Rande Stottlemyer Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: University of Pittsburgh

Phone: (412) 648-9176

E-mail: rjs@pitt.edu

Twenty-eight years at the helm of one of the most history-rich wrestling programs in the East is no small accomplishment. Pitt's head wrestling coach, Rande Stottlemyer, has done it the old-fashioned way: a dedication and commitment to one's principles and beliefs and a good day of hard work.

"Coach Stottlemyer has a competitive spirit that is unfailing," said Carol Sprague, Senior Associate Athletic Director. "As a student-athlete at Pitt, Rande was driven to become a champion and ended his Panther Career as a 3-time All-American. As a coach he expects that same commitment to work to be the best from the young men on his team. Rande is the consummate educator and he, his assistant coaches and his student-athletes fully understand that the true measure of success is that each young man takes advantage of the multiple opportunities available at Pitt and earns his degree. A championship athletic career without a degree is simply not acceptable in Pitt wrestling."

Along with his assistant coaches, Stottlemyer has continued a winning tradition that he was a part of prior to his coaching days.

Last season, Stottlemyer and his staff coached four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships and two to All-America honors. Keith Gavin became a runner-up at the national tournament, and Matt Kocher finished fifth. Gavin and teammate Drew Headlee also captured league titles in the EWL tournament.

In 2006, for the second consecutive season, the Pitt coaching staff guided six wrestlers to the NCAA championships. Stottlemyer and his assistants additionally led his fourth wrestler in three years to a EWL title when Justin Nestor won at 165 pounds. In 2005, they coached yet another NCAA All-American in Headlee, the 24th wrestler to reach achieve this career milestone under Stottlemyer's tenure. In addition, Zach Sheaffer became the EWL Champion at 285 pounds in his first season as a Panther. Three years ago, Carl Fronhofer, went from being unseeded to an NCAA finalist and an All-American at 174 pounds.

Pitt's all-time winningest coach with 234 victories in those 28 seasons, Stottlemyer still enjoys what he does and gets just as much of a thrill in seeing his team succeed that he did in taking the job back in 1979. His excitement and enthusiasm for a sport he has been a part of for over 30 years is contagious as he talks about his coaching duties with the Panthers.

"Coaching at the University of Pittsburgh has given me an opportunity to work with great young men and top-notch assistants," Stottlemyer said. "It has also given me an opportunity to help student-athletes build character and acquire tools they will need in the future."

The Panthers have seven NCAA qualifiers returning to their starting lineup in 2007-08, including three All-Americans, making them a viable threat on the conference and national level.

During his tenure, Stottlemyer and his staff have produced a two-time national champion in Pat Santoro, 26 NCAA All-Americans, 111 national qualifiers and 28 Eastern Wrestling League Champions. In 18 of the last 24 years of his career, they have coached at least one NCAA All-American and his teams have finished in the top-30 nationally. Pitt has finished in the nation's top-25 in five of the last 10 seasons.

Academically, seven of his athletes have been honored as recipients of either the Blue-Gold or Panther Awards, student-athletes whose names are permanently etched in the stones of the sidewalk leading between the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Chapel. His most recent addition to that special list was Fronhofer, who earned the Blue-Gold Award in 2003.

In addition, two of Stottlemyer's former wrestlers, Greg Zimmerman and John Withrow, were the recipients of the prestigious Omicron Delta Kappa Award, presented annually to the outstanding senior student at Pitt. Numerous Pitt wrestlers have been named to the Eastern Wrestling League's Academic Honor Roll and last season the wrestling team captured Pitt's Men's Scholar-Athlete Academic Cup, which is awarded annually to the athletic team with the highest GPA.

Stottlemyer's strong ties and success in the sport of wrestling date back to his high school career at Hickory High School in nearby Hermitage, Pa., where he was a PIAA state runner-up and two-time Junior National Freestyle wrestling champion.

Following a stellar scholastic career at Hickory, Stottlemyer enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, where he became a three-time NCAA All-American, achieving that level of distinction only one year before becoming a full-time assistant coach to then Panther wrestling coach Dave Adams. As a collegian, Stottlemyer put together a record of 68-16-2, won one EWL title and served as team captain for each of his varsity seasons.

As a coach, Stottlemyer stresses the importance of keeping one's priorities straight.

"What we hope to accomplish here at Pittsburgh is to give our guys tools for life," Stottlemyer said. "I believe in education through athletics. You learn so much in the sport of wrestling, where there is no place to hide. It is two guys going against each other, exposed in a public forum.

"We want our wrestlers to not just love the sport but love the process of progressing in our sport. It's important for them to realize that although they only do it for a short period of time, wrestling will be a part of who they are the rest of their lives."

And as a celebrated wrestler and coach, Stottlemyer, who in 1992 received induction into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, realizes the unique nature of his chosen sport and the value of its potential rewards.

"Wrestling is a very grueling sport. And in order to be successful it takes an unusual amount of discipline and the ability to make a lot of personal sacrifices. It's a very combative sport and a battle of wills. Who's going to quit first? And that's one of the things we emphasize the most -- never give in. Your opponent may end up scoring more points than you, but it won't be because of a lack of effort or commitment. Don't give up, because then you've lost more than just a wrestling match."

Those words tell more about Stottlemyer than any others. His work ethic is unquestionable as is his desire to keep Pitt among the elite wrestling programs in the country.