Rob Koll

Who is Rob Koll?

Rob Koll is the David R. Dunlop ’59 Head Coach of Wrestling at Cornell University. Koll has led his team to five top-five finishes in the NCAA Division I wrestling tournament, including second place finishes in 2010 and 2011. The 2010 and 2011 finishes were the best ever for an Ivy League team and the best by an eastern team since Penn State won the title in 1953. The 2011 team was ranked first for much of the season, but lost in the NCAA tournament to Penn State, which surged under its coach Cael Sanderson, who was in his second year at Penn State. Koll has coached NCAA champions Kyle Dake, Cam Simaz, Steve Bosak, Troy Nickerson, Jordan Leen, Travis Lee, and David Hirsh.

As a wrestler for the University of North Carolina, Koll was a four-time All American, three-time ACC champion, and in 1988 NCAA champion at 158 pounds. After college, he competed internationally in freestyle wrestling. In 1989 he won the Pan-Am Games and was runner-up at the Olympic Festival; he won the U.S. national freestyle championship in 1990 and 1991; took first in the 1990 and 1993 World Cup; placed fifth in the 1991 World Championships; won the 1992 World Cup Grand Prix; and was the alternate for the 1992 Olympic Games.