Pat Downey celebrates after a victory at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Pat Downey, All-American redshirt junior, is no longer a member of the Iowa State wrestling team, according to a statement issued by current head coach Kevin Jackson Wednesday.
"Patrick Downey is no longer a member of the Iowa State wrestling team because of repeated violations of team rules," Jackson stated in an afternoon release. "He will no longer compete for the Cyclones, including this year's Big 12 or NCAA Championships."
The announcement of Downey's dismissal came the same day that Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard officially introduced the Cyclones' new head wrestling coach, Kevin Dresser, an Iowa native who had headed up the mat program at Virginia Tech.
Downey has generated considerable attention in the college wrestling world far beyond Iowa State's Ames campus for his bold comments on social media, including calling out Gabe Dean, defending NCAA Division I champ at 184 pounds for Cornell University.
Earlier this month, Jackson had told the Des Moines Register, "We're in conversations with Pat all the time. Probably a little bit too much. For some reason, he can't grasp the fact that Iowa State is bigger than you. It's bigger than tweets. The wrestling program is bigger than that."
"You have to raise to that level," Jackson had said at the time, going so far as to tell reporters that if they didn't already follow Downey on Twitter, "don't start."
Downey's Twitter account became even more active after his dismissal, with messages such as "Fav & RT if YOU think @IASTATEAD@IowaStateU@CycloneWR should let me wrestle in the @Big12Conference championships & accomplish MY DREAM!!!" and "their goal obviously aint to win. if it was @CycloneWR wouldnt be 1-12 this year.. https://t.co/FMbsKHFmPG" posted on Wednesday.
Iowa State just completed its 2016-17 season with just one win and 12 losses.
Despite dealing with injuries this season, Downey was 7-0 wrestling at 184 pounds. His last match was Jan. 20 vs. Northern Iowa, where he won 9-5. The Baltimore native earned All-American honors last season with the Cyclones, placing fifth in the 197-pound bracket at the 2016 NCAA Championships.
Prior to arriving at Iowa State last year, Downey had a brief stint at University of Nebraska before spending the first two years of his collegiate career at Iowa Central Community College, where he compiled a 46-0 record and won a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) title.
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