NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS TO BE HOSTED IN CEDAR RAPIDS FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS

Story courtesy of NAIA Sports Information Department

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2011 and 2012 NAIA Wrestling National Championships presented by the Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau will be hosted by the U.S. Cellular Center, announced by National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) office on Thursday. The events will occur in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with the 2011 Championship from March 3-5 and the 2012 event from March 1-3.

"The NAIA is proud to send the Wrestling National Championships for the next two years to a place like Cedar Rapids," said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. "With the proud and storied tradition of wrestling in the state of Iowa, I have no doubt that the student-athletes and all involved will have a terrific experience.”

The U.S. Cellular Center is considered Eastern Iowa’s premiere venue. The 7,800 seat facility hosts several recognizable sporting events, including the 2010 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships and the Iowa State High School Dual Team Wrestling Tournament. In addition, ice shows, concerts and rodeos are a regular occurrence. The arena first opened in 1979 as the Five Seasons Center and in 2000, the name was changed to U.S. Cellular Center. For more information, click here. The Convention & Visitors Bureau specializes in attracting guests to the Cedar Rapids area. For more information, click here

"The city of Cedar Rapids and the U.S. Cellular Center have hosted successful collegiate wrestling national championships over the past few years,” said Scott McClure, NAIA Manager of Championship Sports. “They have the experience and the resources to put on outstanding NAIA championship events and we look forward to partnering with them for the next two years.”

The state of Iowa has hosted six previous Wrestling Championships with all taking place in Sioux City. Most recently, Sioux City hosted the event from 2005-08. The NAIA estimates that 5,000-8,000 fans attend the wrestling championships each year.

”The Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is excited to welcome the athletes, coaches, families and fans who will travel to Cedar Rapids for the NAIA Wrestling Championships in 2011 and 2012,” said Mary Lee Malmberg, Director of Sports Tourism at the Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We look forward to showing them our brand of Midwestern hospitality as well as our love for the sport of wrestling.”

The Championship consists of 10 individual weight classes with five different sessions during the three-day span. Wrestlers qualify for the Championships in one of three ways: placing in the top four in any weight class at the Qualifying Group tournament; having a .666 or better winning percentage against four-year accredited intercollegiate competition provided he participates in a minimum of 12 matches during the regular season; through an intercollegiate tournament during the season. For more information on qualification, click here.

In the history of the sport, there have been 19 national team champions as first-time winner, Notre Dame (Ohio), won the 2010 Championship. The first NAIA Wrestling National Championship occurred in 1958, hosted in Mankato, Minn. The host school, Mankato State (Minn.) won the inaugural title. Currently, 38 varsity programs sponsor wrestling in the NAIA.

To learn more about NAIA wrestling, click here.