Without former wrestlers and fans fighting to protect their favorite college programs, wrestling will continue to be a sport at risk. Thankfully, there are people that have stepped up for the sake of their college teams, well after their wrestling days were through.  

A case in point is Steve Hayleck, a former Maryland walk-on that is known nationally in email changes and wrestling boards as "wrestlingterp."    

Hayleck has been a faithful foot soldier for the Maryland Terrapins athletics program.  Without waiting for an engraved invitation to help, Hayleck saw the need and got involved and has helped move Maryland wrestling from a program teetering on the brink to one that is just shy of being fully funded.      

Former Lehigh assistant Pat Santoro credits Hayleck for talking him into applying for the top job at Maryland.  Santoro said that Hayleck called him and let him know that the program was ready to achieve great things.  The pep talk was enough to get Santoro's interest and draw him away from a 10th season as a Lehigh coach.      

Now Santoro, who is finishing his first year as Maryland's head coach, is convinced that Maryland is ready to reach new levels.      "It will take a couple of years, but we have the support of the university, and we are nearing the point of being fully funded.  Hopefully, by Christmas we will have raised enough money to be at a full 9.9 scholarships," said Santoro.      

Maryland, like many states, has suffered under the budget crunch. There are no tax dollars used to support any collegiate athletic programs.  In order to be successful, the wrestling squad had to raise thousands of dollars to move up from the five scholarships that the previous coaching staff had to work with.      

Steve Hayleck helped gather a working group of wrestling supporters that took the initiative in what became known as the "Fear the Turtle" campaign. Groups representing each of the non-revenue sports headed the Fear the Turtle campaign.  They rolled up their sleeves and got to work.      

After completing the fundraising effort, Hayleck proudly states, "We raised more money than any team in the Fear the Turtle campaign and also had more individuals contribute.  Considering that sports like baseball have alumni who went on to play in the Major Leagues, I think this was pretty significant."      

The Maryland wrestling program looks to raise an additional $66,000 that will get their team to the NCAA maximum of 9.9 scholarships by the end of the year.      

Another way that Hayleck helped to support Maryland wrestling was by actively supporting and educating the Athletic Director on campus, Debbie Yow.  Yow was concerned that Maryland couldn't compete on a level playing field in eight of the non-revenue sports due to Title IX restrictions.  Because of the success of the Fear the Turtle campaign, Yow was able to add women's water polo and competitive cheerleading allowing other sports, such as wrestling, to increase the number of scholarships available.      

Hayleck noted that he took time to discuss the success of the Maryland wrestling team with Yow.      

"We've had her attend wrestling alumni functions and she is the only AD in memory that attends dual meets.  I let her know what current and former wrestlers are doing that are positive, like graduating from medical school," stated Hayleck.     

 Basically, Hayleck made a commitment to make sure that the athletic director realized that wrestling was a vital part of the campus community.  Hayleck's work for Maryland athletics hasn't gone unnoticed.      

"Steve Hayleck is a true sportsman," said Debbie Yow.  "He understands that winning without honor is not a worthwhile goal.  He has been a mainstay in our wrestling program, doing everything he can to generate scholarship funds. We're going to take the program to the next level under Coach Santoro and Steve will be right there, supporting every step."    

For Hayleck, the success of the FTT Campaign, and his work in communicating the need to support Maryland wrestling is just the beginning.  Future plans include making the Terrapin Takedown Club an official support group like Minnesota and Lehigh have.  Interested supporters of Maryland wrestling are encouraged to contact assistant coach Shane Mack at smack1@umd.edu or call 301-314-6677.      

Hayleck's leadership at the state level in Maryland is certainly impressive, but he also is a consistent voice in the need to find a fair interpretation to Title IX.     

 "When I was in high school there were over 20 collegiate wrestling programs in Maryland alone.  Now we are down to just four with the Naval Academy, McDaniel and John Hopkins also in the state. We need to preserve the few programs we have left, while we fight to add opportunities for the future," said Hayleck.      Hayleck sees the need for the wrestling community to support every program nationally, not just the ones at the top, but the smaller schools like Davidson, Slippery Rock, Portland State, and UC Davis.     

 According to Hayleck, "I doubt there is a college coach out there that wouldn't welcome some help."      

Supporting wrestling has been a life-long commitment for Steve Hayleck. His work might be one reason that in the future you will "fear the turtle."