Doug Schwab: Move to Big 12 elevates UNI wrestling program

Northern Iowa Coach Doug Schwab would have been content staying in the Mid-American Conference, but an opportunity too good to pass on was presented to the Panthers.

He didn't want them to miss out on this one.

UNI will join the Big 12 Conference as an affiliate member for wrestling for the 2017-18 college wrestling season. An official announcement by the conference is expected at the beginning of July. The Panthers will end their five-year stint with the MAC.

'We tried to get in the Big 12 before and they weren't open to it and now they are,” Schwab said in a phone interview with The Gazette Monday morning. 'I'm excited because you do have perennial powers like Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Iowa State, an in-state rival. I think that's something to me. Not that I need too much to get excited for competition but I think having that is a big deal.”

The Big 12 denied UNI's request to be added as an affiliate member in 2010. The conference has undergone changes since, leaving it with just four wrestling programs at one time. Then, Air Force, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming were admitted as affiliate members, competing at the Big 12 Championships for the first time in 2016. Fresno State will accompany UNI as new conference members.

'There's a lot of pieces to it. It wasn't just one thing,” said Schwab, who met with Athletics Director David Harris about the possible move. 'We were kind of looking at the big picture, too. It's not just going to be a benefit for a year or two, but for 20, 30 and 40 years from now.

'It's one of the premier conferences in the sport. It elevates the program in a lot of ways.” Schwab said people in the program have discussed this move for a while. He said he would hope his wrestlers would invite the challenge and noted they will wrestle anyone he puts on the schedule.

The move was met with enthusiasm by the Panthers.

'I was really excited because of how prestigious the Big 12 is and how many great wrestlers came from the Big 12,” said Max Thomsen, a sophomore 149-pounder who placed fifth at the NCAA Championships in March. 'It's going to be cool to compete in a conference with so much history.”

The Panthers were 18th last season with two All-Americans. With all but two senior starters back and big expectations for freshman heavyweight Carter Isley, who will join the lineup, Schwab likes the team he is bringing to the Big 12. Their goals have been to not only crack the top 10 but contend for national titles. Situating themselves in one of the best wrestling conferences will only help bring them closer.

'It's what we had to do to reach the heights we want to and to continue to bring in the best guys in the country and make UNI a place people want to go,” Thomsen said. 'There are so many great teams and programs. You can't replace wrestling a team like Oklahoma State and the history they've had. For me, it's going to get me more battle-tested and ready.”

The move could impact recruiting. The MAC was a competitive conference but it isn't at the same level as the Big 12. The ability to wrestle storied programs is attractive.

'It's a brand,” Schwab said. 'Kids know it.”

Schwab added, 'We're going to get to go to (Oklahoma State's) Gallagher-Iba Arena. That's a great thing for our team. To wrestle in that type of atmosphere and that type of team, those are things you remember. ... You have (Cowboys' mascot) Pistol Pete in the back shooting off his gun. Those things are exciting to me.”

The recent duals between UNI and Iowa State have been competitive, splitting the last four duals. The Panthers won 20-12 on Jan. 20 in Ames and placed ahead of them at the 2017 NCAA Championships. The move to the Big 12, making the intra-state rivals conference foes, introduces a different dimension to the rivalry.

'I think that adds another element and a little more fuel to the fire, which I don't think is ever a bad thing when people are talking about a certain matchup or teams going against each other,” Schwab said. 'It's good for us and the sport.”

Due to the late announcement, many Big 12 programs didn't have available dates to schedule UNI for duals. In addition to Iowa State, the Panthers will also wrestle duals against Big 12 programs North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Oklahoma State.

It won't occur next season but the Panthers could make trips to each coast, if the Big 12 schedules road duals at West Virginia and at Fresno State, a resurrected program coached by former Hawkeye Troy Steiner.

Schwab said the travel budget will be similar to the past, noting that most of the conference schools are regional and the Panthers took trips to Buffalo and Old Dominion last season.

'(Harris) is very aware of the teams in it and there may be a little more travel involved,” Schwab said. 'It's the cost of doing business.”

Without a full conference schedule for the upcoming season, UNI may not fill the maximum of 16 competition dates allowed by the NCAA.

'We're a little behind,” Schwab said. 'It doesn't matter. We're going to get our guys the competition they need and will be ready and excited for the Big 12 tournament.”

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