Rozell wrestled at 197 on Friday night, getting pinned in ASU’s only loss of the evening. But still.  We’ve got an abundance of international stars competing at the Bill Farrell, so here’s a few to keep an eye on, courtesy of TheMat.com.  Speaking of TheMat.com, Taylor Miller of USA Wrestling writes a pretty solid feature on Anthony Echemendia. Did you know he turned 19 in a detention center while trying to get to the United States? Good job T-Millz on that piece.  The RUDIS Podcast, The Way, with Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan go into college officiating. This … should be interesting.  The Mid-American Conference released its November coaches rankings at GetSomeMaction.com. Missouri still No. 1, followed by Old Dominion, Lock Haven, Rider and Clarion.  Cronkite News, a program produced by students at the amazing journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State, features Marlee Smith, the only woman on the wrestling team at Arizona State. Zeke Jones has women and combat vets on the roster. That’s dynamic.  On The Network The 10th installment of #ROCKedUP, the story about the foundation and formation of the wrestling program at Little Rock has been posted. When you look at the entirety of the situation, it’s probably one of the most unique stories ever told in wrestling. Give it a listen at GetRockedUp.com You can get to read those stories and more from Mat Talk Online’s daily wrestling newsletter. Sign up for free at mattalkonline.com/news and get the day’s top wrestling stories from around the world delivered to your inbox for free every single morning.  The Mat Talk Online Daily Newsletter is sponsored by Resilite.  If you'd like to SUPPORT THE SHOW and all the on-demand audio offerings, free newsletters and historical research. You can support this program and the Network by making a small monthly contribution or one-time donation by going to mattalkonline.com/jointheteam.  Venmo, PayPal, Buymeacoffee.com or Patreon, but here’s the perk with a monthly Patreon contribution - you get the cool perks like branded shirts, glasses, hats, digital preview guides, shout outs on the show and even a chance to be on Short Time!  The Short Time Wrestling Podcast is proudly outfitted by Compound Sportswear. Remember, you’ve always got time, for Short Time.  SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHORT TIME WRESTLING PODCAST Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | TuneIn Google Podcasts | Spotify | iOS App | Android App | RSS (Editor's note: This is always a rough draft of the script of the show, there may be minor errors sprinkled throughout and no, it's not in APA style or anything that resembles a journalistic published work. Some shows will also be devoid of show notes, as they're done on the road from a mobile device).

For a solid year, Neil Erisman was it when it came to the new wrestling program at Little Rock. He was every coach, every recruiting coordinator, he ran every errand that needed to be run. He did all this while awaiting the completion of his offices and wrestling facility and with a wife and three – soon to be four – kids at home. It might have been the busiest year of the young coach’s life. But when it came time to hire an assistant coach, there were over four dozen candidates interviewed. Some were close friends from his time at Oklahoma State, others were coaches who were looking for upward mobility and a good paycheck. Then there were the ones who were true coaches, but ultimately one candidate stood out above the rest. Coach Erisman wasn’t just hiring an assistant coach, he was hiring the other part of his staff that would create the coaching unit to pilot Little Rock wrestling into its maiden wrestling season. Remember the situation when Little Rock hired Erisman to be their head coach? Did they go for the high profile national champion? The seasoned Division I assistant or the sexy name hire? They went with a guy who had a passion to build and a passion to teach. Erisman did the same when he selected Javier Maldonado as Little Rock’s first assistant wrestling coach. Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the 10th edition of this story. We started the journey developing the foundation of wrestling in the state of Arkansas and now we’ve moved on to the formation of the team, because to tell the full story of this program, you have to start at the very beginning. In 2018-19, Javier Maldonado was leading Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida to its second straight Top 20 finish at the NAIA National Championships. Southeastern was the first varsity college wrestling program in the state of Florida in nearly three decades. The school put an emphasis on wrestling and building the profile of the sport and the school, doing it with one of their native sons. Maldonado is a Florida native. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

One year since the hiring of Neil Erisman, things have been changing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Construction was starting on the new on-campus practice facility, recruits have joined Conner Ward, creating the roster for the first team that would take to the mats in November of 2019 and conference affiliation and scheduling was starting to become more prominent in coach Erisman’s day. That wrestling facility was set to finish in early September, just days before the official start of practice. Erisman’s wrestling family had grown, but his immediate family was growing too, as a new Erisman child was coming in the late summer. A year after Erisman was hired, the wrestling program started looking like it was a real wrestling program. With one year on the job done, but his first official year leading the school into uncharted waters, now the actual competitive work had to get done. Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the ninth edition of this story. We started the journey developing the foundation of wrestling in the state of Arkansas and now we’ve moved on to the formation of the team, because to tell the full story of this program, you have to start at the very beginning. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

