By Mike Finn, W.I.N. Editor
Like any father and sons, of two different generations who have different points of views, Al and Chris Bevilacqua have differing opinions to make wrestling better.
“It’s not the same passion that my father has,” said Chris, the former Penn State wrestler, who became better known for creating College Sports Television (CSTV). “I have more of a life’s passion, which is more holistic and balanced.
“His passion is singular and that’s why he has been great. My views of life have been broader.”
“My goal is to expand the base of wrestling,” said Al, one-time Hofstra coach who brought wrestling to the city of New York and its middle and high schools with his Beat The Streets program.
In the end, it’s their passion for the sport that unites them.
And that is a big reason they were named W.I.N.’s 2006 Impact Award winners.
“I am really excited about our 2006 Impact of the Year Award winners,” said W.I.N. publisher Bryan Van Kley. “You would be hard pressed to find a person with more passion and concern for the sport of wrestling than Al Bevilacqua.
“And the thing that I’ve always appreciated so much about Al is he doesn’t just look at what issues wrestling is facing right now. He has a unique ability to step back and look at the big picture. What kind of “outside of the box” things can we do now to make sure wrestling is healthy in 10, 25 or 50 years.
“That type of vision has also wore off on his son, Chris. And Chris has the modern-day education, youth and technical skills to take that kind of vision that his dad has and transfer that into opportunities in mainstream media.
“I distinctly remember several times last year talking to W.I.N. founder Mike Chapman where he would come into the International Wrestling Institute & Museum and say, ‘I can’t believe it. I sat down on my couch last night and watched two college teams from out East wrestle. That’s unprecedented for a weekday night.’
“Chris is the main person responsible for wrestling’s huge presence on that network. We may not realize for years the impact that is going to have.”
Chris said he used the same mentality he learned in wrestling to create CSTV at a time when ESPN was dominating the cable sports stations.
“There was the day-to-day grinding that I got from the sport,” said Chris. “I was one of those guys who talked about how you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And the E in elephant stood for ESPN, which could not be eaten all at once.
“I had to keep scratching and clawing.
There is a special trait that all wrestlers could see if they dig deep within themselves.CSTV wasn’t successful because it was a good idea. It was successful from doing it.Competing against the media like ESPN and Fox is truly a David vs. Goliath story.”
Because of CSTV’s impact on college sports, including wrestling, the network was purchased last year by CBS. Chris is now working for a marketing firm in New York.
“My son gave wrestling a gift,” Al said.
“We have to hope and pray that they continue to cover college wrestling.”
The passion these two exchange is no different than when Al left his Hofstra head coaching position in 1978 to join the United States Wrestling Federation (which later became USA Wrestling) in Stillwater, Okla.
Now at age 67, Al still has the same passion for wrestling.
“It’s a great activity for kids,” Al said. “I did it for 35 years. I’m a teacher/coach. I’m not a coach/teacher. I use wrestling as a tool to create some great kids.”
And since 2005, when he and Bill Crum helped create the Beat the Streets program, they have seen wrestling come to over 40 high school and 120 middle school programs in the city of New York.
Al said he wants to raise enough money to put a wrestling mat in all 11,000 schools but wants to put an emphasis on New York’s middle schools.
“New York City started wrestling in 1973 with 25 programs,” Al said. “In 2006, they still only have 25 because they have no feeder programs. You put those kids at a disadvantage when they have to compete with Long Island kids.”
But Al is not as interested in creating elite programs in New York. Rather, he just wants the number of kids wrestling, even in an intramural or academic setting.
“There are 1.2 million students who will get a chance to try wrestling,” Al said. “I sell the principals on a very simple thing: I put a mat down and advertise you are going to have a wrestling program and the kids will come.
“The real benefits of what we are going to do is not going to take hold for another seven to eight years. Last year we had 500 kids in the program. This year we have 1,000 so it will take time for them to filter up into high school.”
Al said he would love to see the Beat the Streets program move to other urban areas in this country.
“We have 10,000 high school programs right now, which wrestle,” Al said. “There are 28,000 high schools so why not try to take your product to those 18,000 high schools (who don’t have wrestling). Most of them are in the urban area.
“Los Angeles doesn’t have much high school wrestling. San Francisco and Detroit don’t have it. Chicago has only 13 programs out of 65. Your large urban centers have very few sports to begin with.
“I would like to see someone take the model we created because the model is to try and get the Department of Education of everyone of these cities to bring in wrestling.”
With such passion, hopefully someone takes on the work of the Bevilacquas.
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