Dennis DeLiddo Last College: Fresno State (68) Graduated: '68

Dennis DeLiddo has gained national respect the old fashioned way.

He’s earned it.

In his 22 seasons DeLiddo has taken a once struggling program and turned it into a national powerhouse. And he’s done it the only way he knows how – through hard work, perseverance and dedication.

In 1981 DeLiddo took over a Fresno State wrestling program that had not seen a winning season in over a decade. But it didn’t take long for him to shift the focus from simply posting wins to grabbing conference titles and national rankings.

These days DeLiddo has Fresno State at its highest level ever. Under his reign Fresno State has captured 11 Top-25 NCAA finishes, 10 of them in consecutive years from 1992-02.

While in the Western Athletic Conference the Bulldogs won seven straight championships from 1993-99.

DeLiddo’s highlights are many. Ne was named WAC Coach of the Year four times. He nabbed win No. 200 in 1995 and will soon reach 300. In 1994 he sent a school-record eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championships (he has sent seven wrestlers five times) while winning another WAC title.

In 1993 DeLiddo was runner-up for the National Coach of the Year award when he led Fresno State to a best-ever eighth place finish at the NCAA’s and its first WAC title. The previous year Fresno State seized its third Top-25 finish and racked up a 19-1 dual meet record.

His first conference title came in 1985, his fourth year as a coach, when Fresno State was a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. DeLiddo was also a two-time coach of the year while in the PCAA.

In 1996 DeLiddo was honored when he was asked to be an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. Unfortunately, because of his commitments as the Fresno State coach he was unable to assume the position.

The 1999 season saw DeLiddo guide his team to its seventh consecutive WAC team title and he garnished his first national champion wrestler is Stephen Abas at 125 pounds. DeLiddo is far and away the only Fresno State wrestling coach to lead his team to nine conference titles and the second coach to have developed a Division 1 national champion at Fresno State.

Last season DeLiddo led the Bulldogs to a 13-6 record, despite wrestling some of the highest ranked schools in the nation. Fresno State won 10 consecutive dual meets, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the 1991-92 season when the team won 13 in a row.

The Bulldogs also had two wins against top-10 schools, Nebraska and Arizona State. Five wrestlers made it to the NCAA Championships where Marcio Botelho earned All-American honors with his eighth place finish in the 197 division.

During his 22 years at the helm, DeLiddo has produced 33 All-Americans, 101 individual conference champions, and has placed the Bulldogs at every NCAA meet since his second season in 1983. In addition, he has coached nine of the 10 career win leaders in school history. His 296-152-5 career record makes him the winningest coach in Fresno State history.

Prior to coming to Fresno State, DeLiddo built nearby Clovis High School into a state powerhouse. He accumulated a 145-7-1 record and a winning percentage of 95 percent. In ten years he won three consecutive state titles (1974-1976) took one second place state finish (1973). While at Clovis High, DeLiddo was also crowned Valley Wrestling Coach of the Year five times.