Fresno State made two great moves recently. The first was to re-instate the wrestling program that was cut in 2006 due to budget and Title IX restrictions. The second great move was when Fresno State hired former Iowa Hawkeye National Champion Troy Steiner to become their next head coach. Smart play for Fresno State on both choices.
Troy Steiner has his named chiseled in stone as one of the all-time greats in Iowa Wrestling history. Out of Bismarck, North Dakota, Troy Steiner was a four-time All-American, three-time Big Ten Champion, and a 1992 NCAA National Champion. Along with his twin brother Terry, the Steiners left their mark and legacy on Iowa Wrestling with their work ethic and conditioning. In the thirty-three years I have been around Iowa Wrestling in the Iowa Wrestling room, I have never seen anybody work harder or be in better shape than Troy and Terry Steiner. Terry is the current head coach of the USA Women’s Freestyle team. I had a chapter in my book Domination: An Inside Look at Iowa Wrestling that had a section entitled: Steiners. The Steiners more than earned their way into my book. Simply put, the Steiner brothers are not just good people, they are great people.
After graduating in 1993, Steiner competed in Freestyle and also began a coaching career that took him to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Oregon State. While at Minnesota, Steiner earned a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology with a Sports Management emphasis. Steiner was then named to Jimmy Zalesky’s staff at Iowa for two seasons before following Zalesky to Oregon State where he has been an assistant the last ten years.
I also want to make note that Fresno State Associate Athletic Director John Kriebs was a State Champion at Dubuque Wahlert in 1979. He then became a two-time All-American at Hwt for UNI and a four-time NCAA National Tournament Qualifier. Kriebs was also ranked number one at Hwt during his senior season at UNI in 1984. That is a great Iowa connection with Kriebs and Steiner to get Fresno State Wrestling going again.
I was able to catch up with Troy Steiner recently. He is busy in the transition of his new position, and took the time for this interview.
Troy Steiner, congratulations on being the new head coach of Fresno State. That is great news for the wrestling family in having a program brought back to life and that you are going to lead the way. Can you tell me how you heard about the Fresno State program being reinstated and needing a head coach?
Troy Steiner: I had heard through the wrestling circles that they were going to be bringing back the wrestling program about a year ago, but not too much after that. Then at NCAA’s this year, John Kriebs came up to me and said that they were opening up the position soon and we would like to talk to me. About a week after NCAA’s he contacted me and I told him I was interested in applying for the job and that is how it got started.
When will you actually start in competition at Fresno State?
Troy Steiner: We will start competition in November of 2017 so we have a little bit of time and there will be a lot to do.
When will you bring on your staff?
Troy Steiner: July 1st is the first time that I can bring on another coach. I am not going to rush into it. I want to find the right people that are willing to step up to the challenge like this. This job will not be for everyone. I want people that want to be here and be apart of the program.
What will be the emphasis for your recruiting geographically?
Troy Steiner: For the most part, I believe it will be the West corridor. That Central Valley of California is very rich in wrestling so that will be where I will concentrate on right away. I will continue to pull from that area and that will be my main focus. We will go anywhere we need to just like any other program in the country.
Have you had a chance to set up any fundraisers or ways to meet the Fresno State wrestling fans?
Troy Steiner: A lot of it for me will be to get out and get to know the fans and donors of the program. We will start from there. We’re probably going to have a golf outing this fall. Not really for fundraising but to get to know the people that support wrestling and to let them know that we are here for them as much as they are here for us. We know we cannot win without their support. We can’t win without the kids there in the Valley and from the State. We are going to try and get in touch with the people that have been disconnected from Fresno State Wrestling over the last ten years. There have been some really great people fighting to get wrestling back at Fresno.
What conference or NCAA Qualifier will Fresno State be in?
Troy Steiner: We are unsure right now. The Big 12 maybe. The Pac 12 does not look like they want to admit any new members right now. The Big 12 is looking like the option now. We will see as we get into this more. It would make sense to stay in the Pac 12 if we could because of all the colleges in the West and trying to keep it going. But that may not be an option. If the Big 12 is an option, I am not opposed to that either. It’s a great conference with some great programs. Either way we are going to wrestle with programs that are geographically close to us. It will just be a matter of where we go to a conference tournament. Right now it is looking like the Big 12.
It has to help having the guy that hired you being an All-American college wrestler from the state of Iowa.
Troy Steiner: John Kriebs is the guy I report to and it is nice to have him there because he understand the sport and what we need. Having someone that understands the sport like John is very helpful. In order to be successful, we need to have certain things in place. I know I have his support and we all want to make this a successful wrestling program.
What are your immediate plans?
Troy Steiner: I have been trying to get to know some of the people. Recruiting goes up a big notch in July. Hopefully recruiting never stops. Right now I am looking at putting a staff in place.
I know you have been with Jimmy Zalesky for years as his top assistant coach and you two go way back. What kind of an impact has Jimmy had on your career?
Troy Steiner: The last ten years at Oregon State has been a great ten years not only for me, but for my family. For growth and development, it was a great place for us to raise our kids. For my time with Jim, he is a great friend of mine. I have known Jim for twenty-eight years. He was there when I got into college and the first seven years I was at Iowa. I left Iowa and he asked me to come back as an assistant coach that between Iowa and Oregon State has been twelve years. I have been beside him for years and he is like family to me. He has been a great mentor for me and a great friend. That will not change. We will both be there for each other if we need something. That’s the hardest thing about the business is leaving a program like Oregon State. Leaving the people I have worked with the last ten years. The community welcomed us with open arms ten years ago.
I have been a fan and supporter of you and your brother Terry since you arrived at Iowa in 1988. I know there are a lot of Iowa Wrestling fans that like myself have followed your coaching career and will keep an eye on Fresno State Wrestling. This is great for our sport of wrestling. I am confident that you will do a great job at Fresno State. Troy Steiner, best of luck to you.
Troy Steiner: Thank you. I always knew I wanted to coach when I was at Iowa. I had great people around me there that were great mentors for me. It’s something I knew I wanted to get into during my college days. I never felt as though I had to be a head coach. I wanted to be involved with a program and to impact people and kids and then give back to the sport that has given me so much. I have turned down other coaching opportunities that people would think I was crazy to turn down. I believe this is a great opportunity with the support that is at Fresno State. I knew I would regret not pursuing this. I have always lived by not wanting any regrets in my life. We tell our athletes to go out after it and have no fear. I had to live that myself. This just seemed like the right opportunity.
