Born and raised on a farm near Iowa Falls, Iowa, Dale Bahr began wrestling as a freshman in high school and found success almost immediately at Iowa Falls High School under future University of Iowa head coach Gary Kurdelmeier, a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

After reaching the finals at the state tournament as a sophomore, Bahr captured back-to-back titles at 145 pounds as a junior and senior.

Recruited by Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, Bahr opted to stay close to home by choosing Iowa State, only 50 miles away in Ames, Iowa. ISU was coached by Dr. Harold Nichols, a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

After the NCAA finals as a sophomore and finishing third as a junior, Bahr closed out his college career with a first-period fall to capture the 145-pound NCAA championship. He was one of three NCAA champions and one of the three captains for the Cyclones as a senior.

Bahr began his coaching career on the staff at Eagle Grove High School, spending one year before becoming an assistant coach at Algona High School. He became the head coach in 1970 and guided Algona to top-five finishes, including a state team title in 1972, in four seasons. Three of his wrestlers went on to become NCAA Division I All-Americans.

He returned to Iowa State in 1974 as an assistant coach. The Cyclones won an NCAA title in 1977 and finished in the top four every year, including runner-up finishes in 1976 and 1978.

Bahr was the head coach at the University of Michigan from 1978-99. He coached two NCAA champions and led the Wolverines to six Top 10 finishes, including fifth-place finishes in 1985, 1989 and 1994. His 221 career wins ranks second to the legendary Cliff Keen, a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, for most wins in school history.

He takes great pride in the fact that he recruited and coached both of his successors at Michigan, Joe McFarland and Sean Bormet.

Bahr was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1988.

MICHIGAN CHAPTER BIO:

Eagle Grove High School Assistant 1969

Algona High School Asst. 1970 Head Coach 1971-1974 finished in the top five in the state all 5 years……state champions in '72

Iowa State University asst. )… 1974-'78 (NCAA Champs '77, 2nd in '76 and '78)

University of Michigan….1978-1999

Coached the Wolverines to 6 top ten finishes at the NCAA Championships, including 3 top 5 finishes (1985, ’89 and ’94)

221 wins ranks second only to Cliff Keen

Big Ten Dual Meet Champions 1989.

Recruited and coached both of his successors as Michigan head wrestling coach, Joe McFarland (1999-2018) and Sean Bormet (2018-present).

Developed the Dale Bahr Wrestling Book Series including Championship Wrestling Notes (Bahr), Escapes and Reversals (Bahr), Offensive and Defensive Leg Wrestling (Pifer), Riding and Pinning (Bahr), Escapes and Reversal (S. Nalan), Controlling the Center of Gravity (C. Adams), Takedowns, Counters and Freestyle Wrestling (C. Adams), High School Techniques and Skills (Al DeLeon), Cradles (P. Galea), Nutrition and Conditioning (B. Antonacci) and Takedowns for Heavyweights (G. Wojciechowski).

In 1979 Dale began the University of Michigan Wrestling Camps. It became the largest “university based” wrestling camp in the country, consisting of 6 weeks of 300-400 wrestlers per week. Most of the time he was operating on 15-16 mats, and one of the weeks had a specific mat just for coaches. To make sure each wrestler got a quality experience each mat consisted of only 28-30 wrestlers per mat. They would sign up for 3 “areas of concentration” and have (3) two-hour sessions in each area. The six areas did change over time, and included leg takedowns, escapes and reversals, riding and pinning, other takedowns, freestyle, leg wrestling, leg attack defense and there was a mat exclusively for heavyweights.

Associate Athletic Director 1999-2010. Supervised nine sports and oversaw the summer camps. Worked with budgets and other administrative issues. Traveled with various teams on occasion. Attended Big Ten, regional and NCAA tournaments.

University of Michigan Head Coach from 1978-1999 and had career record of 221-119-6

Won 1989 Big Ten Dual Meet Tournament Champions by defeating Iowa, 23-17, and ending the Hawkeyes 98-match Big Ten Dual Meet win streak.

1988 Big Ten Coach of the Year