Northern Iowa’s Doug Schwab named WIN’s Dan Gable Coach of the Year

Editor’s Note: WIN’s recently published Volume 31 Issue 9, the Annual Awards Issue, is available for immediate digital access to subscribers. Subscribe here (Print/Digital/Combo). WIN will announce the remaining award winners over the course of the next week. Photo by Allyson Schwab.

By Tristan Warner 

Since 1997, WIN has annually named its Coach of the Year by Dan Gable.

Gable is arguably the greatest coach the sport has ever produced. As a wrestler, the native of Waterloo compiled a 118-1 record and won two NCAA titles (1969 and 1970) before capturing the 1972 Olympic gold medal in freestyle. As a coach, he led the Iowa program for 21 years (1977-97) and produced 15 team championship, 45 individual titlists and 144 All-Americans.

The 2025 Dan Gable Coach of the Year is Northern Iowa’s Doug Schwab, who is making his mark and impacting the lives of student-athletes in Cedar Falls, just eight miles down the road from Gable’s hometown.

“Obviously it is a great honor,” Schwab stated. “I appreciate the recognition. I got to be coached by Gable and an award named after him is pretty cool. I am pretty proud of that.

“People have to understand it is beyond you as the head coach. It is the whole staff. I have a high level of responsibility in being the guy leading the charge, but it doesn’t happen without the assistants and the support staff following up behind you and doing so much of the work.”

The 2024-25 season was a historic one for Schwab’s program, as the Panthers’ ninth-place finish at the 2025 NCAA DI Championships in Philadelphia was the highest since 1962. Parker Keckeisen also became the first-ever five-time All-American in UNI history, registering a runner-up finish at 184 pounds.

Named the 2025 NWCA National Coach of the Year, Schwab’s UNI squad was just one of four schools (Penn State, Cornell and Ohio State) to qualify all 10 wrestlers for the national tournament, a feat which had not occurred at UNI since 1986.

Northern Iowa’s other All-American, Cael Happel, registered a fifth-place finish at 141 pounds, the highest finish for a Panther at the weight class since Dylan Long reached the finals in 2003.

The Big 12 runner-up Panthers, who were narrowly edged by Oklahoma State in the tournament’s final match, secured the program’s best Big 12 finish with three conference champions and 149.5 team points.

The Panthers’ dual-meet season was equally impressive, as the squad posted a 14-1 record with a 7-1 mark in Big 12 action, only falling to Oklahoma State, 22-14. UNI defeated national contender Nebraska, ranked fourth at the time, 24-9, on Jan. 5 and toppled storied Big 12-rival Iowa State, ranked No. 14 at the time, 26-10, on Feb. 16 before a record-setting crowd at the McLeod Center. UNI also plowed through the field en route to capturing the NWCA Multidivisional National Duals in the Mid-Major division, a label Schwab was openly less than thrilled to embrace.

“Mid-major feels like a step down,” Schwab explained. “Maybe we don’t have as many resources or dollars, but we do have the same amount of time. We have a collection of individuals you’ll be around at UNI who are special. Guys improve and leave in a better place.

“We are in the Big 12 conference. We are a competitive team at the national level that plans on staying there for the rest of time. I like to find slights because it motivates us. I like to tell our guys that. We don’t feel sorry for ourselves.

“We know the time and energy we put into it and will take it up against anybody, anywhere, at any time. We like to keep the fire stoked, it is about trusting in ourselves more than proving people wrong.”

Reflecting on the historic season, Schwab is keeping things in perspective, celebrating the milestones but never settling for complacency. There is no need to refocus when the focus never wavers.

“Guys improve throughout the year, and we are always looking for growth. I am incredibly proud of the team. The team came together, and we had a couple sold-out crowds and an all-time attendance record in the McCleod. Those things don’t just uplift our program but set a standard for athletics in general at UNI. We can compete at the national level not just the regional level.

“When you’re not at your absolute best, though, you’re always going to think there is a little bit more there. How do we get all 10 guys to be their best those three days in March? How do we get that to happen at that time?”

Perhaps his biggest point of emphasis is on relationships within the Schwab-led UNI program. His regime emphasizes fortifying relationships that last a lifetime. When the staff is invested in a student-athlete beyond just wins and losses, Schwab believes it elevates every individual in the program.

“Trusting relationships take time,” he said. “Continue to show up for people. You have their best interest in mind, but you can’t do it in one conversation. It consistently builds over time. Unless they know how much you care, I don’t know how much you can get out of these guys.”

Schwab also posits that, in the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics, where big-time spending and NIL collectives have created an arms race among some of the highest-spending Power-4 institutions, the relationship component has never been more important.

“None of that money is going to help them get through a hard time when they’re struggling. Nobody is wrong for taking money, but my first thing in recruiting isn’t money. Are we aligned value wise? I will build you beyond the wrestling room. I can’t give you the most money, but I can give you my time, attention and focus over 5-10 or more years. Can you put a dollar amount on that?

“It is not my job to judge. Recruiting is not harder now, though, because it is pretty clear what we stand for as a team. If money is your top priority, it probably won’t work out here anyway. It is not just about finding the right fit, but it is about finding where you belong.”

As Schwab has never broken stride in his preparation for continuing the program’s trajectory into next season, he commands his student-athletes to step up and carry on the squad’s momentum. He sees it as a call-to-action for the next set of Panthers to race toward greatness.

“There is always going to be change. Seniors leave. You don’t try to replace them but get guys to step up. What an opportunity for somebody else. Why do we have to drop off? We have a lot of evidence that what we are doing is working. We are not just talking about it.

“Parker (Keckeisen) set an example of how to train and live. Now, press it forward. I have a big chip on my shoulder. I take things personal. When people ask how we are going to do it again … I take exception to that. Why would we drop off? It takes a lot of work, consistency, effort, trust and self-belief. The guys in front of them left it in a better place and it just keeps going.”

Schwab had a long list of supporters to thank, including his coaching and training staff, fans and supporters who have become family, and his wife, Allyson, who took over the program’s social media duties three years ago. Schwab’s inspirational team pep talks have gone viral on various platforms. He sees it almost as a pre-recruiting tool, or a way for prospects to get a glimpse into the program before they ever step foot in the UNI room. But even more far-reaching, if his messages resonate with kids or coaches anywhere in the wrestling sphere, it is a worthwhile endeavor.

“She has done an incredible job showing the behind the scenes of what we stand for. That is what we talk about every day. Life lessons leave them with more beyond wrestling. There are not a whole lot of secrets out there. Listen, believe, and apply it.”

“It is not a one-man job, but I love the opportunity to be the guy that steers the ship and have people who believe in me.”