Northern Iowa Panthers wrestling

Northern Iowa Panthers
University	University of Northern Iowa
Head Coach	Doug Schwab
Conference	Big 12
Location	Cedar Falls, IA
Nickname	Panthers
Colors	Purple and old gold [1]
Team national championships
3
National championship years
NCAA Single Division – 1950 NCAA Division II – 1975, 1978

The Northern Iowa Panthers wrestling team represents the University of Northern Iowa and competes in the Big 12 Conference. The Panthers are one-time Division I National Champions and four-time National Runners-up. The team is coached by Doug Schwab.

The University of Northern Iowa Wrestling team, founded in 1923, won the NCAA (Single division) national championship in 1950 and the NCAA Division II national championships in 1975 and 1978. They competed in the Western Wrestling Conference until 2012, when UNI became an associate member of the Mid-American Conference since the Missouri Valley Conference is a non-wrestling conference. The Panthers continued to compete in the MAC through the 2016–17 season, after which they moved to the Big 12. ^[2]

Doug Schwab is the current head coach for the Northern Iowa Wrestling Team. Mission Statement - To communicate with UNI wrestling fans to support, encourage, promote a successful UNI wrestling tradition. ^[3]

Team accomplishments

• NCAA (Single division) Team Champions: 1950 ^[4]
• NCAA (Single division) Team Runner-Up: 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1952
• NCAA (Single division) Team Third Place: 1937
• NCAA Division II Team Champions: 1975 and 1978 ^{[5] [6]}
• NCAA Division II Team Runner-Up: 1970, 1972, 1974 and 1980
• NCAA Division II Team Third Place: 1963, 1967, 1969, 1976, 1977 and 1979

Olympians

Northern Iowa wrestlers in the Olympics
Year	Name	Country	Style	Weight Class	Place
1932 Los Angeles	Maynard Harman	United States	Freestyle	–	ALT
1948 London	Bill Nelson	United States	Freestyle	–	ALT
1948 London	Bill Koll	United States	Freestyle	67 kg	5th
1948 London	Gerry Leeman	United States	Freestyle	57 kg	Silver
1952 Helsinki	Bill Smith	United States	Freestyle	73 kg	Gold

Notable Northern Iowa wrestlers

• Olympic Gold Medalist (1952) and two-time NCAA champion (1949, 1950) – Bill Smith
• Olympic Silver Medalist (1948) and NCAA champion (1946) – Gerry Leeman
• Pan American Games Gold Medalist (1975) – Mike McCready
• Pan American Games Gold Medalist (1993) – Justin Greenlee
• Pan American Games Silver Medalist (1990) – Mark Pustelnik
• NCAA All-American (1932) and member of 1932 U.S. Olympic freestyle team – Maynard Harmon
• Three-time NCAA Champion (1946, 1947, 1948) and member of 1948 U.S. Olympic freestyle team, finishing 5th – Bill Koll
• Three-time NCAA Champion (1947, 1949, 1950) member of 1948 U.S. Olympic freestyle team – Bill Nelson
• Three-time NCAA Champion (1949, 1950, 1951) – Keith Young
• Three-time NCAA Division II Champion (1976, 1977, 1978) – Gary Bentrim
• Three-time NCAA Division II Champion (1978, 1979, 1980) and six-time All-American – Kirk Myers ^[7]
• NCAA Division I Champion 149 pounds (2000) – Tony Davis
• NCAA Division I Champion 184 pounds (2019) – Drew Foster ^[8]
• NCAA Division I Champion 184 pounds (2024) – Parker Keckeisen

References

1. University of Northern Iowa Athletics Style Guide (PDF). January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
2. Ryder, Nic (June 8, 2017). "Official: UNI and Fresno State Joining Big 12". IAWrestle.com. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
3. "University of Northern Iowa Athletics - 2016-17 Wrestling Coaching Staff".
4. "University of Northern Iowa Wrestling 1950 Championship Team". Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
5. "University of Northern Iowa Wrestling 1975 Championship Team". Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
6. "University of Northern Iowa Wrestling 1978 Championship Team". Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
7. "Six-Time All-Americans (Div. I and Div. II)". University of Northern Iowa. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
8. Nelson, Jim. "NCAA wrestling championships: Foster is a champ!". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 2019-03-24.