Cael Sanderson needs no introduction. So call this weekend his reintroduction. Sanderson, perhaps still the biggest name in wrestling even eight years after he finished off an unbeaten collegiate career, was sporting a different set of colors than most are used to seeing him wear at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships. Gone are the maroon and gold of Iowa State that he wore for four years as a wrestler and six as a coach — the last three as the head coach. The four-time NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist has traded them in for a simple shade of navy blue. Advertising The Penn State kind of blue. “It’s a little strange, obviously,” said Sanderson, in his first year running the Nittany Lion program. “It was a real tough decision, but I knew I had made the right decision. It may not have been the easiest decision, but in the long term, it was something I couldn’t pass up.”

After three tremendously successful seasons as the head coach at Iowa State, Sanderson took the job at Penn State last April. This weekend’s national tournament at Qwest Center Omaha put him under the same roof with many of his former Iowa State wrestlers for the first time. Those with a limited knowledge of the college wrestling landscape may question the move. What could persuade a guy coaching at his alma mater to leave? Wasn’t his success in Ames enough to keep him there? He qualified all 10 wrestlers for nationals each of his three years at ISU. “It was all about the future,” said Les Sigman, a former heavyweight champion at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who was on Sanderson’s staff at ISU and followed him to Penn State. “This is Cael Sanderson’s program. He is now Penn State wrestling.” Pennsylvania is the epicenter of high school wrestling. The state has produced the most All-Americans at nearly every level of college wrestling. It’s a hotbed for recruiting. Put the most recognizable name in the sport in the living rooms of those kids and you could be brewing up a potential dynasty.

Think the wrestling version of Texas football. “I was just looking at the big picture and the long term,” Sanderson said. “Iowa State has a great program and a great tradition. I’m very grateful that I went to school there and had the opportunity to wrestle there. I just felt like this was a tremendous opportunity for me and my family.” There’s family with him in the Penn State program. Oldest brother Cody is Cael’s top assistant, and younger brother Cyler is Penn State’s 157-pounder, one of six Nittany Lions to reach the national tournament. Both came with Cael from Iowa State to help build things in Happy Valley. Cyler, a senior, finished sixth at 157 this weekend, one of the Nittany Lions’ three All-Americans. Sanderson’s move was a jolt for Cyclone and Hawkeye fans alike. People around Iowa State can’t help but feel like they were left behind by one of their own. Those close to the Iowa program don’t like the fact that Sanderson chose a Big Ten school for his aim at the top spot — especially one in such a fertile recruiting area.

And then there’s the money aspect. Rumors were rampant after his hiring that Penn State had given him $1 million, something he’s denied. He told the Associated Press his salary is about $150,000, or roughly $15,000 more than he made at Iowa State. There’s little question, though, that his pay package is one of the most lucrative in wrestling, something that some in the blue-collar sport might not accept as a reason for leaving. Sigman said all of that has had little effect on the way Sanderson conducts his business. “He’s just so focused on the guys going out and fighting,” Sigman said. “He doesn’t pay much attention to all that outside stuff. He’s just focused on what he wants.” The standard in college wrestling is clearly Iowa. The Hawkeyes won their third straight team title this weekend in convincing fashion. Sanderson may not get Penn State to that level next year, or even the year after, but he’s putting the pieces in place. Sanderson redshirted a solid group and is bringing in a top-notch recruiting class. “We’re building,” Sanderson said. “We’re trying to get that structure under us so we can win for the long term.”

Thanks to Nick Rubek and the "World-Herald" (Omaha, Neb.) for the article