Mark Churella, Sr. (born c. 1957) is a former American wrestler and

collegiate wrestling Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the form of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. This style of wrestling, with some slight modifications, is also practiced at high school and mi ...

coach. He was a three-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

national champion from 1977 to 1979. He served as the head wrestling coach at UNLV from 1979 to 1984. He has been inducted into the

University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs.

(1996) and the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

(1999) and was the 2012 recipient of the Bob Ufer Award for outstanding service to the University of Michigan Athletic Department.

Early years

Churella was raised in

Farmington, Michigan Farmington is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 10,372. It is surrounded by Farmington ...

. As a student at Farmington High School, he was selected as a High School All-American in wrestling in 1975 and finished third, second, and first in the state, respectively, in his final three years in High School. He has been inducted into the Farmington High School Sports Hall of Fame.

University of Michigan

Churella attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

where he was a member of the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

wrestling team from 1976 to 1979. As a wrestler at Michigan, Churella compiled a record of 132–13; his .910 winning percentage is the second highest in University of Michigan wrestling history. He won the NCAA national championship in the 150-pound weight class in 1977 and 1978 and the national championship in the 167-pound weight class as a senior in 1979. He was selected four times as a collegiate wrestling All-American and was also named the most outstanding participant in the 1978 NCAA Division I wrestling championships. Churella also received the 1979 Big Ten Medal of Honor for proficiency in scholarship, athletics and community service. When he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1979, Churella was the school's all-time record-holder in career wins (132), career falls (41) and single-season wins (44). Churella's collegiate success foreshadowed his qualification for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

, but the US'

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

of the event prevented the opportunity.

Coaching career

After graduating from Michigan, Churella served as the head wrestling coach at

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

from 1979 to 1984. While holding that position, Churella established the Las Vegas Collegiate Invitational Tournament, later renamed the Cliff Keen Invitational. After UNLV discontinued its wrestling program, Churella returned to the University of Michigan as an assistant coach from 1985 to 1987.

Later years

Churella later went into the insurance services business and became the president and CEO of FDI Group, in

Novi, Michigan Novi ( ) is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,243, an increase of 20% from the 2010 census. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Novi is located about northwest of the city of D ...

. Three of his sons, Mark, Jr., Ryan and Josh were wrestlers at the University of Michigan. Churella returned to the program as an assistant coach from 2007 to 2008. Son Josh Churella joined the Michigan Wolverines wrestling coaching staff in 2012. Churella was inducted into the

in 1996 and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999. He was also a charter member of the Michigan Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2012, he received the Bob Ufer Award for outstanding service to the University of Michigan Athletic Department.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Churella, Mark American wrestlers American male sport wrestlers American wrestling coaches Michigan Wolverines wrestlers UNLV Rebels wrestling coaches People from Farmington, Michigan Living people Businesspeople from Michigan Year of birth missing (living people)