Montclair State wrestlers aren’t pinned yet
Saturday, February 12, 2005
BY M.A. MEHTA
Star-Ledger Staff
The Montclair State wrestling program might have gotten new life less than a month after the university decided to eliminate it from the varsity lineup next season.
On Jan. 20, the school announced plans to reclassify wrestling, men’s lacrosse, women’s tennis and men’s and women’s cross-country to club status due to “limited fiscal and human resources. “That decision set in motion a fund-raising campaign to save a tradition-rich wrestling program that has won two Division 3 national championships.
Coach Joe Sabol said he has raised $66,000 — garnering support everywhere from the NFL to Hollywood — with the hope of securing enough money to sustain the program for the foreseeable future.
Sabol, who said he believed he needed “one or two more “big donors to keep the program alive, will submit a formal proposal to the university next week. The proposal will be for five years, beginning with a base line operating budget of roughly $15,000 and increase each year with help from the university and fund-raising efforts. The coach said around $14,000 was budgeted for the program this year.
Athletic director Holly Gera, who says the department would save $50,000 a year by reclassifying the five programs, would not comment on whether the university would abandon its earlier position that it would only consider a plan that restores all five programs. University officials have estimated it would cost $750,000 to keep the five programs off the chopping block.
But Sabol remains optimistic.
“The university has opened up their entire office to me to assist in the fund-raising effort, “said Sabol, who met with University president Susan Cole shortly after the reclassification was announced. “They’re definitely working with me to make this happen.”
Gera, who has been inundated with phone calls, letters and e-mails from concerned alums and friends of the wrestling program, said the administration was “certainly willing to listen to any ideas and suggestions “and “talk about options from our students and coaches, “but did not offer any guarantees beyond that.
“One of the things we said all along is that any proposal presented would have to be a relatively long-term plan, “said Gera, who didn’t set a timetable for the review process once Sabol’s proposal is submitted. “This is not a one-year solution.”
Sabol secured donation commitments from supporters all over the country, including Giants running back Jim Finn — a former high school wrestler at Bergen Catholic in Oradell — actor Billy Baldwin, NBC vice president Frank Lazaro and former MSU All-America wrestler Nick Milonas.
“A bunch of different groups are coming together to help with this cause, “said Sabol, who has received donations ranging from $50 to thousands of dollars. “People said all along that they were willing to step up and help with the financial support. Now we want to get a sense from the university that we’re heading in the right direction.”
Sabol didn’t have to look far to find his biggest donor. Longtime assistant coach Ted Levine, who owns a packaging company in Paterson, pledged $50,000 to help save the program and played an integral role securing other donations.
“I’m tired of kids having their programs cut, “Levine said. “I just wanted to settle it for the next five years. I thought ($50,000) was a number that would push (the university’s) buttons.”
Levine said he wasn’t surprised the decision to reclassify the wrestling program was met with so much resistance.
“I expected this kind of outpouring, “Levine said. “Most people who participated in MSU wrestling have this sport to thank for their successes. The sport is embedded in their values. Many of them would have gone in the wrong direction if it weren’t for wrestling.”
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