Hinkel, a 14-year assistant coach and former All-American for the Boilermakers, has served as interim head coach since Jessie Reyes resigned March 31.
"I'm just so excited to be the head coach at my alma mater. It's what I wanted personally and for the program," Hinkel said. "I appreciate Morgan and Roger Blalock (senior associate athletics director who oversees wrestling) for having confidence in me and entrusting me with this program. I know when you're on the inside of a program that hasn't enjoyed a lot of recent success, there is pressure to look outside, so it means a lot to me to be selected.
"Our Purdue wrestling family - current student-athletes and their parents and our alums - have been extremely supportive, and that means a great deal. I reached out to a few of them for their assistance, but many others contributed theirs voluntarily. This program means a lot to me; I'm energized and ready to go."
In his first order of business as head coach, Hinkel announced that Tom Erikson will move into the role of top assistant coach. Erikson, a two-time All-American at Oklahoma State who joined the Purdue staff in 1997, primarily is responsible for the upper-weight divisions.
"I can't say enough about how much Tom's support the last two months means to me," Hinkel said. "He has the credentials that would have made him a top candidate to be the head coach, but he chose to put all his energy into helping me, and I can't thank him enough. He's a tremendous asset to our program."
Hinkel will have one assistant coaching vacancy to fill.
"We conducted a thorough national search and found the ideal candidate to be one of our own," Burke said. "Scott did a heck of a job putting together a plan of action both athletically and academically for this program. His aspirations are high, and his excitement is contagious. The fact that he is a Purdue person is a plus, but let me stress that Scott demonstrated his ability and his desire to lead the program and was our first choice. He had tremendous endorsements from both college and high school coaches and from our own student-athletes. He believes very strongly that Purdue can be an elite wrestling program and win a national championship."
Said Blalock: "In talking with a lot of people from the wrestling community across the country, we found Scott to be extremely well respected. He has done a tremendous job as an assistant coach for us, both on and off the mat. We are excited to have him as our new head coach."
As an assistant at Purdue since 1993, Hinkel worked primarily with wrestlers in the lighter weight classes. He assisted with scouting and recruiting and handled a large amount of the correspondence from the wrestling office. He has been active in the recruitment of former Purdue wrestlers for the John Purdue Club. Hinkel also wrote the Purdue wrestling newsletter, the Purdue Wrestling Dispatch.
Earlier, Hinkel spent seven years with the Boilermakers as both a student-athlete and a coach. He competed from 1984 to 1987, received his bachelor's degree from the School of Liberal Arts in 1988 and became a teacher's assistant in the physical education department. Hinkel served as a volunteer assistant coach in 1989 and as a graduate assistant coach in 1990. He earned a master's degree in physical education from Purdue in 1990.
As a student-athlete at Purdue, Hinkel earned All-America honors in 1987 in the 126-pound weight class and received Academic All-Big Ten accolades. He was the first of only two wrestlers in school history to accomplish both in the same season (Tim Dernlan followed suit in 1998).
Hinkel ranks first in program history in career falls (45) and back points (391) and is second in career wins (127). His record of 127-50 (.718) ranks 15th on the career winning percentage list. Hinkel also owns two of the top 10 single-season win totals, registering 36 in 1986-87 and 35 in 1985-86.
Between his Purdue stints, Hinkel taught physical education and history and served as head wrestling coach at East Chicago (Ind.) Central High School from 1990 to 1993. His teams compiled a 40-16 dual meet record (.714 winning percentage). He coached the school's first state champion in 1993 and guided his team to a fifth-place finish at the Indiana State High School Championships the same year.
A native of Fairfield, Ohio, the 42-year-old Hinkel (born Dec. 31, 1964) is married to the former Irina Maksimets. The couple has two daughters, Varya and Valentina.
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