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Eastern Michigan Eagles wrestling

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Eastern Michigan Eagles wrestling
Founded1956;
disestablished in 2018; 6 years ago (2018)[1]
UniversityEastern Michigan University
ConferenceMAC
LocationYpsilanti, MI
ArenaConvocation Center
(Capacity: 8,824)
NicknameEagles
ColorsGreen and white[2]
   

Eastern Michigan Eagles wrestling team was a men's athletic program at Eastern Michigan University. Based in Ypsilanti in the U.S. state of Michigan, the Eastern Michigan Eagles competed in NCAA Division I and were a member of Mid-American Conference.

The program was cut by the University in 2018 along with other sports.[1]

History

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Eastern Michigan adopted the sport of wrestling in 1956. The wrestling program was part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1957 through 1962. In 1963–1966, EMU wrestling switched conferences to the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Since the exit of the PAC conference, EMU has been a part of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), starting in 1973. In 1996, Eastern won its first Mid-American conference Championship under MAC Coach of the Year Willie Gadson. Eastern put six wrestlers in the finals and placed 8 of 10.

On March 20, 2018, EMU announced the elimination of wrestling[1] and three other sports.[3] Apart from wrestling, EMU eliminated men's swimming and diving, women's tennis, and softball. Other programs cut in the past had been men's gymnastics and women's field hockey (1988), men's tennis and men's soccer (2000).[4]

Home meets

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Main article: Convocation Center (Eastern Michigan University)

Home meets were held in 8,824 seat EMU Convocation Center located on Eastern Michigan's campus in Ypsilanti, Michigan.[5] Since 1991, the university was an annual host of the EMU Open/EMU Duals with over 500 wrestlers and NCAA schools across all divisions.[6]

Coaches

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Head coach

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The EMU wrestling team was coached by David Bolyard. David Bolyard took over the program from Derek DelPorto in 2014. David Bolyard attended Central Michigan University in 2000 and graduated from CMU. David Bolyard was an All-American his junior year, a four-time national qualifier, receive All-American honors, and broke a school record by winning 21 straight matches. David Bolyard was awarded the Chick Sherwood Award, which was presented to CMU's most valuable wrestler. David Bolyard ranked seventh all-time with 109 career wins and is tied for 10th with 22 falls in CMU history. David Bolyard was a 3x runner-up and a 2005 MAC champion at 165 lbs.[7] Davis Bolyard came to EMU in 2007 as an assistant coach, hired by former head coach, Derek DelPorto.

All-Americans

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Mid-American Conference champions

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Eastern Michigan wrestlers to protest school's decision to cut program by Ryna Zuke on mlive.com
  2. ^ "Colors - Division of Communications". Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  3. ^ Jesse, David (March 20, 2018). "EMU drops 4 sports to try to save money". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  4. ^ EMU to cut 4 varsity sports by Tony Paul on The Detroit News
  5. ^ Bowen Field House History Archived June 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "EMU Annual Open 1991 starts". EMU Annual Open 1991 starts. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Assistant Coach Bio". Assistant Coach Bio. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  8. ^ "NAIA Records". NAIA Records. Archived from the original on 2012-01-05. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  9. ^ "NCAA D2 record". NCAA D2 record. Archived from the original on 2012-01-05. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  10. ^ "NCAA D1 Records". NCAA D1 Records. Archived from the original on 2012-01-05. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  11. ^ "MAC Champs". MAC Champs. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  12. ^ "MAC Champs". MAC champs. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
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