APPLETON, Wis. -- Lawrence University will suspend the wrestling program beginning with the 2009-10 season, Provost David Burrows announced today.
After extensive study and consultation, the university's Committee on Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics recommended the program be suspended. The recommendation was endorsed by the full faculty and accepted by the administration.
"This has been a difficult decision for everyone involved," Burrows said. "Despite the efforts of head coach Dave Novickis and a small, dedicated group of wrestlers, we have not had enough participants in recent years to sustain the program."
Lawrence, which competes in the rugged Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, has only eight wrestlers currently on the roster. There are 10 collegiate weight classes.
Wrestling has a long history at Lawrence, with references to a team dating back to the early part of the 20th century. The Vikings wrestled in the Midwest Conference from the inaugural championships in 1938 until the conference dropped the sport following the 1996-97 season. Lawrence won the 1962 Midwest Conference championship.
Lawrence enjoyed the most successful stretch in the program's history from the mid-1990s through the middle part of this decade. Overseeing Lawrence's emergence on the national level was Novickis, who is in his 16th season as the head coach.
Lawrence wrestled as an independent after the Midwest Conference dropped the sport until it joined the WIAC in 2002. Since that time, the program has seen its numbers dwindle while competing in one of the nation's best conferences. Lawrence's top finish in the seven-team WIAC Championships was sixth place in 2008.