Tom Ryan has been named as Ohio State’s new head wrestling coach. Gene Smith, athletics director at Ohio State, announced the hiring Saturday. Ryan, a 1993 graduate of Iowa, comes to Ohio State after spending the past 11 years at the helm of the Hofstra wrestling program. He will sign a five-year contract with Ohio State.
“Ohio State is one of the most inspiring campuses I have ever visited, “Ryan said. “The combination of academic and athletic standards allows Ohio State to attract the top student-athletes in the country. I am humble and thankful Gene Smith has entrusted me with the wrestling program at Ohio State.
“In the short term, I plan to first meet with the team and begin putting together a staff of national caliber. I also want to get out to the communities in Ohio and reach out to the coaches at the high school level. There is great high school wrestling in Ohio and it not only is my job to coach Ohio State, but also build strong relationships with coaches at the high school level.”
At Hofstra, Ryan led the Pride to six-consecutive conference titles, including this past season. Hofstra won the Eastern Collegiate Wrestling Association championship in 2001 before winning five-consecutive Colonial Athletic Association crowns (2002-06).
Ryan, who took over the Hofstra program in September 1995, was named conference coach of the year seven times. He was a two-time New York State Coach of the Year.
Ryan compiled a 109-82-2 record at Hofstra and led the Pride to a 47-match (46-0-1) unbeaten streak in dual-match action.
In his 11 years at Hofstra, Ryan guided 65 wrestlers to NCAA championship appearances, including eight in 2006. Eleven of his wrestlers earned All-America honors, while 10 were named Academic All-Americans. He also coached his wrestlers to 45 individual conference titles.
“I want to thank (Ohio State Associate Director of Athletics) Heather Lyke and the search committee for all their hard work in finding a great choice for this position, “Smith said. “Tom will be a terrific addition to our staff. He is one of the top wrestling coaches in the country.”
Ryan was a two-time Big Ten champion at Iowa, winning the 158-pound titles in 1991 and 1992. He earned All-America honors twice with a second-place finish in 1991 and third-place finish in 1992. He began his collegiate career at Syracuse, wrestling two seasons for the Orange, where he captured an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association title in 1989. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Iowa in May 1993. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Indiana from 1993-94.
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