Some of you may know that the University of Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands has chosen not to have his team wrestle in the 2011 National Dual Tournament. The tournament will be held at UNI in Cedar Falls, Ia. So, it's a bit of a blow to UNI not to have Iowa wrestling there. Should Iowa have wrestled in the tournament simply because it's in Iowa this year if for no other reason? Do they owe that to their state and to UNI?

I pose a few questions:

Is coach Brands correct in choosing not to participate in the National Duals considering his team is very "young" this year? Or, is he just declining to participate in a tournamnet he figures Iowa cannot be competitive in and therefore being selfish in a way? I'm certainly not a college coach. So, perhaps there are legitimate reasons to exclude certain events from your teams schedue. Any thoughts?

Also, how important is the National Dual Tournament? Is it as important as the regular dual meet schedule? Is it as important as the NCAA National Wrestling Tournament?

Evidently, there is a push to make the National Duals an official tournament, rather than an invitational. Would it benefit college wrestling to have the National Duals be an official tournament? Is the National Duals really the best measure of a team's strength and ability? Or, is the NCAA Championship team title still the best measure of which team is the best in the nation?

Any thoughts on the National Duals in general and Iowa's declining it this year?