For college wrestling, July and August are the heart of the off-season. Except for coaching changes, not a whole lot happens in the summer. However, in mid-2014, there were seemingly momentous decisions affecting NCAA sports. One involved a federal court ruling on what is known as the O'Bannon case where a federal judge ruled that the NCAA can't stop college football and basketball players from selling the rights to their names and likenesses once their collegiate careers are over. In the other, the NCAA Board of Directors approved new rule-making autonomy for the 65 schools in the so-called "Power Five", "Big Five" or "Super Five" conferences ? the Big Ten, Big 12, the Southeast Conference, the Pac-12, and the Atlantic Coast Conference.

What could these changes mean for college wrestling? Will wrestlers reap any benefits... or could the NCAA be taking wrestling down a path that may ultimately hasten the demise of traditional intercollegiate mat programs at a number of schools?