STILLWATER, Okla. - Legendary University of Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable will be both the guest of honor and the center of attention for the Dan Gable Roast. The roast is hosted by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame following the second session of the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, March 21.

The roast will be at the Community Choice Convention Center in room 305 adjacent to the Wells Fargo Arena. Tickets are $10 and preregistered guests will receive appetizers and a drink ticket. 

“We are very excited to be co-sponsoring this event with the newly formed Titan Mercury Wrestling Club headquartered in Los Angeles,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Lee Roy Smith. “The program will feature a ‘Who's Who’ of wrestling, including professional actors Wayne Boyd and Billy Baldwin serving as emcees for the evening.”

Social hour will begin at approximately 9:00 p.m. and will include live interviews with audience members, followed by the hour-long roast.

“We are planning an entertaining event with music, video and live interviews,” Boyd, 1969 NCAA Champion for Temple University, said. “We will have a reunion of wrestling celebrities in the audience and then we'll roast the greatest coach of all time in his native state.”  

The roast will feature several of Gable's former wrestlers, coaching colleagues and rivals.

Roasters include Bruce Baumgartner, Terry Brands, Mark Johnson, Dave Martin, Wade Schalles and Mike DeAnna. 

Baumgartner was a five-time World champion who competed on the 1984 Olympic team that Gable coached. Brands and DeAnna wrestled for Gable at the University of Iowa while Johnson served as a Hawkeye assistant coach for 17 seasons. Martin was a teammate with Gable at Iowa State. Schalles was a two-time NCAA champion for Clarion. 

“This will be an evening for wrestling fans to remember,” Baldwin, a former wrestler for Binghamton University, said. "We will have current wrestling greats like Jordan Burroughs and past superstars like Lee Kemp and Mark Churella for fans to mix with. You are sure to learn more than you thought you knew about Coach Gable.”

Preregister by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday by calling 405-377-5243. Admission is free to former NCAA Division I Champions and they can RSVP at info@nwhof.org or 405-377-5243.

Dan Gable Roast Schedule of Events
9:00-9:50 p.m. - Pre roast 
10:00-10:50 p.m. - Roast 
11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. - Post roast party 

Biographies and order of roasters

Bruce Baumgartner
Bruce Baumgartner has one of the most distinguished international wrestling careers in the world. Baumgartner won 13 World and Olympic medals, including Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1992 and World championship gold medals in 1986, 1993, and 1995. He wrestled for Dan Gable on numerous international teams, including the 1984 Olympics when Dan Gable was the head coach. Baumgartner wrestled for Indiana State where he was a two-time runner-up and an NCAA champion in 1982.
 
Terry Brands
Terry Brands wrestled for the University of Iowa under Dan Gable from 1987 through 1992. He was a two-time NCAA champion and he was part of NCAA championship teams in 1991 and 1992. Brands went on to win World freestyle championships in 1993 and 1995, and a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Brands is currently the associate head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa.
 
Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson was Dan Gable’s top assistant coach at the University of Iowa for eight seasons before accepting the head coaching position at the University of Illinois in 1992. He served 17 seasons as the head wrestling coach for the Fighting Illini before accepting a position as the CEO with the of the Champaign County YMCA in 2009. As a competitor, Johnson was a two-time finalist for the University of Michigan and a member of the 1980 Greco-Roman Olympic team. 
 
Dave Martin
Dave Martin currently serves as Deputy Director of Athletics at Oklahoma State. Martin was a teammate with Dan Gable for the duration of their collegiate careers at Iowa State. He was a runner-up at the NCAA tournament in 1969 and an NCAA champion in 1970. Martin was also a member of two NCAA championships teams for the Cyclones.
 
Wade Schalles
Wade Schalles was one of the most dynamic and entertaining wrestlers to step foot on a mat. Schalles won 14 National Championships in 5 different combative disciplines and a University World Freestyle Championship. Known as a ferocious pinner, Schalles is the only Division I wrestler to secure over 100 pins during his collegiate career and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for most pins. In 2005, he, along with Dan Gable, was introduced as one of 15 wrestlers named to the NCAA's 75thAnniversary Wrestling Team.
 
Mike DeAnna
Mike DeAnna wrestled under Dan Gable from 1976 through 1981. He was a four-time All-American, including two trips to the NCAA tournament finals. DeAnna was the fifth wrestler in Big Ten history to win four conference titles. He was also a member of three national championship teams at Iowa, including Dan Gable’s first NCAA team championship in 1978.