South Dakota State University is one of six schools to receive an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference as an affiliate member for wrestling, league officials announced Wednesday.
“Joining the Big 12 Conference in wrestling is huge for SDSU, our wrestling program and the fans of our program,” Jackrabbit head coach Chris Bono said. “We are now in one of the premier conferences in the country, which will bring more attention to our program across the country and let our student-athletes compete against the nation’s best.”
The affiliate member additions are effective beginning with the upcoming 2015-16 academic year. Affiliate members will immediately compete for the conference’s postseason championship and the league’s automatic qualification to NCAA postseason competition. The 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship is scheduled for March 5-6 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
“We are excited to announce the addition of affiliate members in sports where the league already maintains a strong competition level,” said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who also announced affiliate memberships for women’s gymnastics. “The additional institutions will improve and strengthen what are already strong postseason events for the Big 12.”
Besides SDSU, the five other members of the Western Wrestling Conference — Air Force, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming — also received affiliate membership. The Big 12 Conference now will feature 10 wrestling programs with Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia previously making up the league’s slate of teams.
“Coach Bono has brought new life to our wrestling program and the growth over the past three years has been nothing short of spectacular,” SDSU Director of Athletics Justin Sell said. “The opportunity to join the highly respected Big 12 Conference will further allow our student-athletes to compete against the best and for us to develop All-Americans and national champions. The future is bright for the Jackrabbits.”
The Jackrabbits have competed in the Western Wrestling Conference since the formation of the alliance at the start of the 2006-07 season. SDSU competed as a Division I independent for two seasons after joining the ranks of NCAA Division I in the fall of 2004.
SDSU finished third at the 2015 NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championship and qualified three individual wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
