The Steve Costanzo Story

STEVE COSTANZO
Head Wrestling Coach
6th Season at SCSU
Alma Mater: Nebraska-Omaha, 1995

2011 NCAA Division II Coach of the Year
2011 NSIC Coach of the Year

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Steve Costanzo will begin his 6th season as head coach at St. Cloud State in 2011-12.  He is the 13th coach in the history of the St. Cloud State University wrestling program, which dates back to 1949-50.

Costanzo begins his 13th season overall as a college head coach.  He has a career record of 119-53-2 while coaching 106 National Qualifiers, 47 All-Americans, 3 National Champions and 46 NWCA All-Academic recipients.  His overall record at SCSU currently stands at 58-23

In 2010-11, SCSU enjoyed one of its best seasons in team history. The Huskies placed second in the nation at the 2011 NCAA Division II championships, won the 2011 NCAA Division II Super Region #3 title and set a team record with a 19-2 dual meet record in 2010-11. Coach Costanzo was named the 2011 NCAA Division II Coach of the Year and senior wrestler John Sundgren won a national title at 157-pounds for the Huskies. Costanzo was also named the 2011 NSIC Coach of the Year.

The second place national finish was the highest national tournament finish for the Huskies in team history, and the Huskies also posted a solid third place finish at the elite NWCA National Duals in 2011.

In 2009-10, SCSU posted a 14-7 overall record and placed 7th in the nation at the NCAA Division II championships. At the 2010 NCAA Super Regional, the Huskies placed 2nd and SCSU also placed third in the NSIC race at 5-2 in 2009-10. SCSU advanced eight grapplers to the NCAA finals in 2010, and they also saw four of those athletes earn All-American status in 2010. This marked SCSU's best national finish since 1983.

In 2008-09, Costanzo’s Huskies finished their campaign with an 8-5 (5-2 NSIC) mark.  The Huskies also advanced eight wrestlers to the NCAA Division II Championships and they saw three of those wrestlers earn All-American status.  At the 2009 NCAA Division II Championships, SCSU placed 8th as a team. 

In 2006, Costanzo led Dana College to the NAIA National Championship (with a tourney record 193 points) and a NWCA National Duals Championship.  His squads while at Dana College won Great Plains Athletic Conference titles in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.  In addition, his teams claimed Regional Championships in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006.  The Vikings finished with top 10 finishes at the NAIA National Championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Costanzo’s student-athletes have enjoyed success off the mat as well.  In the last four seasons, his wrestling teams have recorded top-20 grade point averages nationally - as recorded by the NAIA and NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association.  In 2005-06, while at Dana College, his team finished in 2nd place with a team grade point average of a 3.175.  In 2006-07, his SCSU wrestler’s finished in 14th place with a GPA of 3.029.  In 2007-08, the Huskies finished in 8th place with a GPA of 3.219.  In 2008-09, the Huskies finished in 19th place. During the 2009-10 campaign, the SCSU Huskies finished 2nd in the nation among DII teams with a team GPA of 3.354. In 2010-11, SCSU ranked 12th in the nation with a team GPA of 3.154.       

In 2003, Costanzo was credited with the NAIA Robert Bubb Coaching Excellence Award which epitomizes the qualities and characteristics of a role model and mentor for developing young student-athletes. In 2005, he served as the NWCA All-Star team coach at Oklahoma State University. Costanzo received the NWCA and NAIA Coach of the Year honors in 2006, and gained NAIA Regional Coach of the Year accolades in 2005 and 2006.  

Costanzo was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American and two-time North Central Conference champion for the University of Nebraska-Omaha.  He placed seventh in 1993, third in 1994 and third in 1995 at the NCAA Championships.  Costanzo was named native Nebraskan Collegiate Wrestler of the Year in 1994.  He currently ranks as high as seventh on UNO’s all-time win list with 133 career victories as a collegiate wrestler.

For his wrestling accomplishments as a student-athlete, Costanzo was inducted into the 2006 NSWCA - Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

A native of Bennington, Nebraska, Costanzo has a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a master’s degree in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation from Emporia State University.  He and his wife Nancy have five children: Cassandra, Sam, Katie, Brock and Lacey.

The Costanzo File

Year	Overall W-L-T	Conference W-L-T	Conference Place	Regional Place	National Place
1999-00 - Dana	2-4-1	1-2-1	n/a	5th	15th
2000-01 - Dana	5-4	3-0	n/a	1st	13th
2001-02 - Dana	6-3	3-0	n/a	1st	15th
2002-03 - Dana	9-7	2-0	1st	2nd	11th
2003-04 - Dana	10-6	3-0	1st	2nd	6th
2004-05 - Dana	11-5	4-0	1st	1st	5th
2005-06 - Dana	18-1-1	4-0	1st	1st	1st
2006-07 - SCSU	4-7	0-3 (NCC)	4th	7th	32nd
2007-08 - SCSU	13-2	1-2 (NCC)	3rd	4th	12th
2008-09 - SCSU	8-5	5-2 (NSIC)	3rd	2nd	8th
2009-10 - SCSU	14-7	5-2	3rd	2nd	7th
2010-11 - SCSU	19-2	6-1	2nd	1st	2nd
Totals	119-53-2	37-12-1	-	-	-

To reach Coach Costanzo, please call 320-308-2996 or e-mail him at sscostanzo@stcloudstate.edu.

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