Fresno State welcomes new head wrestling coach
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Troy Steiner became the 6th head coach in program history. And he's tasked with building this Bulldog wrestling team from the bottom up in time for competitive play in the winter of 2017.
His arrival is long overdue for valley wrestling fans who have been missing the sport locally for the past decade.
"But I'll tell you everywhere I went, everywhere I went, I heard about wrestling. And the need to bring wrestling back to Fresno State," said Fresno State President Dr. Joseph Castro.
Castro delivered on a promise he made when he first arrived at Fresno State by bringing back wrestling and on Thursday, introducing its new head coach
"It's going to be a heck of a challenge. But that's what I look forward to. I know it's going to be a lot of work. I'm not afraid of work. That's what intrigued me about this position the most, is I get to put my stamp on the entire thing." said Steiner.
Troy Steiner comes from Oregon State where he spent the past 10 seasons as an assistant.
He's also an accomplished collegiate wrestler, winning national titles at Iowa and finishing his career as a four-time All-American.
Former bulldog head coach Dennis DeLiddo told Action News on a scale of 1-10, Steiner's hire is a, "12. This is a dream come true." added DeLiddo.
FULL INTERVIEW
Steve Tirapelle knows a thing or two about building a powerhouse in the sport of wrestling. He's the head coach of the Clovis Cougars and has won 7 state championships.
"I think he's going to be the guy that can lead the ship. I think he's got to get some assistants around him. And I've got a lot of athletes that are here and they wanted to hear what he had to say. And I liked what he said. He said the things that are actually factual as far as developing a program. They are going to want to see who his assistants are going to be. And if he gets the right group, he's going to get off to the right start." said Tirapelle.
"To me, it was a comforting thing when you have the president of the university as the driving force behind bringing it back. That's pretty comforting," added Steiner.
It's that comfort that enabled Steiner and his family to pursue and accept this opportunity.
An opportunity like few others across the country.
"If all I've done as a wrestling coach is create a better wrestler, I've failed miserably. It's my job to create people that are going to be productive in society," said Steiner.
