The name of Bob Nicolls will forever be remembered by Iowa Wrestling fans. Mr. Nicolls announced on my thread on Hawkeye Report entitled: ‘“The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world” We need this’ that he had made a huge commitment to Iowa Wrestling.
From Hawkeye Report:
I had the pleasure of visiting with Tom and Luke yesterday. He wants a facility that will be great for a long time. I will be supporting it with 1 million and discussing with other potential donors, the Foundation, and Athletic Dept. I didn’t ask about the size or cost of the facility, it’s conceptual now. Staff wants to get this done.
I was not a wrestler, but love the sport. I’m standing up and asking/challenging/pushing others to match me or do what you are able to do. Iowa = Wrestling, it’s in an Iowans fabric. We cannot have other schools beating us in facilities in this day and age. Facilities matter to kids, whether we like it or not.
And BTW, we have a great staff that absolutely works their asses off….hard and smart. I hate seeing BS in this Forum suggesting otherwise. Another coach of a non-rev sport was once told by Gable that in order to succeed with his program, “You gotta have the jack (dough)”. Think Roy Carver. We have gotta help the coaches out. It’s time to step up.
Join me as a supporter…….
Bob Nicolls
Franktown, CO
I nearly fell off of my chair when I read that. Talk about a bolt of lightning coming down in a great way. I cannot agree more with Bob about our staff and the negativity that is out there from some people online.
The original blog of The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world: https://iowawrestlingblog.com/2017/04/the-greatest-wrestling-training-facility-in-the-world/
I contacted Bob and asked him about his background and involvement as an Iowa Wrestling fan:
Bob: “My freshman year was Gable’s first year as head coach. I was a track distance runner in high school. A friend of mine went out and ran on scholarship for track at Iowa. So I visited Iowa from LaGrange, Illinois and liked it but decided not to be a walkon for the track program. Then we placed third the first year and then reeled off nine straight titles. Being apart of that time, wrestling and Iowa being #1 was totally congruent.
As you roll forward through the years, you almost kind of take it for granite. But now with other school’s facilities being better than ours, their coaches certainly are not better than ours. We have the best coaches that work the hardest. But those guys should not have to apologize for our facilities compared to some other school that kids are considering. More specifically places like Ohio State, Penn State, you see Rutgers and some other places are building or have new or better wrestling facilities. In my mind I felt like it is time to step up and give support to something that is just integral to Iowa and being an Iowan.”
I appreciate Bob’s commitment, passion, and support for Iowa Wrestling. Bob Nicolls is the owner of Monarch Investment and Management Group in Franktown, Colorado.
You may have noticed that I used the work “first” in the title of this blog. That is because I believe more million dollar pledges will be coming in from the private and corporate sector to build this facility.
For ideas or to show your support in this project, please contact: Randy Novak of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club: [email protected]
I will continue to bring you updates on this exciting project.
“The greatest wrestling training facility…in the world.” Gotta believe it’s gonna happen.
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Todd Conner
