3/10/2010
Written By: Mike Rickord
Category: Open Mike  

This 12th annual wrestling edition of The Iowa Sports Connection magazine is our favorite issue for Iowa wrestling fans across the state. This cover speaks for itself as Iowa and Iowa State are solid favorites to take home the national championship at the 2010 NCAA’s at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. 
  

I have shared this story previously but it is appropriate as we celebrate our 12th year and as I type this column and the 2010 Iowa boys’ state wrestling tournament begins.  I was fortunate the year that I launched this publication Feb 8th 1999 to spend two days with Dan Gable at Veterans Auditorium in downtown Des Moines as we hosted the Fox-17 Sports Stage. What a two days it was as we handed out our first publication to all the attendees who were there to meet Dan Gable, Kurt Warner, Chuck Long, and the starting lineup of the 1969 Drake Men’s Basketball team. It was my son Ben’s 8th birthday and Dan Gable took him under his wing for that Saturday and I have had a profound respect for Dan Gable ever since that February 8th 12 years ago.
  

The University of Iowa wrestling program is America’s proudest and most successful. The program has been driven by Dan Gable the former Iowa State Cyclone and Olympic Gold Medalist as a coach, mentor, administrator, adviser, and certainly proudest fan. I assisted several years in the promotion of the Dan Gable Classic and through that experience got a front row seat to the psyche of Dan and the incredible drive of Americas’ ambassador for the great sport of wrestling. The Iowa alumni have spread their wings across the country to build programs of their own and Dan Gable has had an impact in every one of their success stories.
  

The years that Iowa wrestling fell from the number one position in NCAA wrestling were tough on Dan and his loyal fan base. I one time commented that the program was doing well when they were ranked number three in the country and he absolutely came unglued informing me that at Iowa, national championships were the only acceptable result of a season. Man, I was impressed at his commitment and intensity.
  

Coach Tom Brands is cut out of the same cloth as Dan Gable. The Sheldon High standout, Iowa NCAA champion and US Olympic Gold Medalist expects nothing more than national championships from his Hawkeye grapplers. This intensity has been incredible for the entire state of Iowa and our passion for wrestling. Coach Tom Brands has attained his goal of returning the Hawkeyes to national championship prominence and only needs to look west 2 hours to Ames to keep motivated as the former Hawkeye nemesis Kevin Jackson has returned to Ames to inspire the resurgence of the Cyclones.
  

Iowa State was reeling with the departure of Cael Sanderson to Penn State but has immediately  risen to it’s rightful national power status under former All-American, Kevin Jackson, who rivals the intensity and motivation to match Brands at Iowa. 
  

UNI has one of the better programs in America and our D-III programs are always the best in the land as are the NAIA schools with Iowans on their rosters. As is evident today with the start of the Iowa high school tournament at Wells Fargo, wrestling is growing to an even higher level of intensity on mats across the state “From the Missouri to the Mississippi”!   The state of Iowa is once again the Mecca of wrestling in America and it starts in the feeder systems to all of the high school mats and progresses to the collegiate ranks!. As I stated in the past it is Not Minnesota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, or any other imposter that claims it is a wrestling powerhouse. The state of Iowa is the home state of wrestling and at the University of Iowa or Iowa State where NCAA championships are the only result that is acceptable.  Tom and Kevin have “Restored the Glory” at Iowa and Iowa State and we all look forward to the NCAA’s in Omaha where they will battle for the national title.  The Drake Relays are “Americas Athletic Classic” but in the prep wrestling world we are blessed with the Iowa high school state wrestling championships which is America’s high school wrestling classic!
  

This issue will be distributed in February and as stated earlier in the column our 12th anniversary was February 8th for the Iowa Sports Connection publication. I am grateful to my staff and our clients and partners across Iowa as we continue to expand our coverage of active Iowans “From the Pee Wees to the Preps to the Pros” as they celebrate participation in healthy endeavors. The magazine continues to be Iowa’s leader and stands by itself reaching all 99 counties and all 391 Iowa high schools. Our Iowa Sports Connection Radio Network continues to expand with additional affiliates across the state and reach every nook and cranny of this great state. The TV launch of our shows this year combined with the radio piece of our business, our 3 digital magazines, and the state leading source for all high school sports “iowasportsconnection.com” has propelled us as Iowa’s leader with this expansive multi-media reach.
  

In closing, thank you for your support and making us Iowa’s largest locally owned sports media and marketing organization and thank you for picking up a copy of the Iowa Sports Connection. Also, in 2010 be sure to listen to all of our radio programs Friday Night Live, Iowa Sports Connection, On the Tee, and our daily Iowa Sports Connection updates on great radio stations across Iowa on the Iowa Sports Radio Network! Have a Championship Month! God Bless You and God Bless America!