"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Those are words of Solomon, the wisest man to walk the earth. His wisdom rings true today. We are in a struggle today to save wrestling at the collegiate level. This isn't about UM-Morris' program, its athletes, or alumni; no, it is about SAVING WRESTLING! You've got to understand the big picture. The administration at UM-Morris is no different than any other college or university that decided to drop wrestling. They understood that there will be heat in the beginning; lots of e-mails, phone calls, and letters. Right now they are responding with "canned e-mail." Everyone is getting the same response. But they also realize that after a few weeks that the flame will burn down, interest in the decision will slip quietly away. That is what is happening right now. After 100*s of letters in the first two weeks, they are trickling in right now. I learned a lot from the sport of wrestling. I learned about delayed gratification. I learned discipline, and I learned about sustained effort. You see this battle to save wrestling (one program at a time) is about delayed gratification and sustained effort. One letter doesn't get it done. A letter a week does for a year does. Dennis Hall taught me that to be victorious "you need to pound and pummel their head." We need to break our opponents. We need to tire them out. We got to make them not want to fight. We got to make them quit and give up. I guarantee that not too many administrators know about endurance! But if you are reading this letter you do! We need to band together and fight for our family. This shouldn't be a one man battle. We need to rely on each other. Read those words of Solomon again - "though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." We need to bind ourselves together - a cord that cannot be broken. That means today as a family we need to commit to fighting for this small program in central Minnesota. You need to do what you are able to do - write letters, testimonials of the sport, e-mails, send letters to the editor, make a phone call, say a prayer. It is nothing too tough, just a commitment to the sport. It is giving back to the sport that gave you so much. It is preserving a tradition for our future generations. You bet it is worth fight for! If you need the facts go to this website: http://www.amateurwrestlingphotos.com/spotlight/save_umm.html If you want to put pressure on the man (Dr. Sam Schumann and Sandy Olson-Loy) who made the decision to drop the program, then you have to go over their head. Below is the contact information for the President of the University of Minnesota, the Board of Regents for the University of Minnesota. Also send a copy of your e-mail, letters to me reesedc@mrs.umn.edu and to the local paper, the Morris Sun-Tribune morrtrib@info-link.net who supports this effort fully. Honorable David Metzen Chair 600 McNamara Alumni Center 200 Oak Street SE Minneapolis, MN 55455-2020 Honorable Clyde Allen, Jr. 318 44th Avenue South Moorhead, MN 56560 Honorable Peter Bell Metropolitan Council 30 East 5th Street St. Paul, MN 55101-1626 Honorable Frank Berman 7600 Parklawn Avenue Suite 423 Edina, MN 55435 Honorable Dallas Bohnsack 5550 Bohnsack Way New Prague, MN 56071 Honorable John Frobenius U.S. Bank Place, Suite 410, Box 6 1015 West St. Germain St. Cloud, MN 56301 Honorable Anthony Baraga, Vice Chair Box 26 Side Lake, MN 55781 Honorable William Hogan II 4040 IDS Center 80 South 8th Street Minneapolis, MN 55402 Honorable Richard McNamara Activar, Inc. 7808 Creekridge Circle #200 Minneapolis, MN 55439 Honorable Lakeesha Ransom 432 Morrill Hall 100 Church Street SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 Honorable Maureen Reed 8596 Kimbro Lane North Stillwater, MN 55082 Honorable Patricia Simmons 2505 Hillside Lane SW Rochester, MN 55902-1150 A copy of all correspondence is appreciated by: Ann D. Cieslak Executive Director and Corporate Secretary 600 McNamara Alumni Center 200 Oak Street SE University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455-2020 Student Representatives to the Board of Regents 2003-2004 Travis Amiot (UMD) (Vice Chair) Educational Policy & Planning Committee Finance and Operations Committee 38376 Beach Street Warroad, MN 56763 (218) 310-5264 (cell) amio0017@d.umn.edu Cameron Brauer (UMC) Facilities Committee UMC Box 1065 University of Minnesota Crookston Crookston, MN 56716 (218) 289-2003 ucjb001@umn.edu Joshua Colburn (MSA) (Vice Chair) Audit Committee Finance and Operations Committe 220 Delaware Street SE #160 Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612) 309-4468 colb0013@umn.edu Jacob Elo (MSA) ( Chair) Audit Committee Faculty, Staff & Student Affairs Committee 920 Delaware Street SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612) 251-7570 elox0004@umn.edu Johanna Farmer (UMM) Faculty, Staff & Student Affairs Committee Congressional Hall Room 313 (Summer) 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016-8108 farm0051@umn.edu Gina Jennissen (GAPSA) Educational Policy & Planning Committee 4119 Cleveland Street NE Columbia Heights, MN 55421 (763) 789-4713 bran0466@umn.edu Andrew Sorsoleil (St. Paul) Facilities Committee 2060 Carter Avenue St. Paul, MN 55108 (612) 716-8166 sors0005@umn.edu E-mail the President's office with questions or comments: UPres@umn.edu Dr. Robert H. Bruininks Fight the good fight, God bless,