Eastern Michigan Eagles wrestling


Eastern Michigan Eagles wrestling team was a men's athletic program at Eastern Michigan University. Based in Ypsilanti in the U.S. state of Michigan, the Eastern Michigan Eagles competed in NCAA Division I and were a member of Mid-American Conference.

History

Eastern Michigan adopted the sport of wrestling in 1956. The wrestling program was part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics from 1957 through 1962. In 1963-1966, EMU wrestling switched conferences to the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Since the exit of the PAC conference, EMU has been a part of the Mid-American Conference, starting in 1973. In 1996, Eastern won its first Mid-American conference Championship under MAC Coach of the Year Willie Gadson. Eastern put six wrestlers in the finals and placed 8 of 10.
On March 20, 2018, EMU announced the elimination of wrestling and three other sports.

Home meets

Home meets were held in 8,824 seat EMU Convocation Center located on Eastern Michigan's campus in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Since 1991, the university was an annual host of the EMU Open/EMU Duals with over 500 wrestlers and NCAA schools across all divisions.

Coaches

Head coach

The EMU wrestling team was coached by David Bolyard. David Bolyard took over the program from Derek DelPorto in 2014. David Bolyard attended Central Michigan University in 2000 and graduated from CMU. David Bolyard was an All-American his junior year, a four-time national qualifier, receive All-American honors, and broke a school record by winning 21 straight matches. David Bolyard was awarded the Chick Sherwood Award, which was presented to CMU's most valuable wrestler. David Bolyard ranked seventh all-time with 109 career wins and is tied for 10th with 22 falls in CMU history. David Bolyard was a 3x runner-up and a 2005 MAC champion at 165 lbs. Davis Bolyard came to EMU in 2007 as an assistant coach, hired by former head coach, Derek DelPorto.

All-Americans

NAIA
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division I
1972-1990
1991–present