Hodge Trophy: A ticket to lifetime success?

April 16, 10:42 PMCollege Wrestling ExaminerMark Palmer

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Three-time Hodge Trophy winner (2000-2002) Cael Sanderson
as Iowa State head coach at the 2009 NCAA Division I champ-
ionships, confering with his younger brother, Cyler Sanderson.
(AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

Does winning the Hodge Trophy assure a wrestler a lifetime of success after being named “the best college wrestler”?

Since the award was first introduced by WIN (Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine) in 1995, just 13 individuals have won this coveted trophy. (Ben Askren won Hodge awards in 2007 and 2008; Cael Sanderson received three, from 2000 through 2002.)

What have Hodge winners accomplished since college? Here are some categories that would be indicators of career success for a wrestler:

Olympics: A handful of Hodge Trophy recipients have wrestled for the U.S. in the Olympics: Les Gutches at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Kerry McCoy in the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Games, Cael Sanderson in 2004, and Steve Mocco and Ben Askren at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Of these, only one earned an Olympic medal: Sanderson, who brought home the gold in freestyle competition at 96 kg.

Coaching: After hanging up their headgear, a number of Hodge winners became coaches. 1996 Hodge recipient Les Gutches served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Oregon State, before becoming a banker. Right now, Eric Larkin and Ben Askren are assistant coaches at Arizona State and the University of Missouri, respectively.

After serving as an assistant at Penn State and then Lehigh, Kerry McCoy became head coach at Stanford… then, in 2008, took the helm at Maryland. (As of this writing, McCoy is a strong candidate for the top coaching position at Penn State.) Cael Sanderson was named head coach at Iowa State in 2006, and earned Coach of the Year honors at the end of his first season.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina with the very first Hodge Trophy in 1995, T.J. Jaworsky became an assistant coach for the Tar Heels. In 2001, he accepted the head coaching job at Davidson College… but was fired in 2005 after being arrested for drug possession and driving while impaired.

Post-amateur combat careers: Some Hodge winners have an itch to compete in venues beyond traditional amateur wrestling. Both Kerry McCoy and Eric Larkin competed in a venture called RealProWrestling, a souped-up variation of amateur wrestling where contestants were paid. As for the burgeoning world of mixed martial arts (MMA), Ben Askren is the only Hodge recipient to enter that arena… winning his first match in February 2009. Interestingly, not a single Hodge winner has joined the WWE or any other brand of professional wrestling.

The NFL: In addition to two NCAA heavyweight titles and a 1999 world freestyle championship, 1999 Hodge winner Stephen Neal has played guard for the New England Patriots since 2001… and has three Super Bowl rings to show for it.

The only Hodge winner who could win another: Of all the Hodge winners, only Iowa’s Brent Metcalf – winner of the 2008 Hodge – is the only wrestler who is eligible for the 2010 Hodge.

Resources

Bios and photos of individual Hodge winners: http://www.win-magazine.com/College%20News%20Sub%20Pages/hodgetrophypage.html

RealProWrestlingFans Yahoo group http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/RealProWrestlingFans/

For photos and info on Kerry McCoy and Stephen Neal, NCAA Heavyweight Champs Yahoo group: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/NCAA_Heavyweight_Champs/

Cael Sanderson photos and info: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/fansofcaelsanderson/

Link back to Examiner story about Hodge winners: https://www.examiner.com/x-7334-College-Wrestling-Examiner~y2009m4d15-Wrestlers-whove-won-the-Hodge-Trophy