MMA show to double as fundraiser for CSUB wrestling
| Friday, Jun 25 2010 11:09 PM
Last Updated Friday, Jun 25 2010 11:24 PM
A 10-bout mixed martial arts professional card is slated to lend a financial hand to the Cal State Bakersfield wrestling program.
"It's been approved. It's going to happen," CSUB senior associate athletic director Gloria Friedman said of the MMA show slated for the on-campus Icardo Center on Saturday, Aug. 14.
Doors will open at 5 p.m. and the first bout is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Ticket prices will range from $35 to $200, according to Craig Tobin, one of the CSUB wrestling supporters who is one of the event organizers.
The 10-bout competition will be patterned after a similar wrestling fundraiser event held in May at Cal Poly, said Tobin, a former CSUB wrestler.
The Cal Poly event was spearheaded by Scott Adams, a co-founder of World Exchange Cagefighting in 2001 and sold in 2006. Adams, a former Cal Poly wrestler, served as that event's matchmaker and has agreed to be the matchmaker and promoter of the CSUB event, Tobin said.
"They made money at Cal Poly," Friedman said. "The athletic director said it was done well."
Proceeds of the May event went toward Cal Poly's endangered wrestling program.
CSUB President Horace Mitchell OK'd the return of wrestling, men's and women's golf and women's tennis to the CSUB athletic lineup for 2010-11 on June 1. In mid-February, Mitchell said those sports would be eliminated because of state budget problems.
When announcing the return of the sports, Mitchell said the four must raise all necessary money to operate, and put the figure at $700,000 per year.
Enough has been raised for 2010-11 to ensure the sports' survival. Money generated this summer and into next year will go toward 2011-12.
"We're pretty much the guinea pigs," Tobin said. "No other college is in the dire situation we are. We've got to figure out how to raise funds."
The Cal Poly event was put together over about a 4-week period, Tobin said.
"We've got a little more time to put this together," said Tobin, who added that he attended the Cal Poly MMA show.
"It was pretty exciting with a lot of energy in the stands," he said. "These guys (the fighters) are mentally tough, in my opinion a little different breed from a wrestler. I was impressed."
Former CSUB wrestler Brian Cobb, who has been a UFC fighter this year, is slated to be in the main event.
Tickets are not yet available, but Tobin said interested spectators can be placed on a pre-notification list so they can obtain tickets before the general public. Call 661-302-4455 for details.