With coaches hired and administrative support set, the first whistle blows for Little Rock’s first wrestling dual in November of 2019. But even before that dual and that official season commences, there’s one athlete who’s already ready to roll. When new programs are started, colleges typically decide to hire a coach and recruit athletes the year prior to actual competition. Those coaches will then redshirt those athletes, allowing them to practice and preserve eligibility, but they aren’t typically competing. They’re a team, but they’re not yet a team. Such is the case with Conner Ward, a Kansas native who during the first semester of the 2018-19 academic year, was the ONLY wrestler at the school. A handful of wrestlers would transfer in for the second semester, but during the first semester, Conner Ward was “The Little Rock guy,” the only wrestler on a team that really didn’t even exist yet. Last season, Ward was the most unique wrestler in the country and today, we’ll find out how and why that materialized. Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the eighth edition of this story. We started the journey developing the foundation of wrestling in the state of Arkansas and now we’ve moved on to the formation of the team, because to tell the full story of this program, you have to start at the very beginning. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

There’s a lot of moving parts in a college athletics department. It’s more than just an Athletic Director and some coaches. There’s support staff, administrative assistants, academic support, compliance, sports information, marketing and promotions, ticket sales, donor relations – so when the University of Arkansas-Little Rock announced its new Division I wrestling program in March of 2018, there was a lot more work involved from an athletic administration standpoint after the announcement than just hiring a coach and recruiting some wrestlers. While the landscape of big time college sports today seems to be enamored with pay-for-play and athlete likenesses, sports outside of basketball and football stay out of that mainstream spotlight. For administrators at most places, the focus on a successful college athletics program isn’t always just about championships – it’s about their belief in what athletics can bring to a campus – a real sense of community. For Little Rock, a coach has been hired and a start time has been set. But it’s not just up to newly hired head coach Neil Erisman to get things done – there’s a lot of moving parts that don’t directly involve wrestling mats and headgear. It’s not all falling on people like AD Chasse Conque, either. That’s where people like Molly Castner come in. Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the seventh edition of this story. The first six set the table, because to tell the story of the Little Rock Trojans wrestling program, you had to start from the ground up – with the foundation of Arkansas high school wrestling, which didn’t even exist 11 years ago. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

If you’re the athletics director at a Division I institution and you’re looking to hire a head coach to start your team from scratch, what are some of the credentials you look for? If you’re starting a basketball team, are you going to look at someone like a legendary coach like Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski or UConn’s Geno Auriemma? Would you go with a legendary athlete like a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James? In football, are you looking for the Joe Montana-type or are you looking for someone who’s built a career on coaching despite not having lavish athletic credentials like New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick? Are you looking for a person to groom the culture and create a community and family or are you looking for someone who wants to win at any cost. The one thing about college sports is all of those types of coaches get jobs at some point or another. In wrestling, Division I head coaching jobs are rare. As we enter the 2019-20 college wrestling season, there are 78 Division I wrestling teams. In Division I basketball, there are 347 teams. Wrestling teams are often classified as non-revenue sports, meaning the school isn’t taking in a lot of money on gate receipts. At the Division I level, basketball and football are revenue sports, where schools sometimes rely on the attendance and success of those programs to help finance the other sports in the department. Whether or not those teams bring in positive cashflow doesn’t change their distinction. So the pressure to win and put butts in the seats isn’t as imperative on a wrestling coach, although in the competitive climate of athletics with rising costs, coaches are now being charged to make their programs more valuable in the eyes of a department. If you’re a team with low graduation rates, poor grades, disciplinary problems and a culture of trouble, you’re going to be at risk, especially if you’re a non-revenue sport. With all that being considered, wrestling fans typically get stars in their eyes about the latest up-and-coming coach, usually someone who’s got tremendous credentials on the mat. It’s almost a let down for some fans when they hire a coach who isn’t a national champion. I don’t have anything statistically to justify this claim, but the impression I get is wrestling believes more than other sports that you have to have achieved at the highest level to be a successful coach. If it’s not a “name” hire, then the administration failed the fans and the alumni. So what type of hire was Little Rock AD Chasse Conque going to pick up? Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the sixth edition of this story. The first five set the table, because to tell the story of the Little Rock Trojans wrestling program, you had to start from the ground up – with the foundation of Arkansas high school wrestling, which didn’t even exist 11 years ago. Last episode, we talked with Chasse Conque shortly after the announcement came in March of 2018 that Little Rock would add Division I wrestling to its sports offerings starting in 2019-20. On June 20, 2018, Little Rock introduced the man who would lead their new program and set the tone for what to expect. So who is Neil Erisman? Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

