re: Did LSU have any famous wrestlers

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Could lsu ever bring wrestling back?


I don't think so since a roster consists of approx. 32 wrestlers which have to share 9.9 scholarships (NCAA team limit). Similar to baseball with 35+ players and only having 11.7 scholarships to go around. Currently the only SEC school that has wrestling is Mizzou and they compete in the MAC. Wrestling is not an official NCAA sport in the SEC. If all 16 SEC schools had a wrestling program I think it could work out from a geographic and financial standpoint. With that being said, LSU would have to create an NCAA recognized Women's sport and offer the same 9.9 scholarships to maintain equality.

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Yep, sad but true. My freshman year there were wrestlers and gymnast in my dorm hallway. They were PISSED when they saw the writing on the wall.

I understand the need for Title IX, but IMHO, football, as a HUGE scholarship taker but also the main moneymaker, should be taken out of the numbers and considered differently. Then the other sports could balance out.

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I understand the need for Title IX,



I don't

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I get it in this current environment, but just consider this one item--back in the 70's LSU had no womens softball team.

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this will draw the downvotes down like rain but why exactly do we need one? we have intramurals

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How is that any different from wrestling or men’s gymnastics or really any men’s sports outside of football, basketball and baseball?

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The Victor Jones story is true, I was coaching at Zachary at the time

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It is definitely true. I was a student at the time. Fun fact- commissioner of agriculture Bob Odom at the time was the one who provided the helicopter. If I recall correctly it was between BR and Plaquemine. But I may be wrong on that part.

My favorite VJ story- at wrestling practice one day a guy said something to him that pissed him off. He picked him up in a headlock like he was going to duplex him and threw him into the gym lockers. That was a pretty tense day of practice. I was really happy I was a few weight classes down from Vic. I would not have wanted to be his sparring partner any day, much less that one.

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Sadly the program was a casualty of Title IX

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Tile IX shouldn’t exist anymore with the way women’s sports are being upended.

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that's a valid point but this is another example of the pendulum swinging too far, we've completely gutted men's athletics to assure the girls get participation awards, there should be some parity?

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Don’t get me wrong. I think the application of Title IX was flawed in many ways, but it’s not just about “participation”. It’s about the educational opportunities that are provided by athletic scholarships. There does need to be some degree of fundamental fairness there. The problem was the inclusion of football in that equation. That did ultimately create fewer athletic opportunities for men than women in other sports. That doesn’t really do anything to help women or achieve fairness.

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Don’t get me wrong. I think the application of Title IX was flawed in many ways, but it’s not just about “participation”. It’s about the educational opportunities that are provided by athletic scholarships. There does need to be some degree of fundamental fairness there. The problem was the inclusion of football in that equation. That did ultimately create fewer athletic opportunities for men than women in other sports. That doesn’t really do anything to help women or achieve fairness.

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Just comparing sports participation number between girls and boys at the youth level makes it all the more ridiculous why they should be forced to have an equal amount of scholarships. The ratio should be representative of participation, not skewed the other way just because

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Nick Saban got him to come to LSU by telling him they were bringing the wrestling program back.

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I’m honestly surprised LSU does not have a wrestling program. Wrestling is huge in Oklahoma and the Midwest like Iowa Wisconsin etc. All the money going around athletics, why not

Wikipedia shows that John Tenta died in 2006. That LSU article was written in 2019 and acts like he just died.