Nebraska’s Mark Manning named WIN’s Mike Chapman Impact Award recipient

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 courtesy of Husker Athletics.

By Tristan Warner

When Mark Manning was asked how it felt to be the recipient of WIN’s 2025 Mike Chapman Impact Award, his instinctive reaction was to immediately begin deflecting all credit and attributing his program’s success to everyone other than himself.

“It is really nice recognition for my staff, the team, just all the guys that make it happen,” Manning said. “Even though I am the recipient, I feel really blessed and thankful for all the people that invest in our program.

“It starts with the commitment that our guys have to being their very best. I have a great staff around me. (Bryan) Snyder, Tervel (Dlagnev), James (Green), our trainer, our strength coach; it is such a united group.”

In addition to earning his 200th dual-meet victory, Manning’s 2024-25 Huskers claimed a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships after accumulating 117 team points, eight All-Americans and two national champions in Ridge Lovett and Antrell Taylor. Brock Hardy also reached the finals, giving the Huskers three back-to-back-to-back NCAA finalists.

The historic finish gave Nebraska two NCAA champions for the first time since 1984, when Jim and Bill Scherr won consecutive titles at 177 and 190, respectively.

As a result, Manning was named the 2025 NWCA NCAA Tournament Coach of the Year.

Nebraska also put together an 11-3 dual meet record with a 6-2 mark in Big Ten action this season, which solidified them as a Top-5 program in WIN’s final Top-20 Dual-Team Rankings.

Notably, of the Huskers’ eight AAs, all but one outperformed his seed, with No. 17 Jacob Van Dee, No. 12 Christopher Minto, another No. 12 in Silas Allred, and No. 20 Camden McDanel all landing on the podium.

But as high achieving as Manning’s squad has been on the mats, his impact is more far-reaching for everyone involved in the Husker wrestling program while also sending ripples throughout the collegiate wrestling landscape.

Awarded annually since 1995, in 2008, WIN started to name its Impact Award after WIN founder Mike Chapman, who actually shared the award in 1999 with his wife Bev. Mike has written over 500 columns on wrestling and several books on the sport.

“In his long career, Mark has earned many accolades as a competitor, coach and leader, at all levels, and we are delighted to add his name to the long list of Impact winners,” Chapman commented. “This past season marks the high point of a tremendous coaching career and showed the entire wrestling community what dedication and determination are all about.”

Manning always makes it a point of emphasis to take wrestling-related questions and scale his answers to address facets of life that transcend the sport.

“Our top goal is to create a high-character person,” Manning said. “We do a lot of investing in developing our student-athletes and our wrestlers from their character standpoint. Your word is important. How you approach your work is important. If you want to max out as a person, you have to develop physically, mentally and spiritually.

“We equip them with a elite-level mindset and an approach to how you treat people. Our team is very respectful to our opponents, they know how to handle themselves and represent the University of Nebraska in a first-class manner. They want to imitate greatness.”

In a new era of NIL deals and seemingly never-ending transfer portal movers and shakers, it is worth noting that just one of Nebraska’s 10 starters from the 2024-25 season, All-American Caleb Smith, did not begin his career in Lincoln (App State).

The loyalty and buy-in from Nebraska’s student-athletes are evident, and Manning believes it starts with the recruiting process that promises to deliver a life-long investment.

“We have developed a reputation that we are going to do things the right way,” Manning said. “It is a lifetime commitment. It is not us trying to convince the right kids to come here; it is them choosing us because they know they can do it here. We attract people who want that next level experience.

With the Nebraska Wrestling Training Center already famous for producing the likes of seven-time World and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs and two-time World medalist James Green, numerous Husker alumni have stuck around to train in Lincoln while pursuing Senior-level aspirations. This list includes Eric Schultz, Liam Cronin, Christian Lance, and now Ridge Lovett and possibly Caleb Smith.

As Manning alluded to, his impact has always been geared toward developing student-athletes beyond just a four-to-five-year collegiate wrestling career. He is in it for the long haul.

“We are a united front. Having continuity is so valuable. Our coaches are all in at all times. They would run through the wall for our guys to help them be their best.

“I just appreciate our donors and our fan base for all their investment, support and belief in our guys and our team through the good times and the bad times. We have a dedicated fan base. I am so proud of those people and grateful for having those people impacting our young men. They see the value in impacting young men these days.”