Ryan Phillips (2007,'11) will be inducted into the Upper Iowa University Athletics Hall of Fame this Friday night as an athlete. Phillips earned Upper Iowa's first individual national championship at the NCAA Division II level in 2007.
The Burlington, Iowa native claimed All-Ame rican and Northern Sun Conference Wrestler of the Year honors after finishing his perfect run at the 2007 NCAA Division II Championships. Phillips won his four matches by a combined score of 43 to 6. Phillips performance was even more impressive as he did not surrender an offensive point throughout the championship. The 197-pounder closed his collegiate career with a 16-match win streak that included the titles at both the regional and national tournaments.
Phillips spent one year as an athlete with the Peacocks, but joined the coaching staff following his championship season for six years as the top assistant for Head Coach Heath Grimm. In 2013, Phillips moved to Kansas and took over as the head wrestling coach at Labette Community College. He spent three years with the Cardinals and was named the NJCAA West/Central Regional Coach of the Year in 2015. Phillips returned to Iowa in the fall of 2015 when he was named the head wrestling coach for the West Burlington-Notre Dame/Danville program. Last year, he landed in Cedar Rapids at Jefferson High School as the head wrestling coach for the J-Hawks.
Phillips graduated from Upper Iowa twice with a Bachelor's degree in physical education from UIU in 2007 and then earned a Master's degree in education/instructional classroom in 2011. He and his wife, Tiffany (2012), have a son, Ayce.
Upper Iowa will induct three new members to the Athletics Hall of Fame (HOF) as part of the Hall of Fame Weekend festivities on September 14-15. The 2018 inductees include two extremely successful coaches and Upper Iowa's first individual National Champion at the NCAA Division II level.
The UIU Hall of Fame Banquet is set for Friday, Sept. 14 beginning with a social hour at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Center Ballrooms, with the dinner program to follow. On Saturday, Sept. 15 the honorees, along with other members of the HOF, will be recognized during halftime of the Peacock football game versus Winona State University.
Registration for the Hall of Fame Weekend, including the RSVP for the Hall of Fame Banquet, can be found by clicking here.
In addition to Phillips, the UIU Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2018 is as follows:
- Stu Engen (Coach) Led the Peacock men's basketball program to Iowa Conference titles in 1994, 1996 and 1999
- Gary Weber '82 (Coach) Standout high school wrestling coach who accumulated 446 victories at Plainfield and Clear Lake High School
Each day this week, UIUPeacocks.com will feature the bio of each of these exceptional Peacocks.
Upper Iowa is also hosting a free concert featuring Eric Chesser in the Peacock Tailgate Area north of Harms-Eischeid Stadium at 3:30 on Saturday prior to the Hall of Fame football game. The game is set to kickoff at 6:05 p.m.
The UIU Athletics Hall of Fame can be found by clicking here.
