edman7001

I am new to college wrestling but I know that these are the 3 powerhouses in the sport. I also know that Iowa is well known for it's aggresive style but I still don't know what makes the other two schools what they are. I am looking for a detailed description about what each of these 3 different schools are known for and what makes them what they are.

RYou

Coaches that know how to motivate.
Assistant coaches that know how apply technique.
Student athletes that are in top of their weight class.

Now with that said and done.

Go take on some self education and hunt down the name Tom Borelli.

edman7001

Thanks. That is really helpful but I was looking for more of a description of each schools style.

Ex: Iowa: Known for there aggression......and so on and so forth.

goferphan

I think Minnesota is fairly successful due to the fact that their coaching staff has been in tact for quite some time. This type of stability reassures a wrestler that he is going to be able to count on the coaches being there for their entire career.

I also think Minnesota has good success recruiting outside of their state. They have been able to go out West, out East and along their border to bring in some great talent. Up until this year, I would tell you that they teach a great team concept and it always seemed to me that when you wrestled Minnesota, they were not apt to give away any team points during a match, you were going to have to earn each one. I think the luster fell off of that mantle this year a little bit.

Their earlier National Championships in the 2001-2002 seemed to have great chemistry.

__________________
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."

ideamark

Edman7001,

To gain a sense of the legacy of these three programs, may I suggest some reading?

> To learn more about the Iowa Hawkeyes: "Season on the Mat" by Nolan Zavoral. The writer spent a year with the Hawkeyes -- Dan Gable's last season as head coach. Even though this book is now more than a decade old, I think it will give you a sense of where this program is coming from in terms of its legacy/reputation.

> For insights into Oklahoma State: "Cowboy Up" by Kim Parrish. The writer spent a year with the Cowboys -- the 2004-05 season. (Yep, same idea as "Season" -- the author claims he wasn't aware of the Zavoral book till well into his season). The book was published in 2007; even tho the wrestlers Parrish covers are gone, it gives you insights into The Cowboy Way... nearly a quarter of the book is something of a biography on head coach John Smith.

Also, realize that the legacies of each of the three programs you're asking about have wildly varying shelf-lives...

> Oklahoma State can trace its winning mat heritage back 80+ years. Legendary head coach Edward Clark Gallagher (his name is on the OK State arena) built the Cowboys into THE dominant college program of the 1920s and 30s. To this day, Oklahoma State still owns more team titles and more individual titles than any other program.

> University of Iowa can trace its winning mat heritage back 35 years. Gary Kurdelmeier, Big Ten/NCAA champ of the late 50s at Iowa City later became the Hawkeyes head coach in the early 70s. In four seasons, he transformed Iowa into a leading program, grabbing three Big Ten team titles and two NCAA team titles. Under his guidance, the Hawkeyes won their first Big Ten title in a decade, first indiv NCAA title in a decade, and first-ever NCAA team title. Kurdelmeier may be best known as "the man who hired Gable" -- bringing Dan Gable from Iowa State to be an assistant at Iowa. Gable took the reins in 1976, and the rest is history.

> Minnesota can trace its mat heritage back about a decade. From the way I see it, it's pretty much the J Robinson show. Minnesota had individuals win Big Ten and NCAA titles going back to the 1930s, but won its first NCAA team title under the current coach.

Now, a couple bits of unsoliticed advice:
>> You might want to throw in Iowa State into your mix. The Cyclones have won more team titles than Minnesota. And, while you're at it, Oklahoma, too. Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Minnesota have won the vast majority of team titles since the NCAA championships began in 1928.
>> If this is for a school paper or a book, you better give credit where credit is due. If you plagarize any of this without proper footnotes and accreditation, we'll come after you. It's not fun for an author to see his words being claimed by another writer. (It's happened to me.)

Hope this helps,
Mark

__________________
Peace
www.RevWrestling.com

Those who are ignorant of wrestling history are doomed...

gg121and2

There are a couple of other good background sources. The last poster, ideamark, writes "Rev Rewind" articles for revwrestling.com that are some of best writings around on wrestling's history. Sports Illustrated has created an online searchable database of its' past stories called SI Vault.

Yesterday I posted an article about the 1979 NCAA Championships from "The Vault" on the "Miscellaneous Wrestling" section of this site. The first page of that article gives partial answers to your questions. As you read it, keep in mind that it was written in the early part of the Iowa run.

vaisforlovers

I think 10 years from now Ohio State is going to be considered a part of this group.

goferphan

It might take a little more than 10 years to put your program on the map but I am confident that you are right.

__________________
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."

cap'n combover

I think that's a good point; coincidentally you heard Robinson and others talk about how they were focusing on the individuals this year instead of the team due in no small part to the fact not a single one of the guys from that recruiting class had won a title. The individual/team go hand-in-hand insofar as you win a individual title that's the best way to help your team but I'd never heard them tout the individuals as much as they had this past season.

Herkey#1

It blows my mind that none of those guys ever won a title. Comming out of high school I thought Mack was a multiple timer. Too bad for him. I was rooting for him every year. He would have probably been a four timer if he came to Iowa.