GLVC adds wrestling to its sports menu
The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) will increase its sports sponsorship from 20 to 21 with the inclusion of men’s wrestling beginning in 2016-17, it was announced by the league office.
The addition of the league’s 21st sport was formally approved on May 25 by the GLVC Council of Presidents.
McKendree University will be among the seven conference institutions who will vie for the inaugural GLVC Championship next February. McKendree will compete under the GLVC banner along with Bellarmine University, Drury University, the University of Indianapolis, Maryville University, Truman State University and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
“The Great Lakes Valley Conference is pleased to expand our sports sponsorship with the addition of men’s wrestling for the upcoming 2016-17 academic year,” said GLVC Commissioner Jim Naumovich. “We are excited to provide the wrestling student-athletes in the league the opportunity to compete for a GLVC championship and provide a conference home for the seven institutions that sponsor the sport.”
The GLVC begins its sport sponsorship with a significant amount of momentum. In November 2015, Drury announced its intention to sponsor wrestling starting with the 2016-17 school year, which at that time gave the GLVC the minimum six programs required by the NCAA to apply for sport sponsorship. Following the league’s formal vote on sport sponsorship in May, Bellarmine announced June 14 that it would absorb the former Saint Catharine College (NAIA) team, bringing the GLVC’s wrestling member to seven.
From a competition standpoint, GLVC members have excelled on the mat in recent years. At the 2016 NCAA Division II Championships, Maryville paced conference members with a fifth-place finish, followed by UW-Parkside and McKendree in seventh and eighth, respectively, while Indianapolis placed 13th in the nation. Maryville, which has spent several weeks at the No. 1 spot of the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association poll in recent years, earned its second consecutive third-place finish at the 2015 NCAA DII Championships, while McKendree was seventh and UIndy was 24th. The Greyhounds were eighth overall and McKendree was 10th joining third-place Maryville at the 2014 event.
This past spring, McKendree sophomore Darren Wynn (Champaign)became the first Bearcat to claim an individual title at the NCAA Division II Championships. Wynn won all four of his matches in the 141-pound weight class, including a 12-8 decision over Joseph Alessandro of Seton Hill University (Pa.) in the finals. Wynn’s first-place individual finish helped lead McKendree to an eighth-place finish at the 2016 national meet. Wynn was one of two GLVC wrestlers to win a national title this past year as he was joined by Nick Becker from UW-Parkside, who grabbed first place at 174 pounds.
Overall, UW-Parkside has claimed five NCAA individual titles, followed by Truman State (2), Indianapolis (1), Maryville (1), and McKendree (1).
The 2016-17 schedule will be announced at a later date, however GLVC competition is expected to take place over a three-week period in January and February. The GLVC champion shall be decided upon by winning percentage of league matches only. There will not be a postseason tournament.
This story was originally published July 8, 2016 at 4:44 PM with the headline "GLVC adds wrestling to its sports menu."