Brands Named NWCA National Coach of the Year

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The National Wrestling Coaches Association announced Wednesday that for the second straight year University of Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands has been named NWCA National Coach of the Year.

The NWCA coaching honor is the third of Brands’ career. He was previously recognized in 2008 and 2020. The 2008 team won the NCAA Championship and the 2020 team was a heavy favorite to win the national title prior to the tournament’s cancellation.

The 2021 Hawkeyes have been ranked atop the national polls since the beginning of the season and enter the NCAA Championships with four wrestlers ranked No. 1 at their respective weight class and eight wrestlers seeded fifth or better. Iowa won the 2021 Big Ten Championship and crowned four individual conference champions.

The NWCA award is presented to the coach that has demonstrated outstanding effort throughout the season in developing and elevating their program on campus and in the community.

“On behalf of the NWCA and our Board of Directors, it is my privilege to award Coach Tom Brands, for the second year in a row, the NWCA Division I National Coach of the Year award,” said Mike Moyer, NWCA Executive Director. “Tom continues to do a phenomenal job at Iowa and this season has been another demonstration of the strength of the Hawkeye wrestling program. Good luck to Coach Brands and his squad this week as they compete at the NCAA Championships.”

The coaching award is the second for Brands this season. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year following the conference tournament. The 2021 NCAA Championships begin Thursday at 10 a.m. (CT) at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Tournament information is available at the NCAA Championships page at hawkeyesports.com.