The Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestling team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of NebraskaâÂÂLincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska primarily hosted meets at the NU Coliseum from 1926 until moving to the larger Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2013.
Since its inception in 1911, the program has won seven conference tournament titles and produced eleven individual NCAA champions with 136 All-America selections. Rulon Gardner and Jordan Burroughs became Olympic gold medalists after their collegiate careers; Burroughs is the most decorated American wrestler of all-time and is considered one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers ever.
The team has been coached by Mark Manning since 2000.
The University of Nebraska broke ground on the NU Coliseum in 1924, adjacent to the recently completed Memorial Stadium. Initially intended to be a part of the stadium complex, the Coliseum was funded as a standalone project using gate receipts from 1923 football games. It was designed by architects Ellery L. Davis and Walter Wilson, both university alumni who had worked on several buildings around NU's campus, including Memorial Stadium. Upon its completion in 1926, the Coliseum hosted most of the university's indoor athletic events.
Nebraska's basketball programs moved to the NU Sports Complex (later the Bob Denavey Sports Center) in 1976. Volleyball and wrestling remained at the Coliseum, though the Devaney Center was often used for larger wrestling events. The West Haymarket Arena (known as Pinnacle Bank Arena for sponsorship purposes) was built in 2013 to host basketball, and Nebraska permanently moved its wrestling program a renovated Devaney Center. The Devaney Center's listed capacity is 8,309, though Nebraska has never sold out the venue for a wrestling meet. A program-record crowd of 6,736 watched top-ranked Penn State defeat No. 7 Nebraska on January 17, 2025.
The program practices and trains at the Hendricks Training Complex, a workout facility attached to the Devaney Center.
Nine Nebraska wrestlers have combined to compete in thirteen Summer Olympiads, each representing the United States. The earliest of these was Adrian Brian, a featherweight freestyle wrestler who competed in the Greco-Roman division in Antwerp in 1920. Nebraska does not include Brian in its published records, but an Omaha World-Herald report prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics concluded Brian competed in at least one match in Antwerp.
Twin brothers Bill and Jim Scherr, both former NCAA champions, competed in the freestyle division in Seoul in 1988. Rulon Gardner won NU's first Olympic wrestling gold medal in Sydney in 2000, upsetting three-time defending gold medalist Aleksandr Karelin. It was one of just two losses Karelin suffered in his 889-match senior career, and is considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Jordan Burroughs won gold in London in 2012 but was upset while attempting to repeat as champion in Rio de Janeiro four years later and failed to medal.
Twelve Nebraska wrestlers have combined to compete in forty-seven events at the World Wrestling Championships, winning twenty-five medals. Burroughs's six gold medals are more than any other American in the competition's history.
Mike DiBiase won three heavyweight conference championships during his collegiate career. Following a brief amateur boxing career, "Iron Mike" entered professional wrestling. He participated in the American Wrestling Association until his death in 1969. He was the adoptive father of famed WWE performer Ted DiBiase, known as "the Million Dollar Man."
James Raschke wrestled and played left tackle during his time at Nebraska. He gave himself the title "Baron" upon entering professional wrestling and became famous for his violent takedown nicknamed "the claw."
Gary Albright medaled in the Big Eight Championship in 1984 and 1986, and began his professional wrestling career with Stampede Wrestling in 1988 using the stage name "Vokhan Singh." He became popular after signing with All Japan Pro Wrestling, winning two AJPW World Tag Team Championships. He returned to the United States in 1996, dying of a heart attack during a performance in 2000 at age thirty-six.