Manning Named Big 12 Coach of the Year

Lincoln ?Nebraska’s Mark Manning has been named the Big 12 Wrestling Coach of the Year for the second-straight season, the conference announced Monday. The award is decided by a vote of the league coaches.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

“This award is a reflection of my staff and the commitment from our kids to be great and strive for excellence,” Manning said. “My staff has a lot of camaraderie, and our guys really respond well to the environment we’ve built.”

 

Manning led Nebraska to its first Big 12 title this season, the first for the Huskers since winning the 1995 Big Eight Championship. The championship event, held at the NU Coliseum in Lincoln, was also the first Big 12 title for a Nebraska men’s team in any sport since NU shared the 2007 Big 12 indoor track and field title.

Manning has coached 27 Huskers to All-America honors during his nine seasons at Nebraska, and has led his program to five top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. With a fourth-place team finish at this year’s national tournament, NU claimed back-to-back top-five finishes in consecutive years for the first time in program history. The 78.5 points at this year’s NCAA event were the second most the Huskers have scored at the tournament, trailing the 79.5-point performance in 1993.

Nebraska posted a dual record of 17-3-1, matching its longest unbeaten streak of 9-0-1 this season (Jan. 23 to Feb. 14) since the start the 1995-96 campaign. Manning is the winningest coach in Husker history with a dual-winning percentage of .733 and a record of 126-45-3 at NU.