2009 The Eighch Leadership Series: Tom Shifflett

Hofstra Head Coach Discuss Leadership through Wrestling

(Columbus, Ohio) - Hofstra head coach Tom Shifflett has left his mark on every wrestling program he has been associated with. After ending his career at Edinboro as three-time All-American under the guidance of the legendary Bruce Baumgartner, he left to become an assistant at George State for two years while training for the 1996 Olympics. Retiring from active competition he has hired by Rob Koll at Cornell and served as assistant the Big Red for five years.

Shifflett took his first head coaching job with UNC-Greensboro in 2003 leading the team to three straight winning seasons from 2004-2006. While at UNC he led the Spartans to team highs in wins and national qualifiers while posting a 32-32 record in four years. Shifflett grabbed national attention for the program by founding the Southern Scuffle and it quickly becoming one of the premier regular season tournaments in college wrestling. With success on the mat, in the classroom, with the fans, and from the administration; he clearly established UNC-Greensboro as a program on the rise.

Taking over for Tom Ryan in 2006, Tom Shifflett became the tenth head coach at Hofstra. Shifflett has been able to maintain the momentum Ryan established as the Pride have continued their winning ways. In three years as the head coach his teams have finished 41-18-2 overall with six All-Americans and twenty-two national qualifiers. In 2007 they had their best season ever at nationals placing seventh with four All-Americans. In the CAA they have continued their dominance with three straight team titles on the strength of thirteen individual champions. As a result of his teams’ success Shifflett was named the CAA Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2009.

Tom Shifflett was surrounded by great leaders and coaches as a wrestler and then as a coach himself. Working his way through the coaching ranks he helped build Cornell into the program they are today; brought national respect to the UNC-Greensboro program; and has continued his to add to his resume as the Hofstra head coach. Leadership is the foundation of success and there is little doubt Shifflett would be in the position he is in today without the leaders that showed him the way or the leadership he has shown to his own wrestlers.