April 13, 2010
Wildcat Wrestling on Twitter Wildcat Wrestling on Facebook
EVANSTON, Ill. -- On the heels of his final season as Northwestern head coach, Tim Cysewski will be honored by the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) as the 2010 Special Recognition Award winner at the group's 40th annual all-state banquet on Sunday, April 25. Cysewski, a 1991 inductee into the IWCOA Hall of Fame, was selected for his achievements as head coach at NU and for his contributions to wrestling in the state of Illinois.
"Coach Cysewski has been a leader in the Illinois wrestling community for a long time and we believe his accomplishments have warranted special recognition from the IWCOA," said organization president Rob Ledin.
In addition to his 1991 enshrinement into the IWCOA, Cysewski has also been recognized throughout his 28-year career at Northwestern for his efforts to grow the sport of wrestling by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). In 2006, Cysewski was selected as a grand marshal for the Grand March of Finalists prior to the state championship bouts of the Illinois state wrestling tournament.
In June, 2008, USA Wrestling named Cysewski the FILA Junior/University Person of the Year for his leadership in the establishment of the University National Championships tournament, which operated under Cysewski's direction from 1992-2006.
Cysewski, who spent six years serving with the National Wrestling Coaches Association during his tenure at NU, has also filled the role of head coach at the 2005 Pan Am Games as well as the NWCA All-Star Classic. He has also hosted annual camps and coaches clinics to contribute to the growth of youth wrestling in his home state of Illinois.
During the 2009-10 season, Cysewski raised his career win total to 155, the most ever by a Northwestern wrestling head coach. In all, Cysewski guided his wrestlers to four individual NCAA titles and coached a total of 27 All-Americans, 12 Big Ten champions and 89 qualifiers to the national tournament. At 56 years of age, Cysewski is still committed to developing future Big Ten and NCAA champions and figures to play a key role in Drew Pariano's first seasons as NU head coach.