FAIRFAX, Va. (June 6, 2024) – George Mason University and wrestling head coach Frank Beasley reached an agreement on a contract extension through the 2029 season, Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Marvin Lewis announced.
The extension comes after the Patriots' steady improvement under Frank Beasley's leadership during his seven seasons in Fairfax. For the second consecutive season, the Green and Gold have 11 wins, which ties the most wins in a season since the 2007-08 season when the Patriots finished with a 13-5 record. The Patriots finished a program-best third place at the 2024 MAC championship, only two points out of second and besting last year's previous best sixth-place finish.
"Frank has done an incredible job leading our wrestling program," said Lewis. "He understands and values the importance of being a servant leader and is deeply invested in every aspect of our wrestling program. Under his direction, Frank has elevated the program competitively each year since he arrived at Fairfax – while the team continues to thrive academically – boasting the highest-grade point average among our male athletic programs this past year.
Our wrestling program is one of the most active and engaged programs in our Northern Virginia community and Frank is also recognized as a tirelessly fundraiser – who has built meaningful relationships with our alumni and donors. We are thrilled to have Frank continuing to lead our program and laud him for his competitive spirit, collaborative leadership and concentrated efforts to build a championship level wrestling program."
In his seven seasons, the Mason wrestlers have excelled under Beasley's guidance. He has coached 12 NCAA Qualifiers, including three wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA Championship in the same year on three occasions, including the 2023-2024 season. Three NCAA Championship Qualifiers is the most in a season since the 2000-2001 season.
"I am excited to lead the George Mason Wrestling program forward," said Beasley. "I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the student-athletes and staff at George Mason, and my family has become fully immersed in our community here. The exceptional young men in our program, our incredible alumni and friends of wrestling, combined with Marvin Lewis' leadership, makes George Mason a special place. The future is very bright for George Mason Wrestling, and we are excited to continue our build and to #BeUncommon!"
The 10th coach in Mason history, Beasley ushered the Patriots from the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) to the 13-team Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 2018.
The Patriots finished third at the 2019 Eastern Wrestling League Championships in Beasley's second season, the highest finish in the EWL Championships in program history. Mason redshirt senior Tejon Anthony claimed the first EWL title in program history, winning the championship at 149 pounds.
In the past two seasons in the MAC three Patriots have won individual championships and Mason claimed conference back-to-back conference Freshman of the Year honors.
Wrestlers Evan Maag and Malachi DuVall were crowned champions at the 2024 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship, while teammate DJ McGee finished second to earn a berth into the NCAA Championship. A record nine wrestlers made the podium at the conference tournament. McGee was voted MAC Freshman of the Year.
Maag avenged a regular season decision to Ohio's Garrett Thompson in the championship bout at 165 pounds. The redshirt freshman pinned the Bobcat in 2:49 to earn his ticket to the NCAA Championship. DuVall upended top-seeded Cameron Pine from Clarion with a 7-4 decision in the 184-pound championship.
Several student-athletes have been named U20 and U23 All-Americans in freestyle and Greco Roman under Beasley's leadership. In addition, he has had Mason wrestlers place at the Senior U.S. Open in freestyle, highlighted by Peter Pappas' fourth place finish in 2022 at 74kg.
Beasley's teams have earned high accolades for their academic success. Mason finished seventh as a team to receive a Top 30 distinction by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) in 2024. The program earned a top-10 finish for the second straight year and its fourth in the past five seasons. Mason finished with a program-best fifth place twice (2021, 2023) and narrowly missed a top 10 honor finishing 12th in 2022. Overall, George Mason Wrestling has finished in the top twelve nationally in team GPA for five straight years. With a team-high seven recipients in 2023-24, Beasley has coached 22 NWCA Division I Scholar All-American Award winners.
Wrestling earned the 2024 George Mason President's Cup, the award presented to the Mason team that has the highest cumulative team GPA. Mason Wrestling also posted a perfect 1000 APR last year.
Beasley has been passionate about celebrating the rich history of George Mason wrestling that dates back more than 50 years to the 1972-1973 season. He championed the George Mason Wrestling Hall of Fame established in 2023 with an inaugural 10-member class that made a significant and lasting mark on George Mason University Wrestling. In addition, Beasley celebrated fifty years of wrestling history with the 50th Anniversary of Wrestling Gala in 2022.
Beasley established three annual team awards (the Dan Wotring Outstanding Wrestler, the Jerry Mullins Coaches' Appreciation Award, and the Elia Ahmadian Uncommon Man Award) the to honor some members of the Mason Wrestling Community that have made a significant impact on the program.
One of Mason's top sport-specific fundraisers, Beasley spearheaded efforts to expand and renovate the program's wrestling room. In 2023, the wrestling room was named the Wotring Family Wrestling Room to honor former wrestler Dan Wotring and his family's passionate support spanning more than five decades. Beasley also established the first coaching endowment for the George Mason University Athletics Department in 2021. The wrestling team under Beasley's leadership often leads the Giving Day Challenge and the Alumni-Athlete Giving Challenges with hundreds of donors each year. For the 2024 Giving Day, wrestling accounted for over 21% of all donors and over 27% of funds raised for the athletics department.
Beasley recently became a George Mason University graduate as he earned his second Master's Degree in the winter of 2023. Beasley earned a MBA from George Mason's nationally ranked Costello College of Business.