Capturing the nation's attention In the big money world of Division I college athletics, only five championship sports actually make the NCAA money. Of course, the biggest is the Final Four, the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. Now 68 teams play their way to a championships. The venues are large and the volume of printed brackets and online office pools is astronomical. The other championships that make the NCAA money are the College World Series, held annually in Omaha, the Frozen Four, the name for the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey tournament, the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse championship – AND – to the surprise of many – the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship. Before you say “but what about football,” did you know the NCAA actually does not award a trophy and present an actual championship for what’s called the Football Bowl Subdivision? Oh, sure, there’s a trophy, but the only NCAA logo on a Division I football trophy belongs to the winner of what’s called the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as I-AA. Semantics and officialness aside, wrestling has been a consistent moneymaker at the championships level for decades. Much of that has come from the move away from campus sites and into larger metropolitan areas and major league arenas. Or in the case in 2020, NFL Stadiums. Yes, Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings, is expected to draw over 40,000 fans across each of the six sessions in March of 2020. It’s an indication that the health of wrestling has improved. It’s also a great spot to sell the sport of wrestling to curious college administrators. For people looking to start a Division I program in Arkansas, a sellout crowd at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland in March of 2018 was the perfect backdrop to make history. Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the fifth edition of this story. The first four set the table, because to tell the story of the Little Rock Trojans wrestling program, you had to start from the ground up – with the foundation of Arkansas high school wrestling, which didn’t even exist 11 years ago. Since the beginning, we’ve introduced you to high school coaches, wrestling leaders, athletic directors, financial benefactors as well as some of the pioneers within the state. Today, we meet one of the architects and one of the people who needed to say yes in order for this dream to actually become a reality – Little Rock Athletics Director Chasse Conque. EPILOGUE: As this episode gets released in August of 2019, there was a personnel change between the time we had meetings with Conque for this project. In early August of 2019, Conque took a similar position at Division I Texas-Rio Grande Valley. While he’s no longer at Little Rock, his fingerprints are still all over this move. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

A Legend Comes to Town In the lore of college sports, there's always the aura of having done something no one else had ever done. In 1994, a wrestler from Oklahoma State University named Pat Smith became the first wrestler in NCAA Division I wrestling history to win four straight national championships. Years later, Smith would be talked into moving to Arkansas and helping create one of the largest grassroots wrestling movements the sport had ever seen. On Episode 4 of Rocked Up, we'll meet Pat Smith and discover how one of the legends of wrestling found himself in a state with zero wrestling and his involvement in helping build the high school and summer wrestling circuits. We'll also take a look back at 2009 and the first Arkansas team to go to Fargo. Check out that old video feature from host Jason Bryant during his time at USA Wrestling by clicking here. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

First, Best or Different - How Ouachita Baptist paved the way for college wrestling in Arkansas This entire series has been telling you one story to set up another. On Episode 3, we look back at the impact of the first college wrestling program in Arkansas in nearly 50 years, Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Ouachita Baptist started wrestling in 2010. The nearest opponent within Division II was six hours west in Oklahoma. We meet with Rex Horne, then the President of OBU, to find out why his university was the place to start and the impact recurring figures Greg Hatcher and Mike Moyer had in the process. Moyer, Executive Director of the NWCA, explains the broader plan for college wrestling and how Ouachita Baptist was a crucial step to allow more schools to start the sport at the college level in Arkansas. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? On the second episode of Rocked Up, we'll meet Little Rock radio personality and former Arkansas football player David Bazzel. He'll introduce us to how Greg Hatcher, an insurance man in Little Rock, talked him into pitching a press conference to try to introduce wrestling to the state's high schools. Hatcher will further explain the process in going from idea to sanctioned high school state activity and Hatcher's overall impact in the process, including how it wasn't exactly what people might believe financially. We'll meet Carter Lambert of Central Arkansas Christian, legendary wrestling announcer Sandy Stevens as well as catch back up with Bentonville's Bill Desler and Don Schuler. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

Wrestling is the world's oldest sport. In Arkansas, it's the newest. This is Rocked Up, the story of the foundations and formations of a new college sports team at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. What makes this story unique isn't just the fact it's a new sport, but the sport itself is new to the entire state. It's a journey unlike any other. Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.