The Citadel Wrestling Association - 2024 Campaign

Dear Supporters of The Citadel Wrestling Team,

Thank you for your continued support of The Citadel's Wrestling team. We are excited to announce the launch of our annual campaign to grow and support The Citadel Wrestling Association (CWA). Coinciding with the first official week of this year's Wrestling Season, your participation in this campaign not only supports our team but also grants you automatic membership in the CWA, offering you exclusive access to our program and cadet-athletes.

Throughout the rich history of our wrestling program, we have achieved remarkable success, including 68 individual conference championships, 78 NCAA Qualifiers, 4 NCAA All-Americans, and 3 Conference Team Championships. Most recently last year’s team recorded the most wins in a single season with 14. In addition to our accomplishments on the mat, our cadet-athletes excel in the classroom, with numerous students earning placements on the Dean's List, Gold Stars, and SoCon Academic honor rolls.

We take immense pride in our program's academic achievements, which include 9 top-33 rankings in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division I All-Academic Teams, with last year finishing #25 overall. Leading the pack were our five individual Academic All Americans Ben Stemmet, Patrick Brophy, Carson DeRosier, Thomas Snipes, and Jeffery Boyd. This past Spring, our cadet-athletes achieved their seventh consecutive team GPA above 3.0, boasting an impressive 3.260 GPA.

As important as alumni and donor support was in the past, it is even more critical now with the changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics. Changes such as Name, Image, & Likeness (NIL), increased coaching staff positions, and increased NCAA scholarship limits are here to stay. Most people have reservations about many of these changes, especially former cadet-athletes. With the media boom of the last decade or so, student-athletes also receive many perks and benefits in travel, equipment, meal and nutrition opportunities that weren’t available in the past. Everything comes at a cost. While money can now be made off their NIL, the biggest concern for our cadet-athletes in a sport like Wrestling is to graduate with less debt. The Citadel offers very little academic scholarship money and minimal need-based financial aid. We have a roster size of over 35 cadet-athletes and have less than 9 athletic scholarships. In the past the CWA has stepped in to assist with travel, food, and necessary facility upgrades. In addition to this, we will call upon the CWA to fill in our scholarship budget as well as these other essential needs.

Your support is needed for us to continue climbing the ranks in the Southern Conference. Thankfully, Athletic Director Mike Capaccio sees the value of our program and has supported us every step of the way. However, unless something drastically changes in the future, every collegiate athletic program will rely heavily on private funding through contributions to the program. One of the keys to continued success, whether as an individual or team, is to make decisions based on principles, to stay humble, hungry, enthusiastic, and to take nothing for granted. This is needed from fans, alumni, and donors as well. Moving forward in this new landscape of NIL, increased scholarships, and the need for fundraising dollars, we simply can't rely on a few people to carry the whole load. "United we stand, divided we fall." – Aesop

In this effort, every gift makes a difference as we will receive a $5,000 matching gift if we reach 50 donors. No matter your level of contribution, your support plays a crucial role in funding various aspects of our program, including scholarships, travel costs, recruiting efforts, uniforms, training equipment, and essential nutritional requirements. You can easily join our campaign online via the link below, or you may choose to download our membership form, complete it with your desired level of support, and return it along with your payment.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to those who have generously donated to our program in the past, and we hope you will consider doing so again. To our new supporters, we warmly welcome you to The Citadel Family!

In conclusion, please rest assured that we remain dedicated to representing our school, alumni, coaches, and teammates to the best of our abilities. Your generosity holds tremendous meaning for us and significantly impacts our journey.

Thank you for your continued support

Together, we shall rise. Go Bulldogs!

The Citadel Wrestling Team