After 17 seasons at the helm of Illinois Wrestling and 19 as a collegiate head coach, Mark Johnson announced his retirement from coaching Monday (Photo/BuckeyeWrestling.com)"I would like to thank Ron Guenther and the entire athletic department for giving me the great opportunity to fulfill my dream of leading the Fighting Illini," Johnson said. "I couldn't have asked for a better athletic director than Ron. I want to thank him for how he treated my program and me over my 17 years here. I really enjoyed the relationships with my athletes and staff, and I think this program is in great shape for the future."
Johnson led the Fighting Illini to an eighth-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships, which finished on March 21, with Mike Poeta, Jimmy Kennedy and John Wise bringing Johnson's total of All-Americans at Illinois to 45. He finishes his coaching career with seven individual national champions, 10 Top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in the last 15 years and took a total of 120 wrestlers to 17 NCAA Championships during his time at Illinois.
"Mark's decision to resign as head wrestling coach did not necessarily come as a surprise to me," Guenther said. "Mark has done an exceptional job in leading our wrestling program, however, over the past few years, he has expressed a desire to explore other opportunities. I am pleased for Mark that an opportunity came up to hold him in our community and I wish him much success."
Johnson's career is unmatched at Illinois, as he finishes with the most wins, NCAA Champions, All-Americans and NCAA qualifiers of any coach in Illini history. He was named the National Coach of the Year in 1995 and 30 of his 45 All-Americans have come in the last 10 years. He led the Orange and Blue to a team title at the 2005 Big Ten Championships, Illinois' first Big Ten crown in 53 years, and a pair of Big Ten dual titles in 2005 and 2006. He also guided the Illini to a No. 1 national ranking in 2004.
The Rock Island, Ill., native won his 200th career dual meet earlier this season at Wisconsin when the Illini took down the Badgers, 24-16, and finished the season with the second-best winning percentage among active college wrestling coaches. He also ranked 12th in career wins among active coaches. Johnson finishes his career with more than twice as many wins as any other coach in Illinois history.
Illinois' highest finish at the NCAA Championships under Johnson came in 2001, when the Illini placed fifth on the backs of NCAA Champions Adam Tirapelle and John Lockhart and All-Americans Matt Lackey and Pat Quirk. Johnson-led teams hold the Illinois records for most dual wins, pins, dual winning percentage and points scored at both the NCAA and Big Ten Championships.
Johnson also guided Illinois wrestlers to success off the mat, as four of his student-athletes earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor and 18 were named Academic All-Americans. Illinois also has 77 Academic All-Big Ten selections under Johnson.
A member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, Johnson was a two-time All-American in 1976-77. He was a two-time National Wrestling Champion and was a member of the USA Wrestling team. He was an assistant coach for the 1988 USA Olympic team and was the head coach for the Olympic Sports Festival in 1991 and 1996.
Johnson and his wife, Linda, reside in Champaign. They have two grown daughters, Tricia and Mackey.
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