Sports
Maryville to Begin Wrestling Program With Legendary Coach
Maryville will begin varsity wrestling this fall and will compete as an independent in NCAA Division II.
Not only is introducing wrestling to its athletics program, but the school will have one of the nation’s top coaches at the helm.
Maryville will begin varsity wrestling this fall and will compete as an independent in NCAA Division II during the 2011-2012 season. The Saints’ first head coach will be Mike Denney, who officially begins his position on June 1. Denney is very well known for his success on wrestling’s national stage, He has won the past three NCAA Division II national titles, and five in the past six seasons while at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO).
UNO, which will join NCAA Division I next year, is eliminating its wrestling program.
“Maryville is faced with an extraordinary opportunity, to say the least,” said Mark Lombardi, PhD, president of Maryville, in a press release on Thursday.
“To create a new varsity athletic program and turn it over to the best coach in our nation is certainly a coup for our University. We enthusiastically welcome Coach Denney to our Maryville community and to St. Louis, and look forward to the beginning of a winning wrestling tradition.”
Denney, three-time NCAA Division II Wrestling Coach of the Year, was head coach at UNO for 32 seasons and leaves with a 314-111-5 (.730) career dual record. He was named the 2011 InterMat Coach of the Year, which awards the top college wrestling coach across all NCAA divisions.
“It isn’t every day that an experienced coach gets the chance to create a college wrestling program from scratch, but that’s exactly the opportunity I’ve been blessed to receive at Maryville University,” said Denney.
“I’m excited to move to Maryville, along with many of my current student-athletes, so we can replicate the type of success we’ve had in Omaha in St. Louis. A lot of hard work lies ahead in establishing our new program, but we’re confident in our ability to maintain high standards of excellence for our student-athletes on and off the mat.”
Maryville is a four-year, private university located in St. Louis, Missouri and was founded in 1872.