NCAA coaches to non-wrestling jobs

[Hoyt Matthews]

Just now, Rassling said:

I too am a nobody but I feel anyone who chose wrestling as their primary sport has something in common with people like you and me. I can never put into words how working hard in and out of practice and sucking weight during the “eating” holidays and the discipline that went into that mentally has helped me over the years get to where I am today. Even as a nobody today. So many others can cite similar examples one right after the other. I hope your son does well. Is his school within a reasonable driving distance from you Hoyt?

 

No, he’ll be in Iowa and we are here in AZ. Not a commutable distance. Thanks again for the line. 

[fishbane]

Not an NCAA coach, but Cole Konrad retired from MMA to be a "financial trader specializing in milk products."  Konrad was the Bellator champ when he retired.

https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/8371462/source-cole-konrad-heavyweight-champion-bellator-opts-retire

Not D1, but Del Val head coach Brandon Totten left his coaching position to take a job as a middle school gym teacher.  Del Val was top 5 at D3 NCAAs with 5 AAs the year before he left.

https://athletics.delval.edu/news/2011/8/19/WRES_TOTTEN.aspx

Edited April 2 by fishbane

[jchapman]

Minkle left MSU to become a pirate.

[Hammerlock3]

this is sort of an odd topic....people change careers, particularly from ones that are extremely hard and don't pay that well.

[fishbane]

Just now, jchapman said:

Minkle left MSU to become a pirate.

I thought he was fixing to be a professional poker player.

"The 66-year-old’s retirement plan includes becoming a competitive card player, directing the same type of research and intensity he spent flipping opponents onto the mat as a wrestler into the rivers and flops on the poker table."

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/sports/college/msu/2016/04/06/farewell-msus-most-interesting-coach-tom-minkel/82366010/

[jchapman]

24 minutes ago, fishbane said:

I thought he was fixing to be a professional poker player.

"The 66-year-old’s retirement plan includes becoming a competitive card player, directing the same type of research and intensity he spent flipping opponents onto the mat as a wrestler into the rivers and flops on the poker table."

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/sports/college/msu/2016/04/06/farewell-msus-most-interesting-coach-tom-minkel/82366010/

I wonder how well he's done at it.

[Jerry Callo]

On 3/31/2026 at 5:35 AM, CoachB said:

Bobby Telford- medical sales

Jon Reader- roofing

Kyle Borshoff- realtor

Gabe Dean- storage company

Any others?

FYI - Wrestling and real estate have gone hand in hand with the Borshoff family for quite a long time.    I believe the commercial real estate business was founded by Kyle's grandfather and was run by his Dad and uncles.   

[matsense]

Leaving a salaried position in a recession to become a realtor is wild.   It is a commission only position with no guaranteed income, especially now as realtors are fleeing the industry with nobody buying homes as inventory grows.   Now is not the time to become a realtor.

[fishbane]

10 hours ago, matsense said:

Leaving a salaried position in a recession to become a realtor is wild.   It is a commission only position with no guaranteed income, especially now as realtors are fleeing the industry with nobody buying homes as inventory grows.   Now is not the time to become a realtor.

The coach that stopped coaching to become a realtor was Borshoff and he did that last year after the 2024-2025 season.  He is from the Rochester, NY area.  Thats where I assume his family’s real estate business is located.  Rochester is the #1 sellers market in the country according to Zillow.  Being a sellers market means there are more buyers than there are sellers/inventory - the opposite of what you described.

https://www.zillow.com/research/market-heat-index-34054/

[matsense]

It's certainly not Manhattan or Miami.  Avg home price in Rochester is only $225K at 2.5% commission, you need to sell a lot of homes - To each his own.

[fishbane]

5 hours ago, matsense said:

It's certainly not Manhattan or Miami.  Avg home price in Rochester is only $225K at 2.5% commission, you need to sell a lot of homes - To each his own.

Kyle Borshoff was the head coach at SUNY Binghamton not a Big Ten program.  He was probably making ~$100k maybe less. He went where his family had an existing real estate business.  Real estate is a hyperlocal industry.  The Borshoff's real estate office is in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford which is one of the most affluent in the area.  The average home in Pittsford costs closer to $500k than $200k.  It is very likely he could sell less than a house per month and exceed his earnings at Binghamton. 

[Lordnelson]

16 hours ago, fishbane said:

Kyle Borshoff was the head coach at SUNY Binghamton not a Big Ten program.  He was probably making ~$100k maybe less. He went where his family had an existing real estate business.  Real estate is a hyperlocal industry.  The Borshoff's real estate office is in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford which is one of the most affluent in the area.  The average home in Pittsford costs closer to $500k than $200k.  It is very likely he could sell less than a house per month and exceed his earnings at Binghamton. 

Correct. 

He also was in a place where he either needed to go all in on Binghamton Wrestling or move on. He did a good job taking over for the disaster left behind by Dernlan in the meantime.  

Very hopeful now with Ryan LeBlanc that Binghamton gets back to competing within the top 20 more regularly.

[juniorvarsity]

On 4/2/2026 at 5:25 PM, Hammerlock3 said:

this is sort of an odd topic....people change careers, particularly from ones that are extremely hard and don't pay that well.

Telford has been there a while. He's in his mid 30s. I would guess he makes around $100k, but I could be wrong. It might be like $70k. 

I am sure part of his reason for departure is the time commitment. In addition, he may not want to leave Iowa, and there's no more upside in being there. He is only going to be around as long as the Brands are in charge. He could be SOL at 40 when the Brands era ends, so why not make a change now in his 30s? He could keep getting raises and enjoy coaching, but his current role is not going to get him to retirement.