Slippery Rock wrestling program’s return after nearly 20 years a ‘great, emotional’ day
It has been nearly 20 years since Jason Cardillo and Charlie Pienaar took home silver in the PSAC Wrestling Championships, and since they and several of their teammates competed in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
The Slippery Rock University wrestling program has been dormant since 2006, cut by the university along with seven other athletic programs after the 2005-06 school year.
But on Monday, the athletic department announced men’s wrestling will return in 2027. It is welcome news years in the making for longtime Butler head coach Scott Stoner and his assistant, Fred Powell, who was the SRU coach before it folded.
“I have a real hard time just encapsulating just how great, emotional thing this is. It meant everything to me,” said Stoner, who was a walk-on at SRU before becoming a full-time starter who made the NCAA Tournament and finished with 89 career wins. “There was a lot of growth and a lot of struggle there ... and a lot of great accomplishment.”
Stoner is part of an organization that for years sought to bring back the wrestling program. He said he’s been to the old field house he competed in maybe twice in the past 20 years and it brought up difficult emotions. Now, he’s looking forward to brighter days.
Powell coached The Rock from 1967-91, winning nearly two-thirds of his games, and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005.
“That was really difficult for a lot of people who had a lot of Rock pride,” said Stoner, who called the decision “shocking” at the time. “Over that period of time, myself, Fred Powell, John Butch and others ... we worked with various administrations to try to reestablish the program.”
Stoner credited university president Dr. Karen Riley and athletic director Dr. Roberta Page with opening the door to bringing back the program. Vice president of university advancement Troy Miller was also involved, Stoner said.
“I really think it was just a wholehearted effort,” Stoner said. “They trusted in us and went forward.”
It is the second varsity sport Slippery Rock is adding in 2027. The university announced the formation of a women’s flag football team last week.
SRU wrestling will compete in Division II when it begins the 2027-28 season, due to different NCAA rules since Slippery Rock last competed.
SRU is also launching a fundraising campaign for $2 million. Former Rock wrestler Robert Dudley (1977) will match up to $250,000 of donations, as well.
Stoner hopes SRU will hire a young head coach with experience in D-I or II recruiting and competition. Stoner hopes to be a resource for the future coaching staff, which will likely be hired in the coming months to give the coaches time to recruit ahead of the 2027-28 school year.
