What Cael Sanderson’s extension means for Penn State Wrestling

Taking a look at how the recent contract extension for Cael Sanderson impacts the Nittany Lions’ Wrestling program

As we all now know, Penn State just extended the tenure of Cael Sanderson as the head coach of the Nittany Lion Wrestling team. I would file this move directly under the column which reads “Smart”, Because why would you not want one of the best coaches in the entire nation to stay at the helm of one of your athletic programs?

The details of the contract extension are not currently available, however let’s take a look at how this impacts Penn State.

First and foremost, this extension means Penn State is committed to Cael Sanderson, but more importantly, it means that Cael Sanderson is committed to Penn State. And this is a big one.

Given ample time, I firmly believe Cael Sanderson could win at literally any of the Division I wrestling programs in the country, which is obviously good news for the school who has Cael, and bad for the rest of the schools who don’t.

Prior to Sanderson coming to Happy Valley, was Penn State a solid wrestling program? Sure, but they hadn’t won a conference team title since 1992 and they hadn’t won an NCAA team title since 1953.

Since Cael Sanderson has stepped on campus, the Nittany Lions have added an incredible nine NCAA team titles and a staggering 32 individual titles since 2011. For reference, Cornell is second with 11 individual titles.

So my overall point is this, the Penn State Athletic Department needs to do anything and everything in their power to ensure Cael is happy with both coaching at Penn State and living in State College. If he ever needs anything, the only correct response should be “When and how much?”. Period.

And by all accounts (read: contract extension) it does appear he is content with staying in Happy Valley.

The next direct impact of this extension is the simple fact the Nittany Lions will continue to be dominant on the mat. They already return four NCAA championships from the prior season in Roman Bravo-Young, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, and Max Dean. Not to mention a potential NCAA championship contender in Greg Kerkvliet, a (hopefully) triumphant return for Robbie Howard, and a stable of talented youngsters in Levi Haines, Alex Facundo, and Shayne Van Ness.

The future certainly looks bright.

Continuity in the coaching staff only means good news for Penn State and really bad news for Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma State, and Missouri.

Which brings us to the last point. The “continuity” I just mentioned is also paramount in regard to the lifeblood of collegiate athletics: recruiting.

With Cael Sanderson still in the captain’s chair, the Nittany Lions will continue to bring in top class after top class. Top classes mixed with the best coaching staff in the nation leads to more winning, and more winning leads to more top classes. It’s really a vicious cycle.

The bottom line is this, a decade ago it would have been crazy to think anyone in the modern era of college wrestling would be able to surpass Dan Gable’s record of 15 NCAA team titles. But guess what? Here we are.

With Cael Sanderson at Penn State, the two of them are inching ever closer with each passing season. Who knows, maybe way down the line when Cael Sanderson finally decides to hang it up, he may just still be prowling the sidelines at Penn State.

We can only dream, right?