May 3, 2002

By Rick Brewer, SID Emeritus

CHAPEL HILL- North Carolina's wrestling team won only seven matches in a four-year period from 1970 to 1973.

In 1974, Bill Lam's first year as head coach, the Tar Heels posted an 11-2 record.

Carolina had managed just two winning records in the previous 25 years before Lam took over the coaching duties.

Lam has never had a losing season in his 29 years at Carolina.

To say Lam turned around the Tar Heel program would be like saying Randy Johnson could improve a pitching staff.

However, Lam's career as the Carolina coach will come to an end at the conclusion of the 2003 season. He has announced he will retire after his 30th year on the job.

"I thought it best to go ahead and announce it now so the University can begin the process of deciding on a replacement," explained Lam. "That will keep us from jeopardizing our recruiting. Kids can make a college decision and know who their head coach will be."

There is another reason for such an early announcement. Through Lam's work and the generosity of his former wrestlers and other Carolina alumni, the wrestling team's entire scholarship program is now endowed. But, there are other facets of the program that Lam wants to work on during his final season.

"I'm hoping to get as many of our former wrestlers back on campus at some time of another during the year," he said. "Because of the fund-raising campaign being conducted by the entire University, we have a unique opportunity to raise money for other parts of the program. The goal is to improve the program as much as possible so other young people will have an opportunity to wrestle here and also receive a great education."

The idea of a top high school wrestler choosing Carolina was unimagined before Lam arrived in Chapel Hill. In fact, considering Carolina's history in the sport, it's difficult to believe Lam came here himself.

A native of Boulder, Colo., he came to Carolina from an area where football, wrestling and baseball were seemingly the only sports that mattered.

And, not necessarily in that order.

To many in the Midwest, wrestling was and still is the greatest sport of all. A 125-pound kid could not play football and would have problems in baseball. But, he could be an All-America in wrestling. It is truly a sport in which anyone can compete

Lam was a three-time All-America himself at the University of Oklahoma. He coached at Norman High School for five years and then spent two years working for Proctor & Gamble. But, he wanted to get into college coaching. He quickly applied when the Carolina position became open.

"Homer Rice was the athletic director at the time and that was a big factor in my interest," explained Lam. "I met him when he was an assistant football coach at Oklahoma. I knew he wanted Carolina to be successful in wrestling as in its other sports and the program be run honestly. He also stressed the total development of the student-athlete.

"I knew things weren't in great shape when I came here. I probably wouldn't have taken the job if I had known how bad the situation really was. In retrospect, ignorance is bliss. I had such a big ego, I thought I could turn things around quickly. I felt the academic reputation of the school, the tradition in athletics and the beautiful campus would help me overcome any problems."

Lam still was to find out how much the odds were stacked against him.

"We had our first team meeting and two guys showed up," he remembered. "That's when I began to really wonder what I had gotten myself into. I knew things had been bad, but I didn't know how truly bad until then. So I went back to Oklahoma and got wrestlers passed over by Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Iowa and Iowa State.

"We had no workout facilities and basically no budget. At our first meet I looked up in the stands and saw a janitor, two parents and one girlfriend. It was discouraging to say the least. I had known there was work to be done, but I had not understood the apathy about wrestling."

In

	Bill Lam's team have won 14 ACC championships.

Oklahoma most high school matches were sellouts of 1,000 to 2,000 people. Huge crowds were just as common on the college level.

"This was at a time before Oklahoma had started to build its basketball program," said Lam. "Those games drew less than 1,000 people. We had 15,000 for wrestling. Bud Wilkinson used to bring his football team and recruits to wrestling matches like our football coaches do to basketball games here."

Basketball presented another challenge for Lam. It dominates the winter in this area and makes it tough for coaches in other sports to build interest in their teams.

"I couldn't believe my first game in Carmichael Auditorium," remembered Lam. "People were standing in line hoping for tickets. Inside, people were sweating in the heat and on their feet most of the game. I was stunned.

"But, Dean Smith was always helpful. Being young and ignorant, I had a small run-in with someone at football practice one day. But, I went to see Bill Dooley and he became one of our program's biggest backers. He encouraged any of his players who were interested to come out for wrestling."

Things began to improve when an alumnus, Harriss Johnson of Wilmington, saw how dedicated Lam was to his job. He went to see Rice about upgrading the program.

"Johnson was a good friend of Ernie Williamson (director of athletic fundraising)," said Lam. "They took me to see Joe Hilton, our track coach. Those were the three men who meant so much to me. They showed me the correct way to get things done."

Scottie Conkwright of Virginia Beach, Va. was the wrestler who Lam credits with really getting his program going.

"He told me he wanted to transfer from Oklahoma State, but would do so only if he knew I'd be his coach throughout his time in Chapel Hill," said Lam. "I was then offered the job at Colorado the next year. But, because of Scottie, I stayed and it was the best professional decision I've made.

"Plus, Scottie was a great addition on the mats. His presence helped attract other wrestlers."

Lam became certain things were on the right track when Carolina won its first ACC championship in 1979. The team finished 17th in the nation and C.D. Mock was an All-America.

Then Mock won the NCAA title at 134 pounds in 1982 and the Tar Heels were fifth in the country. Lam was national coach of the year and Carolina had the respect of the traditional national powers.

"One of my proudest moments was when we hosted the 1994 NCAA Championships here," said Lam. "The NCAA took a gamble by coming into the South, not traditionally a strong area for wrestling. But, the attendance at the Smith Center was the highest in the Tournament's history. Plus, our team finished 10th and T.J. Jaworsky won his second of three NCAA titles."

In the past 29 years Lam's teams have won 14 ACC championships and had 14 top 20 finishes in the NCAA Tournament.

Many colleges across the country have dropped their wrestling programs even as high schools have increased theirs. Because of Lam's work, the wrestling program is on firm ground here.

While his decision to work out wrestling's problems here may have been a great one for him, it turned out to be an even better one for Carolina's program.