The Henderson County school board on Monday night voted not to elevate the Henderson County High School wrestling team to varsity status.
Superintendent Thomas Richey said there were several reasons for the decision. The primary reason is Title 9. The district is spending $19,000 more on male sports than it is on girls sports, he said.
Also, coaches are required to be paid. The head coach must receive $2,000 and the assistant coach must receive $1,500. Other issues include unknown transportation costs, wrestling supplies and uniforms, and the costs of renting a practice facility.
When that was added all together, it came to between $10,000 and $11,500, Richey said.
The wrestling team has operated as a club sport for the past four years without the financial backing of the school system. Parents and coaches organized fundraisers to pay for expenses.
The team was allowed to compete against other high school teams during the regular season and the postseason, including the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state tournament.
However, last February, the KHSAA advised Henderson County athletic administrator Jody White that "club sports do not exist in the eyes of the KHSAA," and that club teams are not eligible to compete in KHSAA-sanctioned events.
"I think they (the KHSAA) just now realized what we were doing," Richey told The Gleaner last month.
"I'm not bitter, just disappointed," said Dennis Daugherty, whose son Jackson was a senior on last year's team.
"The kids put in a lot of work. They're passionate about the sport."
The team has sent wrestlers to the state meet every year since 2005, including an all-time high seven last year. It is ranked 23rd in the state and has nine ranked wrestlers.
Timothy Hogan is a parent whose son, Timothy Scott Hogan, is ranked 11th in the state. The elder Hogan said his son has received a full ride to wrestle for four years at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.
However, he said his son must complete his senior year of wrestling to keep the scholarship, and may have no option other than to transfer to another school.
"I think it's pretty wrong that they are going to take away wrestling when kids are getting scholarships," he said. "This is a shame. My heart's been ripped out, and my son's, too. This team has some great talent."
Hogan said a lot of kids didn't want to go to school if not for wrestling. He added that the club has been surviving on $3,000 each year, and that one year it cost $2,500 to operate.
Brandon Cole, one of the coaches, does not get paid for his services. He has been with the team for three years. He said he was 19 when he started volunteering as a coach and he has developed close friendships with the team members.
Sherry Higgins has a son, Alex Higgins, who is ranked 16th in the state. He made it to nationals in the eighth grade. His dream was to go to college and wrestle.
Christie Dukes'son, Corey Roberts, went to state in his first year of wrestling. He will be a freshman this year. She said he's already been looking at colleges to see if he can get a wrestling scholarship. She said wrestling has helped her son become more disciplined.
"It's just aggravating to us to see them (the school board) take this away from us," she said.
One parent said the wrestling club would appeal the board's decision. Richey said that under state law, there is an administrative procedure that says the club can ask for an appeal hearing within 30 days. That appeal would be heard by the local school board.
"I'm not opposed to wrestling," Richey said, "It's just a matter of budget cuts, and problems with Title 9 compliance, and facility needs. It started out as a club sport, and no one ever promised that this would be elevated to varsity status."