Cyclone fans feeling deja vu from '72

April 18, 5:09 PMCollege Wrestling ExaminerMark Palmer

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the College Wrestling Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

When Iowa State wrestling fans woke up Saturday morning, they must have hoped that the news of the previous evening was all a bad dream.

Sadly, for them, their worst nightmare was true: Their star wrestler-turned-head-coach, Cael Sanderson, had announced that he was leaving the Cyclones to take the helm of the Penn State program.

The Des Moines Register – the largest circulation newspaper in the state of Iowa – opened its report on the departure of the ISU wrestling coach thusly: “Cael Sanderson told reporters today that he hasn’t slept in a few days. Now it’s Iowa State wrestling fans’ turn to suffer through some sleepless nights.”

As award-winning wrestling writer Andy Hamilton of the Iowa City Press-Citizen put it in his Saturday morning story, “Sanderson’s ties to the school were so strong that devoted followers of the sport presumed he would forever be with the Cyclones and stay with the program he has been associated with for the past 11 years. He compiled a 44-10 dual record at Iowa State and had the Cyclones set up for success again next season with all 10 starters — including his youngest brother, Cyler — returning from the team that finished third last month at the NCAA Championships.”

However, for Iowa State fans of a certain age, the nightmarish feeling may go beyond the years Cael Sanderson was associated with the school as a wrestler and as a coach, and all the impressive stats that went along with it. (Sanderson’s perfect 159-0 record, four Big 12 and four NCAA titles, four Outstanding Wrestler awards, and three Hodge trophies, for example.) There’s that sickening sense of “We’ve been here before.”

In 1972, Cyclone superstar Dan Gable left Iowa State to take an assistant coaching position at cross-state rival, the University of Iowa. Four years later, he became the Hawkeye head coach who made that program into a dynasty. In 21 seasons with Gable in charge, Iowa amassed an incredible .940 winning percentage, winning the Big Ten conference team title every year, and the NCAA team title 15 of those years.

How was the great Gable (who was 181-1 in high school and college) convinced to switch teams? Gary Kurdelmeier, a 1958 NCAA champ for the Hawkeyes who, in 1972, was newly installed as head coach at his alma mater, mounted a quiet campaign to bring Gable to Iowa, working behind the scenes to convince Gable’s friends and family this was a smart move. However, as the Waterloo, Iowa native was preparing for the 1972 Olympics, Kurdelmeier decided to take a more direct approach. “I want you to know I’ve had a little change of heart. I’m going to ask you to take the job or leave it,” Gable recalls the Iowa head coach saying. The eventual gold medal winner from the Munich Games quickly consulted with his dad and some friends, and, within an hour, accepted the assistant coaching position at Iowa.

In 1972, Dan Gable’s move must have seemed crazy to most fans. At that time, Iowa State was one of the top programs in the nation, crowning individual NCAA champs and taking national team titles… while Iowa was a perennial doormat that hadn’t crowned a national champ in a decade. However, in the four years Kurdelmeier was head coach, the Hawkeyes did a complete reversal, winning three Big Ten and two NCAA team titles… with five individuals bringing six NCAA titles back to Iowa City.

Back in 1972, Iowa State had tried to hold onto Dan Gable, saying, “Some day, you’ll be head coach here.” But Harold Nichols – who had made the Cyclones one of the top programs from the mid-1950s into the early ‘70s – had no immediate plans to retire, and, in fact, stayed in the job until 1985.

Despite all that, a number of Iowa State Cyclone mat fans old enough to remember Gable’s departure hold it against him to this day.

It’ll be interesting to see what today’s Cyclone fans will say about Cael Sanderson 37 years from now. Here’s a statement from one Iowa State alum, class of 1970: “I’m disappointed just a little bit. It wouldn’t sit well with me if I was just an Iowa State fan right now.”

That quote is from Dan Gable, commenting on Cael Sanderson’s announcement about leaving Iowa State for Penn State. In other words, take it from someone who’s been there, done that.

Resources

For the article on Cael Sanderson announcing his accepting the head coaching job at Penn State: http://www.examiner.com/x-7334-College-Wrestling-Examiner~y2009m4d18-Cael-Sanderson-to-become-head-coach-at-Penn-State

For photos and info on Dan Gable, visit his official website www.dangable.com and the unofficial Yahoo fan group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FansOfDanGable/

To learn about the man who hired Gable away from Iowa State: http://revwrestling.com/articles/3804/Rev-Rewind-Gary-Kurdelmeier