Thad Turner spent a brilliant 18-year career as head wrestling coach at Lehigh University, leading his teams to a dual meet record of 171-104-5, a 62.2 percent winning percentage.

Turner returned to his alma mater in 1970-71. He distinguished himself as the most accomplished coach in the East and one of the most successful coaches in the history of collegiate wrestling. Turner was named National Coach of the Year in 1979 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and Eastern Coach of the Year in 1975.

Turner has coached six wrestlers to nine NCAA Championships, including Peter Yozzo, who captured the 142-pound title at the 1987 NCAA tournament at the University of Maryland. In 14 of Turner's 18 seasons, Lehigh posted Top 10 finishes in the NCAA Championships. This includes fifth-place showings in 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1983 and a third-place finish in 1979. The third-place finish was Lehigh's highest national finish since a runner-up showing in a much smaller tournament in 1939.

Under Turner, Lehigh won eight EIWA titles, including a first-place finish in 1988, finished second three times, and third seven times. Lehigh won five titles in six years from 1975 to 1980. In 1988, Turner was named ElWA Coach of the Year.

In Turner's 18 seasons as head coach, 22 Lehigh men gained AII-American honors 43 times while 38 wrestlers won 62 EIWA titles. Lehigh men have captured the John Fletcher Memorial Trophy for the most career points in the ElWA tournaments. Four Lehigh wrestlers have won six Outstanding Wrestler Awards in Turner's tenure.

As a Lehigh undergraduate, Turner distinguished himself on the mat compiling a dual meet record of 31-1-2 in three seasons. He won EIWA crowns at 167 pounds in 1960 and 1961 and was named the Outstanding Wrestler in 1961. He placed second in the EIWA in 1959. Turner was the NCAA runner-up at 157 pounds in 1960.

He earned a BS in Business with a major in Accounting in 1961.

For these reasons and more, B. Thad Turner is honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award recipient.