Andy Hamilton • Iowa City Press-Citizen

The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team did enough Friday to beat up on two more opponents and set another school record for dual dominance.

But the Hawkeyes didn’t do enough to appease coach Tom Brands during wins against Bucknell and Rutgers in Lewisburg, Pa.

“There is seven minutes to wrestle and much, much more has to happen in those seven minutes,” Brands said. “I’m not sure we understand that right now. We could understand it, but then what’s the hesitancy? That’s the disconnect. We’ve got to figure it out. There’s got to be more happening in seven minutes.”

The Hawkeyes (7-0) won 16 matches while beating Bucknell 29-7 and handling Rutgers 33-9 to extend their school record of consecutive dual wins to 45 and match the program record for most wins on the road with 31.

Freshman Matt McDonough registered a pin and a technical fall in a pair of victories at 125, Daniel Dennis posted a technical fall and a major decision at 133 against No. 13 David Marble of Bucknell, and Jay Borschel notched two majors at 174, including a 10-1 demolition of Bucknell’s ninth-ranked Shane Riccio.  Read more... (525 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard showed interest in Iowa assistant wrestling coach Terry Brands, according to Hawkeye officials, but the feeling may not have been mutual.

Meanwhile, some of Iowa State’s signees are waiting to see who the Cyclones hire for their vacant head coaching position before deciding their immediate futures.

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta indicated in an e-mail to The Des Moines Register that Pollard expressed interest in Brands after Cael Sanderson left the Cyclones to become coach at Penn State.

Barta said, however, that Brands indicated he’s not interested in replacing Sanderson in Ames.

“Terry is a world-class coach and so this certainly didn’t surprise me or anyone else,” Barta wrote. “However, on more than one occasion (Tuesday) Terry shared with me he is not interested in becoming the coach at Iowa State, that he’s a Hawkeye.”

Brands, the brother of Iowa coach Tom Brands, said Tuesday afternoon he had not been contacted about the job, but declined additional comment on questions that would specifically eliminate his name from consideration.

He left Wednesday for Venezuela to help coach at the Pan American Championships.  Read more... (632 words, estimated 2:32 mins reading time)

The following 10 coaches were asked the exact same question: If you could change one thing about college wrestling what would it be?

Tom Brands, University of Iowa Head Wrestling Coach
It would be the weigh-in procedures and basically how they have done a disservice to nutrition in this sport.

Barry Davis, University of Wisconsin Head Coach
Stalling calls. Make the guys wrestle more. That’s all. It’s the best sport going right now. A lot of action. It’s such a good thing now. You don’t need to change much of it, just make guys wrestle.

If you watch international wrestling it’s boring to watch because you can stall and get away with it. There’s not enough points scored.

Todd Hibbs, Olivet College Head Wrestling Coach
I’m one of those folks who is in favor of the one semester sport. I love this sport. I love all the competitions. I love all the time we get to put into it, but I really think one semester is the way to go.

I just think that academically it makes a lot of sense. In a sport where you have weight management issues it makes a lot of sense. I’m pretty strongly in favor of that move.  Read more... (401 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Brands, Sanderson re-ignite Iowa wrestling rivalry

By Luke Meredith, AP Sports Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa — They’re shooting for a record crowd Saturday night in Iowa City.

Local authorities gave the University of Iowa permission to increase the capacity at Carver-Hawkeye Arena from 15,500 to 16,000. Officials have warned folks to buy their tickets in advance and arrive early, and the school plans to run shuttles from parking lots around campus to alleviate traffic.

Must be a Jonas Brothers concert, a Hannah Montana show or a big-time basketball matchup, right?

No, no and no.

It’s the annual dual meet between the Iowa State and Iowa wrestling teams. In a state that prides itself on being a cradle of wrestling, that’s a very big deal – and this year’s matchup between top-rated Iowa and second-ranked Iowa State could be the biggest yet.

Iowa is hoping to break the dual-meet record of 15,646 set by Minnesota when it hosted the Hawkeyes in 2002. The school had sold 13,500 tickets as of Thursday morning.

“I think it shows that wrestling is strong in Iowa,” said Iowa coach Tom Brands. “When you look at two programs that are 200 miles apart, or whatever, I don’t know if there’s any other place in the country like that.”  Read more... (775 words, estimated 3:06 mins reading time)

University of Iowa Sports Information

IOWA CITY, IA — University of Iowa Director of Athletics Gary Barta announced today that Coach Tom Brands has signed a contract extension that will run through the 2013 wrestling season.

“Tom Brands is the best wrestling coach in the country,” said Barta. “When you combine that with the fact he’s been a Hawkeye all his life, the fit is perfect. I look forward to working with him for many years to come.”

Brands’ new contract will run through June 2013 and increases his guaranteed annual compensation to approximately $150,000. Additional academic and athletic incentives will offer Brands opportunities for additional income.

The 2008 NWCA, W.I.N. Magazine and Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year, Brands is in his third season as Iowa’s head wrestling coach. He has a 39-6 overall and 13-3 Big Ten record at Iowa, and a 56-26 career mark. Brands and the defending NCAA and Big Ten Champion Hawkeyes are off to a 4-0 start this season with wins over Iowa Central (52-0), Coe (51-0), Minnesota State Mankato (45-3) and Arizona State (41-0) at the Iowa City Duals last week. Iowa is currently on an 18-dual match winning streak.  Read more... (572 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)