Doug SchwabFor those unfamiliar, Doug is the youngest of three brothers. Mike, the oldest, and Mark, the middle, were All-Americans at the University of Northern Iowa. Mike placed eighth at the NCAA tournament in 1987 at 126 pounds. Mark placed fifth in 1986 and sixth in 1990, both times at 118 pounds.
Mark arrived at UNI in 1985 as the top recruit in the nation. He was a four-time state champion for Osage and a four-time junior national champion. Mark was an All-American as a true freshman in 1986 and redshirted the following season. He won the Sunkist Open and placed third at the prestigious Tbilisi tournament in the Soviet Union during his redshirt year.
Then, injuries struck. Mark had knee problems and a staph infection the remainder of his college career, which ultimately affected his performance. As a senior he entered the 1990 NCAA tournament seeded third and placed sixth.
Running up and down the sidelines at Northern Iowa dual meets was Mark's and Mike's rambunctious younger brother, Doug.
Doug Schwab (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)The following year, as a sophomore, Doug won the 1999 NCAA tournament at 141 pounds. He eventually became a three-time All-American.
While Doug was at Iowa, Mark was at the University of Minnesota as an assistant coach. Every time Minnesota wrestled Iowa, Mark would excuse himself from the bench to watch his brother's match from afar.
In 2001, Doug's senior year, Mark was part of the Minnesota team that finally brought the Hawkeyes down at the NCAA tournament -- on Iowa's home turf no less. Doug placed second at 141 pounds and Minnesota had a record 10 All-Americans, but no wrestlers in the finals.
Mark and Doug were together at the University of Minnesota for a spell before each found new wrestling homes. Mark was the head coach at Division III Buena Vista for four years and North Iowa Area Community College, a junior college program, for one year.
Doug joined Tom Brands as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech for two years before joining the Iowa staff when Brands took over for Zalesky in 2006. In 2007 Doug made a World team and in 2008 he competed at the Olympics.
Then, when the head coaching position at Northern Iowa became available earlier this year, Doug applied for the job -- and he got it. He appointed his brother Mark as an assistant.
Doug and staff -- Mark Schwab, Randy Pugh, Tolly Thompson, and Joe Slaton -- have gone on the offensive already, which should surprise no one. The Schwab Mob wants to sell 2000 season tickets before the first home dual meet -- a Herculean task given last year's season ticket sales were under 200.
All home dual meets will be held in the West Gym, a facility that holds 2,200 people when the fire marshal is present and 3,000 people when he's not.
West Gym (Photo/UNI Sports Information)The place where Northern Iowa hosted -- and won -- the NCAA tournament in 1950.
The place where people hung off the rafters at dual meets because it was so full.
The place where Bill Koll knocked out an opponent and shook him while he was being pinned so the referee wouldn't stop the match.
The place where a fan hurled insults at Ohio State head coach Russ Hellickson and Hellickson lost control.
The place where Doug Schwab ran up and down the mat as a kid.
The West Gym is sacred ground.
Schwab should be commended for what he is doing already. When a program gets dropped we wonder why a coach wasn't more proactive. Well, Schwab is showing us what proactive looks like.
The kid has personality too. Doug likes Mountain Dew, the Boston Red Sox, and Jimi Hendrix as much as he likes wrestling. He even named one of his sons Hendrix. And it should get lost on no one that Jimi Hendrix has a song called Purple Haze (purple is Northern Iowa’s primary team color).
In addition to hosting the UNI Open on December 4, 2010, and the National Duals on January 8-9, 2011, Northern Iowa has a home dual meet schedule with more angles than a John Smith low single.
Here are the highlights.
Saturday, November 20, 2010, 2 p.m. -- Northern Iowa versus Old Dominion
The Schwab era officially begins against Steve Martin, a former All-American from the University of Iowa. Martin, known for his boisterous and loud coaching style, accepts his role as a villain. His nickname -- Rat -- is reason enough to attend.
Thursday, December 9, 2010, 7 p.m. -- Northern Iowa versus Iowa
Schwab (the student) faces Brands (the master).
Any Iowa fan hoping to get through the doors for this historic meet should consider buying season tickets -- because it will be a sellout.
The action on the sidelines from coaches will be as good, or better, than the meet itself. If Northern Iowa is smart it will play "Jump Around" by House of Pain at least once during an argument. It just makes sense.
Sunday, January 23, 2011, 1 p.m. -- Northern Iowa versus Nebraska
Nebraska finally returns to Northern Iowa's schedule. Cornhusker head coach Mark Manning made his head coaching debut as a Panther, and former Nebraska NCAA champion Tolly Thompson returns to the sidelines for the Panthers as an assistant.
Schwab wants to show Manning that Iowans can husk corn better than Nebraskans. That's why he's having his wrestlers run wind sprints through cornfields.
Friday, January 28, 2011, 7 p.m. -- Northern Iowa versus Northern Illinois
Dave Grant, a former All-American at Northern Iowa, takes on his former team.
Sunday, February 20, 2011, 2 p.m. -- Northern Iowa versus Wyoming
Northern Iowa's final home dual against Wyoming is Iowa versus Oklahoma State in disguise. This budding rivalry should interest any wrestling fan. Wyoming, coached by former Oklahoma State star Mark Branch, ended Northern Iowa's 24-year reign as West Regional champions last year.
Song suggestion No. 2: "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" by Big and Rich. It makes more sense.
I've ordered two season tickets for Northern Iowa's home wrestling duals already. My suggestion -- as someone who believes in being proactive for wrestling as a whole -- is you should too.
And Iowa fans, seriously, support your former wrestler. You may not make it through the West Gym doors to support your favorite team on December 9 if you don't. Season tickets are only $35 for the year -- and the Iowa meet alone will cost $15.
To order UNI season tickets, click here.
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