Cover art for podcast Rocked Up

Rocked Up

15 EpisodesProduced by Jason BryantWebsite

Wrestling is the world's oldest sport. In Arkansas, it's the newest. Follow the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as it starts up a brand new sport in a place that hasn't seen major college wrestling in half a century. Rocked up follows the fledgling wrestling program as it begins from scratch w… read more

24:11

Who is Neil Erisman?

If you’re the athletics director at a Division I institution and you’re looking to hire a head coach to start your team from scratch, what are some of the credentials you look for? If you’re starting a basketball team, are you going to look at someone like a legendary coach like Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski or UConn’s Geno Auriemma? Would you go with a legendary athlete like a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James? In football, are you looking for the Joe Montana-type or are you looking for someone who’s built a career on coaching despite not having lavish athletic credentials like New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick? Are you looking for a person to groom the culture and create a community and family or are you looking for someone who wants to win at any cost. The one thing about college sports is all of those types of coaches get jobs at some point or another. In wrestling, Division I head coaching jobs are rare. As we enter the 2019-20 college wrestling season, there are 78 Division I wrestling teams. In Division I basketball, there are 347 teams. Wrestling teams are often classified as non-revenue sports, meaning the school isn’t taking in a lot of money on gate receipts. At the Division I level, basketball and football are revenue sports, where schools sometimes rely on the attendance and success of those programs to help finance the other sports in the department. Whether or not those teams bring in positive cashflow doesn’t change their distinction. So the pressure to win and put butts in the seats isn’t as imperative on a wrestling coach, although in the competitive climate of athletics with rising costs, coaches are now being charged to make their programs more valuable in the eyes of a department. If you’re a team with low graduation rates, poor grades, disciplinary problems and a culture of trouble, you’re going to be at risk, especially if you’re a non-revenue sport. With all that being considered, wrestling fans typically get stars in their eyes about the latest up-and-coming coach, usually someone who’s got tremendous credentials on the mat. It’s almost a let down for some fans when they hire a coach who isn’t a national champion. I don’t have anything statistically to justify this claim, but the impression I get is wrestling believes more than other sports that you have to have achieved at the highest level to be a successful coach. If it’s not a “name” hire, then the administration failed the fans and the alumni. So what type of hire was Little Rock AD Chasse Conque going to pick up? Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the sixth edition of this story. The first five set the table, because to tell the story of the Little Rock Trojans wrestling program, you had to start from the ground up – with the foundation of Arkansas high school wrestling, which didn’t even exist 11 years ago. Last episode, we talked with Chasse Conque shortly after the announcement came in March of 2018 that Little Rock would add Division I wrestling to its sports offerings starting in 2019-20. On June 20, 2018, Little Rock introduced the man who would lead their new program and set the tone for what to expect. So who is Neil Erisman? Rocked Up is a presentation of the Mat Talk Podcast Network and can be found on the web at GetRockedUp.com or at MatTalkOnline.com. SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS SUPPORT THE SHOW And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member and supporting the show. You'll get some cool stuff too.

Educational emoji reaction

Educational

Interesting emoji reaction

Interesting

Funny emoji reaction

Funny

Agree emoji reaction

Agree

Love emoji reaction

Love

Wow emoji reaction

Wow

Are you the creator of this podcast?

Verify your account

and pick the featured episodes for your show.

Listen to Rocked Up

RadioPublic

A free podcast app for iPhone and Android

  • User-created playlists and collections
  • Download episodes while on WiFi to listen without using mobile data
  • Stream podcast episodes without waiting for a download
  • Queue episodes to create a personal continuous playlist
RadioPublic on iOS and Android
Or by RSS
RSS feed
https://www.spreaker.com/show/3385574/episodes/feed

Connect with listeners

Podcasters use the RadioPublic listener relationship platform to build lasting connections with fans

Yes, let's begin connecting
Browser window

Find new listeners

  • A dedicated website for your podcast
  • Web embed players designed to convert visitors to listeners in the RadioPublic apps for iPhone and Android
Clicking mouse cursor

Understand your audience

  • Capture listener activity with affinity scores
  • Measure your promotional campaigns and integrate with Google and Facebook analytics
Graph of increasing value

Engage your fanbase

  • Deliver timely Calls To Action, including email acquistion for your mailing list
  • Share exactly the right moment in an episode via text, email, and social media
Icon of cellphone with money

Make money

  • Tip and transfer funds directly to podcastsers
  • Earn money for qualified plays in the RadioPublic apps with Paid Listens