The wrestling community had great reasons to celebrate last week. A college added a wrestling program. Even better, the team will be started in a state that currently has no college wrestling opportunities. Even better, the program will be a NCAA Div. I program in due time.    When Utah Valley State College announced that it had added varsity wrestling as its newest sports offering, the embattled wrestling world saw a ray of light, a glimmer of hope. In the days of dropped wrestling programs due to Title IX and other factors, a new program is something to be thankful for.    The entire wrestling community needs to become Utah Valley State Wolverine fans. The Utah wrestling community now has a college to call its own. We need to appreciate this college, its president, athletic director and other leaders, for choosing wrestling instead of another sport.    The true heroes of this story are the wrestling leaders in Utah. The Utah Amateur Wrestling Foundation was created during the time that Brigham Young Univ. went through the process of eliminating its wrestling team. The wrestling people in the state tried to fundraise to save the BYU program, and rally the troops to get the decision changed. It did not happen, and Utah joined the ranks of states without college wrestling, in spite of a strong youth and high school program.    The people of Utah did not give up. They continued raising funds, continued seeking opportunities, continued promoting wrestling. When they discovered that Utah Valley State College was looking to jump from a junior college to a Div. I four-year institution, Utah wrestling was ready. The college needed to add another sport to reach Div. I requirements. Utah needed a college wrestling team. Sounds like a perfect match, right?    It did not come easy. The wrestling leaders needed to convince Utah Valley State College that wrestling was the right choice. That took a great deal of work. In public statements, the athletic director suggested that men's volleyball had the inside track at this opportunity. But the wrestling people would not quit. And they did one better than any other group: they put their money where their mouth was.    The Utah Amateur Wrestling Foundation raised over $100,000 and made those funds available to the college to help them make the right decision. The wrestling group has also pledged to keep fundraising and finding ways to support Utah Valley State wrestling into the future. The wrestling community made a commitment to the college, in exchange for the opportunity to have a wrestling team.    Is it right that wrestling needs to raise considerable funds to get college wrestling opportunities? No. Colleges should be choosing wrestling because of its great popularity and large number of participants. But in the warped world of college athletics, where Title IX and financial issues knock down all sanity and rational reason, proven participation is not enough. Sometimes it takes something extra, like cold hard cash.    A year ago, American University decided to evaluate its wrestling program to see if the sport had a future in the college. A new athletic director had come aboard, and he was looking to take the athletic department to a new level. The wrestling alumni found out about this process and were greatly concerned. The wrestlers got organized and made a very strong case for the future of American wrestling. Some leaders stepped up big time, putting considerable time and money behind the push for maintaining and improving American wrestling.    The result? Today, American has a talented new head coach, nationally respected Mark Cody. The alumni are excited and activated to support and promote the program. The school is looking to move into the respected EIWA Conference, to compete with other strong Eastern wrestling programs. The administration at the school has a deeper appreciation of wrestling.    So what is the lesson to be learned? Wrestling needs to continue to fight for what is right. Wrestling needs to get organized and raise revenue and become a stronger force. Even though it should not have to be the case, wrestling needs to walk the extra mile, do the extra work, chip in the extra dollar. And when it all works out, wrestling needs to celebrate its successes.    Sports Illustrated recently published its annual ranking of Div. I colleges, based upon their entire sports programs. When looking through the list of colleges, it is striking how many colleges do not have wrestling teams. Many of the schools, perhaps lower down the list, may never have had wrestling in its program. It seems to me that we may have better success getting a new wrestling team on a campus that never had the sport than at one that went through the painful decisions to cut our sport. Perhaps some of these athletic directors and presidents might be open to the idea of adding wrestling, especially if a strong group of community leaders came to the table with a good plan and financial support. In some states, that plan might consider starting a men's and women's varsity wrestling program at the same time.    Recently, the National Federation of State High School Associations released its high school statistics for all sports, including wrestling. As has been the trend, wrestling continues to thrive in high school programs. Each year, TheMat.com lists the top 10 states for the number of high school wrestlers. This year, Washington and Florida made the Top 10 of high school wrestling participation.    Washington no longer has Div. I wrestling. Florida has no varsity college wrestling at all these days. This is a situation that is just not right. Perhaps leaders in these states, and others, could take a page from the Utah playbook and put together the grassroots support and finances needed to convince a college in their state to do the right thing. It sure won't be easy. But if there is anything to be learned from the Utah Valley State story, there still is hope. The spirit of wrestling can overcome great obstacles.