NORTH BOSTON, N.Y. - June 3, 2022 – Beginning with the 2022-23 season, the Hiram College men's wrestling program will join the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) and compete as an affiliate member.

"We have enjoyed a fruitful relationship with the AMCC and our men's volleyball program for the last several years," Director of Athletics Scott Pohlman said. "We are excited to begin a new phase with the addition of our men's wrestling program to the AMCC, which will give our men's program the opportunity to compete for conference honors."
 
Hiram will join three other AMCC conference members: Alfred State University, Penn State Behrend and the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford that sponsor men's wrestling, giving the AMCC enough teams to host a conference tournament.
 
"I am excited to have the men's wrestling team join the AMCC so that Hiram wrestlers can compete for team and individual conference championships," Director of Wrestling Operations and Head Men's Wrestling Coach Andy Vogel said. "It is a great next step in the rebirth of the program, and I look forward to competing with the other AMCC schools in 2022 and beyond.
 
Men's wrestling will be Hiram's second sport competing in the AMCC, with the men's volleyball program also competing as an affiliate member in the conference since 2019.
 
Founded in 1997, the AMCC was initially formed as a group of six colleges and universities under the leadership of its founding President, Dr. Richard McDowell, then the president of Pitt. Bradford. Since starting athletic competition in 1997-98, the AMCC has expanded from its six charter members to nine-member schools, plus affiliate members in swimming & diving, men's volleyball, women's bowling and now men's wrestling.
 
"The AMCC is always looking for ways to grow our support for student-athletes," AMCC Commissioner Donna Ledwin said.  "With Hiram on board as an affiliate member, it means that many more of our student-athletes will be able to establish rivalries, earn weekly and seasonal awards recognition, and experience a conference championship. It's my hope that the addition of women's wrestling, now an NCAA emerging sport for women, will be not too far down the road."
 
Men's wrestling increases the AMCC's NCAA sport offerings to 17 and marks the first new sport offered by the conference since the league added women's bowling and men's volleyball in 2013-14.
 
The Terriers, entering their second season and third year of competition since the re-establishment of the program in Jan. 2020, will enter their third year under Vogel in 2022-23.
 
The addition of men's wrestling at Hiram re-established a program that competed from 1954 to 1971 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and from 1972 to 1987 in the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC).
 
Over 33 years, 10 Terriers earned All-America honors, and 25 former wrestlers have since been inducted into the William H. Hollinger Hall of Fame.
 
This past season, the Terriers hit the mats, competing for the first time since 1987, picking up their first dual-win against Penn St. Behrend on Feb. 10, and hosting their first dual against Thiel on Nov. 17, 2021.
 
Hiram College will begin its 23rd year of competition in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) this fall, having previously competed in both the PAC and OAC throughout its storied athlete history.