Eagle Wresting To Join GMAC In 2020-21 As Associate Member

Ashland University's wrestling team will have the opportunity to compete for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship a year ahead of schedule.
 
As announced by the GMAC on Tuesday (Aug. 4), the Eagle grapplers are joining the conference in 2020-21 as an associate member – a year before the entire AU athletic program joins the GMAC in full membership in 2021-22.
 
"I'm very excited. Obviously, we've been without a chance to compete for a championship at the conference level for a couple years," said Ashland head coach Josh Hutchens. "It will be very familiar to us. I think that will be exciting, at an individual level and, of course, as a team."
 
"We are excited to welcome Ashland's wrestling program for the 2020-21 season," said GMAC Commissioner Tom Daeger. "The opportunity to bring in the Eagles a year early, prior to their first season of full membership, will deliver additional strength to the wrestling competition and provide support, recognition and a great championship experience for these Ashland student-athletes."
 
Ashland joins Findlay, Kentucky Wesleyan, Lake Erie, Ohio Valley and Tiffin in the quest for the 2021 GMAC championship. The conference championship duals format will be modified to a bracket-style tournament mirroring the super regional setup.
 
The 2021 GMAC Championships will be hosted by Kentucky Wesleyan.
 
"There's a camaraderie that we have with a lot of the teams in the GMAC that will be revived," Hutchens said. "Having us competing together in the same gym for a conference championship will certainly be enjoyable."
 
Ashland was slated to have seven wrestlers compete at the 2020 NCAA Division II National Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D., prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rich tradition of Eagle wrestling includes seven national champions, the most recent being both Bret Romanzak and Luke Cramer in 2018 – the only time in AU grappling history that two Eagles have won national titles in the same year.