Huskers Announce Greenfield?s Departure

Lincoln - The Nebraska wrestling program has announced the departure of assistant coach Mike Greenfield, who will be leaving Lincoln this summer after eight years on the Husker staff. Greenfield has accepted a new position as athletic director for the Waterloo school district in Waterloo, Illinois and will begin his new post July 1.

"First, I would like to thank Mark (Manning) for the opportunity to be part of such a great program," said Greenfield, who has been head assistant coach for the past four years. "He has helped me prepare for this new position by giving me a huge amount of responsibility within our program. I appreciate all his knowledge and support and wish the program continued success."

Since 2002-03 with Greenfield on staff, the Huskers were 116-38-3 in dual competitions and finished in the top five at the NCAA Championships three times, including fourth-place showings in 2008 and 2009. Husker wrestlers earned 22 All-America honors during his time on the staff, including three national titles. NU also claimed its first ever Big 12 wrestling title in 2009 under Greenfield.

"I am really excited for Mike and his wife, Melissa," head coach Mark Manning said. "Mike has meant a lot to our program for the past eight years. He has been a loyal friend and hard worker and we will miss him a lot, but we also wish him the best. It is a great opportunity for him professionally and a chance for him and his wife to get back near family."

Before coming to Nebraska, Greenfield served as a graduate assistant wrestling coach at Central Michigan, his alma mater, for four seasons. As a wrestler, he finished eighth at the 1998 NCAA Championships at 177 pounds and seventh in 1999 at 184 pounds to earn a pair of All-America honors.

"I also want to say how much fun I have had with the student-athletes that have come through our program," Greenfield said. "We have had some amazing individuals both athletically and academically.  The student-athletes who continue to come through this program will be fortunate to be part of the best athletic department in the entire country."

Coach Greenfield Comments
"I have spent eight great years at this University and want to thank some real influential people for our program's success that fly under the radar a little. First off, I would like to thank (associate athletic director) Bob Burton for his complete support of our program. Nebraska is very fortunate to have a person of his caliber working with their sports. He understands the highs and lows of coaching and has been a great asset for my coaching career along with the career I am about to tackle. I would like to thank Butch Hug and his event staff, including Matt Davidson, Derek Bond, Derek Bombeck, Katie Butzke and Erv Williams. They have thankless jobs, but we appreciate all they do and they are the best in the country. I would also like to thank Dr. Albers and Dr. Clare for their support of our program. Without these two people we would've never accomplished any of our team accolades over the years. Obviously, the athletic department is in the best hands with Coach Osborne, and I want to thank him for his continued support of the wrestling program. He has made a huge commitment to the sport with the new practice facility and I know everyone involved in the wrestling program is excited about that new facility. It is going to be awesome."

"I have had an awesome ride here and I am happy to end my college coaching career at Nebraska. I have been so fortunate to be around so many great coaches like Mark Manning, Doc Sadler (men's basketball), Bo Pelini (football), Bill Spangler (men's golf) and Scott Jacobson (women's tennis). I will be following Nebraska athletics forever because of all the great people here and all the friends I have made over my eight years, and I will always be a Husker."