Nat Brigante, the coach of the men and women's wrestling teams at the Univ. of Manitoba in Canada, was informed by administrators today that the college will drop its wrestling team.    According to Brigante, the reasons cited included the size of the team this year, the fact that no Manitoba athletes qualified for the CIS National Championships this season and that the school felt the money was better spent elsewhere.    The Univ. of Manitoba has helped host the annual FILA Manitoba Open, a major international men and women's freestyle wrestling competition held in Winnipeg each year. Top wrestlers from Canada, the United States and a number of other nations compete each year at this respected event.    A national letter writing campaign has been initiated by supporters of the Univ. of Manitoba program. Wrestling supporters from Canada and the United States are asked to send messages to the administration at the Univ. of Manitoba, asking them to reverse the decision and continue their wrestling team.    "I was just brought in this morning and told that they were pulling our participation privileges in the CIS," said Brigante. "They are killing both programs - men and women."    Brigante has coached wrestling at Manitoba since 1989. For nine seasons, the Bisons placed in the top three in the nation in men's wrestling. The women's program at Manitoba was started two seasons ago. This was the first time that Brigante's team did not have qualifiers for the national tournament.    Until the 1998 season, the wrestling program at the Univ. of Manitoba was self-funded, according to Brigante. In 1998, the wrestling team had access to the athletic department's "Championship Budget" for the conference and nationals tournament, up to a maximum of $8,000. This past season, the university provided handed $12,000 to run the men's and women's program, said Brigante. The cost to sponsor varsity wrestling at the Univ. of Manitoba has been very inexpensive to the university.    Among the star athletes developed at the Univ. of Manitoba have been Canadian Olympic-caliber wrestlers Dave Hohl and Wayne Weathers, and Espoir World Champion Alf Wurr.    Supporters of the wrestling team at the Univ. of Manitoba seek your help. They ask that you send a letter via e-mail to the following individuals    Dr Robert Kerr (Vice President)  robert_kerr@umanitoba.ca    Walt McKee (Assistant to the Dean)  walt_mckee@umanitoba.ca    Dr. Dennis Hrycaiko (Dean of Physical Education)  hrycaik@ms.umanitoba.ca    Coleen Dufresne (Athletic Director)  dufres@ms.umanitoba.ca    The wrestling community is encouraged to let these decision makers at the Univ. of Manitoba learn about the importance of the sport of wrestling and why the opportunities to participate in wrestling at their university should be preserved.    You contact coach Nat Brigante via e-mail at mbfreewr@mts.net