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Brandon Eggum and Luke Becker Get a Promotion
Eggum named Head Assistant Coach and Becker named Assistant Coach

August 29, 2011

The University of Minnesota Wrestling program has announced a couple of changes on its coaching staff for the 2011-12 season.  Brandon Eggum who has been the assistant coach for the last 10 seasons has been promoted to Head Assistant Coach. He takes over after the departure of Joe Russell, who took the head coaching job at George Mason University.  The second change is Luke Becker who has been a volunteer assistant for the past nine years is now the Assistant Coach for the Gophers.

Head Coach J Robinson who be entering his 26th season at the helm for the Gophers’s is really excited about what Eggum and Becker can continue to bring to the program. Staying in the Gopher family was a very important decision for Robinson in this process

“One of the things we wanted to do was to keep the continuity in the program,” Robinson said. “I think Brandon and Luke have the philosophy that we strive on and that’s being aggressive as well as being dominate. I think they will bring that same thought process into their new jobs.”

Eggum, was a three-time All-American and four-year letter winner for the Golden Gophers from 1997 to 2000. As a sophomore, Eggum earned his first All-American certificate with a fifth-place finish at 177 pounds at the 1998 NCAA Championships. He ranks tied for 17th in school history in wins with a 115-23-0 overall record, while his .833 winning percentage ranks tied for 15th. Eggum is tied for 11th place all-time with a stellar 61-11 dual meet record. In Eggum's first season on the Gopher coaching staff (2001) Minnesota earned the program's first national championship with an NCAA record 10 All-Americans. The team also captured the Big Ten Championship, as well as the National Duals Championship.

Becker, was the 157-pound national champion at the 2002 NCAA Championships as a junior. He then closed his career with his fourth All-America certificate, earning a fourth place finish. Becker ended his career ranked eighth in school history with a 125-29-0 career record and ranked 10th with 29 career pins. Currently he stands at 11th and 15th respectively in each category. Becker has helped develop 12 All-America honorees including 2010 NCAA champion and Hodge Trophy winner Jayson Ness. Becker also coached Ness and Mike Thorn to Big Ten championships. After serving as one of the key contributors on the mat for Minnesota's first two national titles in 2001 and 2002, Becker was on staff during its run to the 2007 national championship.