On Thursday afternoon, John Smith announced his decision to step down as Oklahoma State’s head wrestling coach after a program-record 33 years.
“It has been an honor to coach for more than 32 years at the same institution,” Smith said in a press release. “I can’t even begin to tell you what Oklahoma State has done for me, my wife, my immediate family and brothers and sisters who all graduated from OSU. My journey started at age 17 here at Oklahoma State and it has allowed me to accomplish everything I ever wanted.”
Associate head coach Coleman Scott will serve as the interim coach. The 2008 OSU grad joined the program in the fall ahead of the recent season.
Under Smith’s leadership, the Cowboys claimed the national championship five times (1994, 2003-06) and secured 21 conference tournament championships.
“Coach Smith is a hero and truly the greatest of all time,” OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg said in a press release. “John has dedicated his life’s work to Oklahoma State University, Cowboy Wrestling and the sport. Although the decision comes with much emotion for him and for us, he felt the time was right to retire. Because we have so much respect for him, we will respect his decision and honor and celebrate his exceptional contributions and loyalty to Oklahoma State. John will continue to support the program as a lifelong Cowboy and due to his efforts, we know great things are yet to come for Cowboy Wrestling.”
Smith’s wrestlers claimed 33 NCAA individual championships and 155 All-America honors. That’s an average of one individual national title and 4.7 All-Americans each year.
He led the Cowboys to a program-record 490 dual wins across 33 seasons. That win total led active coaches at the Division I level and is third all-time behind only Harold Nichols and Dale Thomas who finished with 492 and 616 wins, respectively.
Smith finished with a duals record of 490-73-2.
As a former Cowboy himself, Smith went 152-8-2 in his career, with most of his matches taking place at 134 pounds. He also won two individual national championships, three individual conference championships and earned All-American honors three times.
On the international stage, Smith is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in 1988 and 1992. He coached the 2000 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams to second and fifth-place finishes, respectively.
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