Kevin Dresser (November 9, 1962) is a

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 m ...

coach, currently at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

and formerly at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

(2006-2017). Dresser had also been a coach at Christiansburg HS, Grundy HS, and an assistant at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, after having wrestled for the Hawkeyes.

Early life

Born in Fort Dodge and a native of

Humboldt, Iowa Humboldt is a city in Humboldt County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,792 at the time of the 2020 census, gaining 340 people over the 2000 total. History Frank A. Gotch Park (just south of present-day Humboldt and Dakota City) was a ...

, Dresser was a two-time high school wrestling state champion and four time place winner fifth (freshman) and sixth (sophomore) at Humboldt High School. Kevin had a high school record of 112-11-1, he holds his school's records for number of takedowns and pins. Kevin matriculated to the

where he was an

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 at 142 pounds in 1986. He was also a two-time

All-American and two-time

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Champion. Kevin had an NCAA record of 34-2-1 with 16 falls. His coach at Iowa was wrestling legend

Dan Gable Danny Mack Gable (born October 25, 1948) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, ...

. In 1986, he was given the Mike Howard Award as the most valuable wrestler for the Hawkeyes that season.

Early coaching career

Dresser coached under

at Iowa for several years after graduation. He then accepted a position as head wrestling coach at Grundy High School in Grundy, VA. Dresser led the Virginia powerhouse to eight Virginia state titles in eight years. Dresser then moved to Christiansburg, Virginia to take over the wrestling program at

Christiansburg High School Christiansburg High School is located at 100 Independence Blvd. in Christiansburg, Virginia in the County of Montgomery and is located just minutes from Virginia Tech and Radford University. The school opened in 1906 and had its first graduati ...

. He successfully built the team from scratch and led them to 5 consecutive Virginia state team championships. During his tenure,

was ranked as high as fourth in the nation.

Collegiate coaching career

Virginia Tech

Kevin Dresser took over as head coach for the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 v ...

wrestling team in 2006, upon the departure of

Tom Brands Tom Brands (born April 9, 1968) is an American former Olympic wrestler and is currently the head coach of the University of Iowa men's wrestling team. He won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics. An intense competitor, Brands' wrestling c ...

. Dresser went 160-51 in 11 seasons. The team earned two ACC Tournament Championships (2012–13 and 2013–14) and three ACC Dual Championships (2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17), during his tenure. Kevin was named the 2016 ''NWCA Coach of the Year''.

Iowa State

Nearing the end of the 2016-17 season, Kevin Dresser accepted an offer to be the new head coach of wrestling at

. Bringing with him his wife Penny, oldest daughter Emma, middle daughter Anna, and youngest son, Jack. He signed a 7-year, $2.25 million contract.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dresser, Kevin 1962 births Living people Iowa State Cyclones wrestling coaches People from Humboldt, Iowa American male sport wrestlers Sportspeople from Fort Dodge, Iowa