It's rare to see a college add men's sports programs with so many other schools dropping programs in light of Title IX restrictions. It's even more of a rarity to find a coach with prior experience join a new program. That's what Penn State New Kensington has found with Jeff Breese Jr., who has been charged with the responsibility of starting a collegiate wrestling program. "Jeff was by far the best candidate for the job," Penn State New Kensington athletic director David Murray said. "His prior experience at Seton Hill played a big part in the decision to hire him." Breese, a 2002 graduate of McGuffey High School, was hired Oct. 1. "I was an assistant coach at Seton Hill during its first two seasons, so I had experience with a program in its infancy," Breese said. "Those two years were a great learning experience for me. It showed me what needs to be done to get a new program off the ground."

Penn State New Kensington will be competing in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association. "The NCWA is a separate entity from the NCAA," Breese said. "None of our schools offer athletic scholarships, but do provide athletic programs that are on par with some of the programs in [NCAA] Division III. There are also club teams competing in the NCWA. There are more schools competing in the NCWA than in Division I, II and III combined." Breese has spent the past nine months putting together a roster. "We have 15 kids, and all but two are freshmen," Breese said. "My hope is to bring in another 15 next year. I'm looking for kids who may have been overlooked coming out of high school. These kids are still hungry to wrestle and we're giving them that opportunity." A few of the freshmen Breese has recruited are Elizabeth Forward's Jake Diana, Knoch's Grayson Hixon, Carlynton's Mark Irwin and Gateway's Chris Hugus. "One thing I really like about the NCWA is that they allow schools to enter more than one wrestler in a weight class in the postseason tournaments," Breese said. "That's great if you have two real good kids at the same weight class. They both get a chance to perform in the postseason."

Penn State New Kensington will make its debut on Nov. 7 at the Washington & Jefferson Open. "We will start preseason conditioning in September, then have our first full practice on Oct. 1," Breese said. "The W&J Open will be our first competition. I don't have any expectations for the first season. I just want the kids to practice hard and compete at the highest level we can handle." Wrestling is not the only new sport at Penn State New Kensington. "We also added men's soccer and brought back women's volleyball," Murray said. "We also tried to add a women's soccer program, but didn't get the response we had hoped for. Our goal is to give our students more opportunities to compete in athletics. We've gone from 34 athletes when I was hired a year ago, to more than 100 athletes in 2010." New Kensington is one of Penn State's branch campuses, but is also a four-year school. "We offer 10 different four-year degrees," Breese said. "The rest of the students transfer to the main campus or another branch for the other two years. So I'm recruiting kids who may only be here two years."

Breese was a two-time PIAA champion during his scholastic career at McGuffey. He won WPIAL and PIAA titles in 1999 as a 103-pound freshman, but missed his sophomore season with a knee injury. "I asked WJPA if I could help with their wrestling broadcasts while I sat out during my sophomore year," said Breese, referring to a Washington-based radio station that has been broadcasting scholastic wrestling for more than 50 years. "I've been working for WJPA whenever my schedule allows ever since." Injuries kept Breese from reaching his full potential at McGuffey. The same was true with his collegiate career. Breese accepted a scholarship to North Carolina State University, but injuries kept him off the mat all but one season. He graduated in 2006 with the goal of following his father, Jeff Sr., into the coaching profession. Former Steel Valley coach Clay Karadas is an assistant for Breese. Karadas has been designated as recruiting coordinator. "I also want to find another assistant to help me with the wrestling side of things," Breese said.

Thanks to Ken Wunderly (Tri-State Sports and News Service) and the "Post Gazette" (Pittsburgh, Pa.) for the article