April 26, 2010

GLEN ALLEN, Va. - Former George Mason wrestling head coach Mike Moyer was recently honored with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award through the Virginia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Moyer, who coached the Patriots for a total of 10 seasons, received the award in a ceremony at The Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel and Conference Center in Glen Allen, Va.

The Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award is given in recognition of years of dedication to the development of leadership and citizenship in young people through the sport of wrestling. Each nominee must have 20 years of service to the sport to be considered.

In 1985, Moyer began his 10-year coaching career at George Mason University. During that time, Moyer advanced 27 wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Three of those wrestlers went on to earn All-America honors, with one of them, John Curtis, earning the honor twice. The Patriots won two Colonial Athletic Association Championships under the leadership of Moyer, who ended his career with an overall record of 126-29-2. His 126 wins are the most in program history.

In 1995, Moyer transitioned from coaching to fundraising at George Mason, where he served as the Executive Director of the Patriot Club until 1999. During this time, he also served as the Chairman of the NCAA Wrestling Committee from 1997 to 1999. He continued on with his fundraising background when he became the Executive Director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) in 1999, a position that he holds to this day.

Since taking over as the Executive Director of the NWCA in 1999, he has helped the NWCA grow as a non-profit organization that is in place to serve the sport of amateur and collegiate wrestling. In his time as Executive Director, Moyer has grown the membership from 1,700 to 10,000 members and the gross revenue from $100,000 to $1.4 million dollars annually. The NWCA has helped to establish 69 new intercollegiate wrestling programs over the past decade. Moyer also serves on the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and USA Wrestling Boards.