Les Hogan, having no experience as a wrestler himself, was asked to start a wrestling program in Connell in 1958. He accepted the challenge and proceeded to educate himself through clinics, books, and experience coaches. Hogan coached at three different high schools from 1958-1969 and started the programs at Connell and Oak Harbor. In 1963, Les moved to North Central. Hogan's influence on these programs has been evident for over 45 years. Les continued to provide Washington wrestlers opportunities to wrestle at the collegiate level at three different schools. At Washington State University, Hogan served as an assistant to Roger James for a year and was the interim head coach the next year while earning a doctorate in education. In 1971, Hogan was recruited to start a wrestling program at North Idaho College. In his first season, the team won the regional championship and placed 5th at the NJCAA Championships. Two of the teams he coached in his seven years at the helm of NIC wrestling won national championships. He started the annual Tri-State Tournament still held at NIC. Hogan started the wrestling program at Alaska Pacific University in 1986 where two-thirds of his team had attended Washington high schools. During his career at the collegiate level, 31 of his athletes achieved All-American status, including 15 from Washington State. Among many regional and national honors awarded to Hogan include North Idaho Coach of the Year in 1973. He was named NJCAA Coach of the Year in 1975 in honor of two consecutive national championships. In 1987, the NAIA honored him with their Coach of the Year award when his Alaska Pacific team was runner-up at the national tournament in their very first year of competition. His undergraduate alma mater, Whitworth University, inducted Hogan into their Hall of Fame in 1995 for his contributions to the school in football and baseball and success as wrestling coach of hundreds of young men. Les Hogan has always been a positive influence in our Washington State wrestling community. The part of coaching that Hogan enjoyed the most was teaching wrestling skills to young boys and men, and developing competitive program in the sport. After giving up coaching at NIC, he created a kids wrestling program in Couer d'Alene. Since returning to Spokane in 1999, he has volunteered his time in local programs and can be found at major wrestling events.