A man among men

Brands’ office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena is exactly what you’d expect. Wrestling posters adorn the walls and a column near the center of the room, and atop his hanging cabinets sit photos of men he’s coached through Iowa’s esteemed and nationally respected program.

Once a three-time national champion and an Olympic gold medalist himself, Brands knows what it means to be a Hawkeye. In college — to go along with his national titles — he was a four-time All-American and a three-time Big Ten champion who went 158-7-2 from 1989 to 1992. Coming into his collegiate career two years shy of Dan Gable’s historic run of nine-straight championships at the helm for Iowa, he soon found himself on the mat with a program that would go for another title run. In 1991, his undefeated 45-0 season helped lead the Hawkeyes to their first of six NCAA team championships in the next seven seasons.

He finished off his collegiate career with an Outstanding Wrestler of the 1992 NCAA Championships honor after winning his third-consecutive individual title. Then, he took to the international stage to continue his success.

Brands won a gold medal at the 1993 World Freestyle Championships, back-to-back gold medals in the World Cup in 1994 and 1995, took home the title of the 1995 Pan American Games, and stood atop the podium at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. In 2001, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Throughout all that time, he never took off the Black and Gold. He served as an assistant to the Iowa wrestling program from 1993 to 2004 while also becoming a coach for Team USA in 2001.

Brands has racked up accolades from both his time on the mat to his time in the corner, but he doesn’t focus on those memories. To him, that’s in the past. That’s no good now.

“I got some good advice a long time ago from somebody,” Brands said. “When you are at the best of the best in your own personal career [or] as a team, duplicate and exceed. Duplicate that and exceed it, and if you’re duplicating that and exceeding it, then you have your eyes on the future.”