Supporters of Boise State Wrestling, reflecting the spirit of their sport, showed up in large numbers Saturday outside the State Board of Education Building in Boise  Check out the photos here.

Save BSU Wrestling Rally
Melissa Rogers / 580 KIDO
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A large crowd of several hundred people that featured chants, impassioned speeches and call to save the Bronco Wrestling program sent a message Saturday Afternoon.  Former and current wrestlers shared their love of the program's history while urging the crowd to help with funding and contacting legislators.  Supporters signed the 'Save Boise State Wrestling' petition before and after the hour-long program.

The group will continue to pressure the administration to respond to their requests to save the program.  The tipping point will be whether elected officials agree with how Boise State Management handled this issue.  The more attention to this issue, the greater the chance that someone, Governor Otter, lawmakers, or the Idaho State Board of Education will intervene.

Miesha Tate, the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, attended the rally to support the Bronco Program.  She broadcast the rally on Facebook Live and said, "we're here in Boise trying to petition to save Boise State Wrestling."  Although Tate didn't wrestling in college she shared her appreciation of the sport.

"I didn't wrestle obviously at Boise State.  I love wrestling just the same.  But it's pretty sad to see colleges cutting wrestling programs.  They're replacing the program with baseball and I don't see why those two programs can't coexist.  They cut the program after future athletes signed their letters of intent now those kids don't have the opportunity to go somewhere else and wrestle."

The former UFC Champ described the removal of the BSU program as heartbreaking and revealed how much wrestling had made a difference in her life.  She urged her over two million followers on Facebook to support saving Boise State Wrestling.

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