Dannen wants new vision for UNI wrestling

The University of Northern Iowa officially announced today that head wrestling coach Brad Penrith will not be retained. It was a decision UNI athletics director Troy Dannen made after meeting with Penrith early Wednesday evening. It was the second meeting in the last eight days.

Dannen offered Penrith a three-year extension last spring, but said at the time he didn't have ample opportunity to fully assess the program and why it was not as competitive as desired and the steps to get it there.

"I really hadn't had a chance to evaulate to understand why and what we needed to do to get it to that position," Dannen said Thursday. "That evaluation continued this year and my discussions with Brad after the season and just my observations during the season led to the conclusion that we needed to take a different vision and tact with the leadership in the program to where we wanted to get it competitively."

The two met last Tuesday also. Dannen said the meetings were discussions about what changes could be made to advance the program's competitiveness. Dannen said he didn't make up his mind until Wednesday's meeting, though Penrith's contract reportedly had a provision for $100,000 buyout if he had been dismissed before March 31. Dannen noted Penrith's 10-year tenure was long enough for the program to make strides, and that a change was needed. He did compliment Penrith and noted the next coach will benefit from some of Penrith's work.

"Brad is a great person. A great man," Dannen said. "He's put together some of the foundation that is going to allow the program to be able to succeed in the future, but I just thought we gave him plenty of time for his vision to take root and we weren't there competitively and I think it's time to bring someone else in."

Wrestling has been the highest achieving program historically, according to Dannen. The realization of its importance to the school and it's role in Iowa's culture is recognized by Dannen. The goal is to be a prominent program nationally.

"It's a sport that's important to UNI," Dannen said. "There are resources and support both within the program today and available to the program tomorrow that will allow us to compete at a very high level nationally.

"Does that mean we're going to finish eighth or 15th or any other number at the national championships? No. It means year in (and) year out you should expect to be a player on the national level at UNI."

Dannen met with the assistant coaches early Thursday and planned to meet with the wrestlers later Thursday. The search will begin immediately. No timeline is set for a new hire, but Dannen said a committe made up of various members, including a current wrestler, a recent alumnus and even members of the wrestling community, will do their "due diligence" in finding a replacement.

"The priority here is not time as much as it is  making sure that we have the right person that understands Northern Iowa, that has the commitment, passion and intensity for the sport of wrestling and brings a vision to the table of where he wants our program to be and how he's going to get us there," said Dannen. "I think someone who understands Northern Iowa will have a distinct advantage over someone who doesn't understand Northern Iowa. You don't have to be an alum to understand Northern Iowa."

Inquiries about the position have already started to roll in and now filtering through the candidates will begin. Dannen said he didn't have anyone in mind at the time of Penrith's dismissal. He said there are too many factors in the process to pinpoint when a hire would be made, but said a new coach would not be in place for the signing period that is approaching.

"There's a lot of interest. A lot of prominent interest," Dannen said. "That interest is coming from all across the country."