Brands brothers reunite at Iowa

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By Steve Batterson | Wednesday, October 1, 2008 9:32 PM CDT | () comments

The Brands brothers will be together again at Iowa.

Terry Brands informed USA Wrestling on Tuesday night that he is leaving his position as its assistant national freestyle coach to become an assistant coach on the Hawkeyes staff headed by his twin brother, Tom Brands.

He expects to be on the job in Iowa City by Nov. 1, a decision that will reunite the Brands brothers on the Hawkeyes staff for the first time since both worked as Iowa assistants in 2000.

Terry Brands said he reached the decision after plenty of thought, saying that working again with his brother has been on his mind for some time.

“My motto is to outwork the world and never compromise my integrity. The University of Iowa provides the opportunity for young men to win Olympic gold medals,” Terry Brands said in a news release.

“It is exciting to me. The staff and administration at Iowa have the same kind of passion to instill that in their student-athletes.”

Terry Brands, a two-time world champion freestyle wrestler and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist, has been part of USA Wrestling’s national staff as its resident freestyle coach at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

USA Wrestling is searching for a new head coach for its freestyle program as well, and Brands said giving the new coach an opportunity to build his own staff factored into his decision to return to a level where he has extensive experience.

He was the head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga before accepting the USA Wrestling position in 2005. Before that, he worked as an assistant coach at Montana State-Northern, Nebraska and Iowa.

Tom and Terry Brands combined to earn all-American honors seven times and five national titles during a collegiate career with the Hawkeyes from 1988 to 1992.

Terry Brands said he remains committed to USA Wrestling’s developmental program and will serve as the head coach of a United States team competing in Russia next week.

“I will do whatever I can to help the program. In my opinion, the collegiate environment provides a lot of that potential,” Brands said.

Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com.