UNI Wrestling Camps
Coaching Staff

Mark Schwab
Assistant Coach

Former Panther Mark Schwab will join his brother, Doug, on the UNI coaching staff, serving as an assistant coach in 2010-11.  Mark joins the Panthers after head coaching stints at NIACC and Buena Vista University.

At Buena Vista, Schwab was named Iowa Conference Coach of the Year in 2007 and coached the first four-time NCAA All-American in the 30-year history of BVU wrestling in Jestin Hulegaard.  Prior to BVU, Schwab spent nine years as assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, helping the program to seven top-three team finishes at the NCAA Championships and two NCAA team titles.  Schwab also served as an assistant coach at Purdue from 1991-93.

Prior to his coaching experience, Schwab was an All-American on the mat for the Panthers during the late 1980s.  In his initial season as a Panther, Schwab posted a 49-9 record, the most wins by a true freshman in NCAA history, and placed fifth in the 1986 NCAA Division I Championships.  In 1987, he won the bronze medal in what was called the World's Toughest Tournament in Tiblissi, Russia.  During his redshirt season at UNI, Schwab trained for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team while also winning a bronze medal for the U.S. team at the World Cup event in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.  A knee injury and a staph infection combined to keep Schwab off the mat for more than a year, but Schwab finished his career with the Panthers on a positive note as a senior, earning his second All-American honor.

As a prep at Osage, Schwab was nearly flawless, winning 106 of 107 matches and capturing four state titles.  Schwab also earned three Junior National Freestyle titles and a national championship in the Greco-Roman category.  Schwab was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Glen Brand Hall of Fame.

Schwab earned his bachelor's degree in 1990 from the University of Northern Iowa and his master's degree from the University of Minnesota in 2003.  Schwab spent the past year as a full-time student at the University of Minnesota getting a second emphasis in sport psychology on his existing masters.

Randy Pugh
Assistant Head Coach

Assistant head coach Randy Pugh will enter his tenth season as a UNI assistant. Pugh joined the UNI wrestling staff following an outstanding athletic career at the University of Northern Iowa.

In his ten seasons as a coach, Pugh, a former Panther All-American, helped develop All-Americans Jarion Beets (174), Eric Hauan (174), Kyle Hansen (184), Jason Payne (197), Sean Stender (197) and Paul Hynek (285).

Pugh trained for international competition following his career on the mat for the Panthers. The Columbus Junction, Iowa native finished in fourth place at the USA World Trials in June 2002 and competed in the Trials again in 2003. In 2002, he won the Sunkist International Open and garnered a third-place finish at the U.S. Open. In 2003, Pugh again achieved All-American status as he placed 8th at the U.S. Open. He also placed third at the Dave Schultz Open in 2003.

As an athlete at UNI, Pugh finished fourth at the 2000 NCAA Tournament at 174 pounds, capping a senior season in which he compiled a 26-4 record. He was ranked as high as third nationally after upending top-rated Otto Olson at the Virginia Duals.

Pugh was a state high school champion his senior year at Columbus Junction before enrolling at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he compiled a 16-8 record his first year. After transferring to UNI in 1998, he went 54-9 in two seasons for the Panthers, giving him a 70-17 career mark. For Pugh, the biggest change from competing on the mat to coaching his former teammates is motivating others.

"When I was on the mat, I was doing what it took to make myself a better athlete," Pugh said. "But as a coach, I am more concerned with what others are doing and helping them improve."
Pugh not only was a leader in the wrestling arena but also in the classroom. He graduated with a degree in Industrial Technology.

Pugh's goal for the Panthers is for the athletes to improve every match out and continue to be good student-athletes.

He and his wife, Krista, are the parents of two daughters, Hayden, 3, and Presley, born February 2010.

Tolly Thompson
Volunteer Coach

Former NCAA champion and Janesville, Iowa, native Tolly Thompson is beginning his eighth overall season as an assistant coach for the Panthers.  Thompson returns to the Panther staff for the first time since 2008.

"I'm very happy to be back at UNI and be a part of this team again," Thompson said.  "I am very excited for this opportunity and ready to help young men accomplish their goals."

Thompson first joined the Panther staff as the team's Conditioning Specialist during the 2002-03 season.  He returned to UNI after two years as the strength and conditioning coach at Nebraska.  He was a member of the Panthers' coaching staff during the 1999-2000 seasons as a volunteer assistant.

"The big thing Tolly brings with him is the winning mentality," UNI head coach Doug Schwab said.  "He wants to get the most out of our wrestlers and sets very high standards, which fits in very well with the mentality of our staff.  He is a very demanding coach, but deeply cares about each wrestler and already has strong relationships with a number of the wrestlers on this team.  In addition, Tolly was a very successful competitor and has deep roots in this area.  He lives here, knows a number of people here and is very well respected in the community.  I'm very excited for him to be a part of the building process we've started here at UNI."

Thompson brings a wealth of international experience to the Panther wrestling room, after being named the winner of the 2005 John Smith Award as the Freestyle Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling.  Thompson represented the United States for the second straight season at the World Championships after taking first-place honors at the 2006 U.S. World Team Trials in Sioux City, Iowa.

"There is nothing better than winning," Thompson said.  "The bottom line is competition and winning.  My job is to win a world title and develop the young guys around the (UNI wrestling) room."

Thompson placed third at the 2005 World Championships (120/264.5 lbs.) in Budapest, Hungary, September 28, 2005.  He was a previous member of the USA wrestling Freestyle National Team. After waiting nearly six hours after his first-round loss, Thompson won three straight matches in his first trip to the World Championships to claim his first World medal.  He capped his medal-winning performance with a 1-0, 1-0 win over past 1997 World champion Kuramagomed Kuramagomedov of Russia.  Thompson's rally to the bronze propelled the Americans to an 8th-place finish in the freestyle competition.  Overall, the U.S. team ended the competition with two bronze medals.

Along with taking a bronze at the 2005 World Cup, Thompson placed second at the Cerro Pelado International and was the 2005 Dave Schultz Memorial International Champion.  In U.S. competition, he was the 2005 Nationals champion and the U.S. World Team Trials Champion.  In March 2004, Thompson placed fourth at the Acropolis Tournament in Athens, Greece, in the 120kd/264.5 pound weight.  That April, Thompson continued his run for an Olympic bid at the U.S. National Championships in Las Vegas.  He was able to put together a top finish to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Trials in Indianapolis.  At the trials, Thompson rolled through competition to win the mini-tournament which placed him in the title bout for an automatic Olympic bid.  In a best of three series, Thompson was defeated by Kerry McCoy 5-3 and 8-0, finishing his 2004 Olympic run with a second place finish.  In 2003, he placed second at the U.S. Open and World Team Trials.  Thompson also was the 2002 Sunkist International Open champion as well as the New York Athletic Club champion.  His hope of qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics ended at the team trials in Dallas, where he was defeated in the semifinal round by world and national champion Stephen Neal of Bakersfield, Calif.

During his collegiate tenure, he compiled a career record of 157-21 from 1993 to 1997 as a Husker.  His 157 wins once placed him on the NCAA's all-time wins list.  As a Husker, he became Nebraska's sixth national champion as a sophomore in 1995 by defeating UNI's Justin Greenlee.  He finished third at the 1996 and 1997 championships while also winning the Gorrarian Award for the most falls in the least time at the 1997 championships.  A three-time Big Eight/Big 12 champion, Thompson was also a three-time NWCA All-Star.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska, he and his wife, Tracy, have three daughters, Payton, Bree, and Kendall.