Jack Maughan (Photo/University of Northern Colorado)
It's the end of an era at University of Northern Colorado.
Jack Maughan has announced his retirement after 22 seasons as head wrestling coach at the Greeley-based school, effective immediately, to focus all his energies as the athletic department's director of development, which he has also held in a dual role for about one year.
"This was a really, really difficult choice for me and my family," said Maughan, who also coached the men's and women's golf teams during his time at Northern Colorado. "I think the hardest thing for me, now that I've made my decision, is that I'm not the coach anymore. That's a hard thing to come to terms with. It's a position of respect, and you get such a good feeling about working with bright, great kids. I'll certainly miss that."
With Maughan at the helm the Bears were again prominent in Division I competition. Prior to a stint in Division II, Northern Colorado had a storied Division I history dating back to the early 1970s.
During Maughan's tenure, the Bears have produced three NCAA champions, five runners-up and 46 All-America performers. As a team, UNC has finished among the nation's top-10 eight times
In addition, Maughan also was instrumental in the formation of the Western Wrestling Conference (WWC), which includes Northern Colorado and neighboring rivals Wyoming and the U.S. Air Force Academy, along with former North Central Conference rivals North Dakota State and South Dakota State. University of Northern Iowa and Utah Valley State are also members of the WCC.
Jack Maughan grew up in a wrestling family. As a wrestler at North Dakota State University for his father, head coach Arthur "Bucky" Maughan, Jack was a two-time All-American, placing sixth at 126 pounds as a sophomore and sixth at 134 pounds as a junior. He was a three-time conference runner-up and twice an NDSU team captain. His brother, Bret, was also a two-time All-American for the Bison and is currently an assistant coach there.
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