Little Rock coach Neil Erisman on Pac-12: 'It's important that we keep wrestling in the West'
The Pac-12 isn’t what it used to be and Arkansas-Little Rock wrestling coach Neil Erisman knows it. Erisman, who’s in the midst of coaching the program’s best year since becoming a new Division 1 squad within the last five years, will see Pac-12 wrestling survive one more year.
Arizona State was victorious in its final Pac-12 Tournament as a team two weeks ago. Little Rock finished second in a six-team league featuring Oregon State, Stanford, Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield.
But next season, schools like Stanford and Arizona State will move to the ACC and Big 12, respectively, due to football first. The future of Pac-12 wrestling is up in the air, whether the conference adds new schools or merges with a different conference.
Regardless of the outcome, Erisman wants the sport to remain regional during the year to prove more opportunities around the country.
“We actually have a one-year waiver with the Pac-12,” Erisman said Wednesday at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center. “So the Pac-12 will exist for at least one more season. We hope to see kind of where the landscape of college athletics goes to make better decisions for wrestling in the West.
“It’s important that we keep wrestling in the West, and we allow more regional competition out there by not disbanding. But I think we’re all going to do what’s best for wrestling first and then try to focus on us afterwards.”
So one more year, and then, we’ll see. One thing’s for sure, Erisman has Little Rock moving in the right direction.
Erisman’s crew had three Pac-12 champions and five NCAA qualifiers for this year’s championships.
“Excited to be home,” Erisman said. “I grew up in Kansas City. Kansas City was the first time I’ve seen the championships. I think it was 2003 at Kemper Arena. It’s good to be back home seeing family and friends. We had a great season. Seems like not just a short time ago we didn’t have a program, and now we’re bringing five guys to the NCAA Tournament, winning the regular season Pac-12 championship and putting three conference champions.
“It’s been a really incredible season for us. We’ve had a lot of things that have made us really grateful and humbled us in the process. I’m excited about what this weekend brings and the direction that we can go from here on.”
How to watch 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Fans not in attendance for this year’s NCAA Wrestling Tournament have the option of streaming on Fubo TV. Below is how to watch across all sessions!
Dates: Thursday-Saturday (March 21st to 23rd)
Session 1: 12:00 p.m ET (Thursday)
Session 2: 7:00 p.m. ET (Thursday)
Session 3: 12 p.m. ET (Friday)
Session 4: 8:00 p.m ET (Friday)
Session 5: 12:00 p.m. ET (Saturday)
Session 6: 7:00 p.m. ET (Saturday)
Location: T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, MO)
Channel: ESPN and ESPNU
Live Stream: Fubo TV (Try for free)