Penrith says he still loves UNI

Brad Penrith isn't a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, but after a 10-year stint as the Panthers head wrestling coach, which ended with his dismissal Wednesday, he felt like one.

After an early Wednesday evening meeting with UNI athletics director Troy Dannen, Penrith was dismissed from his position, leading the Panthers for the last decade.

He said he will always have a fondness for the UNI program.

"I still love this place," Penrith said. "I absolutely love this place. I didn't graduate from here but I feel like I did."

Penrith led UNI to a 90-75-4 dual record, coaching 14 All-Americans including Jarion Beets, who placed eighth at 174 pounds at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in March and 2005 197-pound NCAA runner-up Sean Stender. He also coached Moza Fay to consecutive All-American finishes in 2008 and 2009. The Panthers had seven top-25 finishes in the team standings at the national meet.

He signed a three-year contract extension after the 2008-09 season, but was released after the Panthers finished 40th about a month ago. With a strong recruiting class and the return of some talented red-shirt freshmen, Penrith said the move surprised him.

"I believe in my heart of hearts, soul of souls that I had time to build this program up," said Penrith, noting, "We have great kids coming in. There are some great kids in the program."

Even with someone else at the helm, the future holds a lot of potential according to Penrith. The program needs a little more support to get it there.

"I know this program can be outstanding with some more resources," said Penrith, saying Dannen wants to upgrade facilities and raise the recruiting moneys. "I know Troy is going to do it eventually."

Penrith was emotional, trying to contact and inform wrestlers of the news. He said that's the hardest part about the situation. He's being removed from the competitors he spent time with and worked with in the room.

"The toughest thing for me is the guys in the program," Penrith said. "The relationships I built with these guys working with them."

Penrith said he doesn't know what the future holds, except for spending more time with his family and coaching Little League baseball.

He reflected back on a career with the Panthers that contained both "tough times" and "great times."

"It's been an absolute joy for me. I've loved each and every moment," Penrith said. "I thought we had a lot of positive things that transpired. Yeah, we didn't reach all of our expectations and all of our goals. We did the best we could."