Dax Charles was hired as CSU-Pueblo's head wrestling coach in
August. He started his duties on September 1, 2007.
"I'm excited, I' m honored and I'm thrilled that I have been given
the opportunity to bring back the (CSU-Pueblo) alumni and
supporters of this program," the 36-year-old Charles said. "I was
on pins and needles the last several nights and I was getting no
sleep."
In May, the Colorado State University System Board of Governors
unanimously approved the expansion of the athletics program at
CSU-Pueblo. In 2008-09, the school will reintroduce football,
wrestling and women's track.
The University of Southern Colorado, now known as CSU-Pueblo,
eliminated its wrestling program on May 15, 2001, because of a
shortfall in the school's athletic budget.
Charles wrestled at USC from 1991-94. He was the school's first
NCAA Division II national champion when he won the crown at 150
pounds in 1992. Charles also was a three-time All-American at USC
in 1991, '92 and '94 and an academic All-American in 1994.
Charles also served as an assistant wrestling coach at USC under
Doug Moses from 1994-2001. Moses started USC's program in the
1982-83 season and was the team's head coach until May of 2001 when
the program was cut. Charles received a bachelor's degree in
recreation from the University of Southern Colorado in 1994. He
also received a master's degree in business administration from the
University of Phoenix in 2005.
Charles also is a certified therapeutic recreation specialist, has
a real estate license and works for Keller Williams Performance
Realty. The past 14 years, Charles also has been the director of
support services at El Pueblo Boys and Girls Ranch.
Chuck Pipher, who was a three-time NAIA national champion from
1987-89 for USC, all at 167 pounds, was excited for Charles.
"I was pulling for Dax and I'm glad that he got the job," Pipher
said in a phone interview from Grand Junction. "Starting a program
is difficult, but Dax is very hard worker and he's committed to the
sport of wrestling and I know he will do a good job."
Pipher is the head wrestling coach at Mesa State College in Grand
Junction. The Mavericks dropped their program in 1991 and restarted
their program again in 2006-2007 with Pipher at the helm.
Moses, who didn't apply for the CSU-Pueblo job, has been coaching
at New Mexico Highlands in Las Vegas, N.M., since 2005-06 when the
Cowboys restarted their program. Highlands dropped its wrestling
program in 1987.
"Dax will do a fine job," Moses said in phone interview Tuesday.
"Dax is prime example of what our program stood for. Dax was an
All-American, academic All-American and he received a degree and
became a productive member of society. Dax is guy who sets goals
and achieves them. Nobody would've thought Dax would've been a
national champion when he was a freshman and he set his goal and
achieved that goal."
While at USC, Moses' teams won six RMAC championships, four Western
Regional titles and garnered two national runner-up finishes in the
NAIA national tournament in 1984-85 and 1990-91. He also produced
11 individual national champions and 67 All-Americans.
"My plan is to recruit, recruit and recruit," Charles said. "I will
take anybody who wants to be a national champion. I know it's going
to take some time, but my goal is to get 30 kids in the wrestling
room for the first year and keep building from there."
Charles is married to Kim Charles and they have two children,
daughters Skylar, 4, and Molly Jo, 2. Charles' wife's maiden name
was Lutgen and she played basketball at USC before graduating from
the school in 1997.
