I remember sitting in the seats of the Qwest Center (now the CenturyLink Center) in Omaha in 2010, watching as the Iowa wrestling team gathered on the mat at the conclusion of the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Tournament to take a team photo commemorating the national title the Hawkeyes had just won.
It was the third consecutive national title won by the Hawkeyes at the time and the 23rd in program history. That’s 23 national championships in one sport between 1975 and 2010. But there hasn’t been one since.
On the surface, for nearly any other collegiate sports program outside of Storrs, Connecticut and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a seven-year drought without a national championship is not cause for concern.