I woke up Sunday morning, started a pot of coffee and turned on my computer. Five minutes later, I sat down and searched Omaha.com to see how my alma mater had done in the state basketball tournament.  I was excited to see how Howells had done, not only because they were in the final, but because they had already won state in football, girls basketball and took third in wrestling earlier this year.  It must be very cool to have the opportunity to play sports in that small town these days. There is a very good chance that if you do, you will be battling for a state title.

To my dismay, I saw something very different. I instead saw that UNO had dropped their football and wrestling programs just after they had won their third straight NCAA DII wrestling championship.  At first, I laughed because I thought this had to be a joke.  I know very little about the football program at UNO, but growing up in Nebraska, I knew a lot about the wrestling program. It is an institution of values, learning and respect and people in Nebraska can identify with that.  

I am not going to sit here and talk about all the great things that the UNO wrestling team has done over the past 20 years, or how great of a person Mike Denney is, or how many lives Denney and his program have touched.  If I did that, I would be here all day and part of next week.  I am also not going to sit here and bash the people responsible for making this decision.  If I did I may also be here until next week, and I don’t have that kind of time!

The thing that really bothers me, is the opportunity lost for young men who could have competed in one of the dropped sports. Many sports teams are being dropped around the country these days, and it is disheartening.  Why, so Universities can win championships at a higher level? We need as many college athletic teams as possible at every level. Why? Because being a student athlete is very difficult and it changes your life.  

Young men and women learn discipline, commitment and values.  They learn how to plan, set goals and execute.  They learn how to manage their time.  They become educated and go on to do great things in life, raise great families and build respectable businesses.  They go on to teach or coach our youth to a higher level of respect and sportsmanship.  The saddest thing to me is not that 2 programs are being dropped, but that many opportunities are being lost for young athletes to go to the next level.  Not in sport, but in life.  

I have many close friends who competed in college athletics in many different sports, some of which attended UNO.  Many times, I wonder how their lives, or my life would have changed if it wasn’t for an opportunity to go to college because of a sport.  Is it the camaraderie between athletes?  Is it a coach who teaches you a life lesson?  Is it an institution that teaches you values and discipline that may not have been taught at home?  We need to do everything in our power to provide these opportunities, and preserve what has already been successful to the young men and women who deserve it.  And not only to those who deserve it, but to those who need it.

I truly hope UNO reconsiders dropping these programs, not because fans love to watch these sports and are passionate about them, but because there are young people in Nebraska and in the Midwest who need these opportunities to get their education and make a difference in our society.