Creating a Dynasty: A Feature On Doug Moses' Infinite Success In Collegiate Wrestling
RMAC Media Relations
This is the sixth profile of six individuals being inducted into the 2018 RMAC Hall of Fame on Friday, July 13 at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel. The 1997 and 1998 Regis Volleyball Teams will also be inducted. To read the other feature stories, click here.
In Waterloo, Iowa, wrestling is not just a sport, but rather a lifestyle for several aspiring, young wrestlers such as Doug Moses. In a town known for producing wrestling icons such as Dan Gable, Doug was destined to be great and his brother Gene Moses knew it from the beginning.
“I knew [Doug] was going to be [a] good [wrestler] in high school and he worked very hard at it,” stated Gene. “He was very intense [and] very talented.”
Out of high school, Doug went on to pursue his career at the collegiate level alongside Gable, wrestling for Iowa State. Doug was a national qualifier and a two-year varsity wrestler for the Cyclones. However, when Gene took a coaching job at Adams State University (formerly Adams State College), Doug transferred to the small town college in Alamosa, Colorado and the two brothers went on to dominate the collegiate wrestling landscape.
“We have a great relationship,” Gene commented. “I’ve always been close to him and we are still extremely close…It wasn’t hard [to coach Doug]; it wasn’t difficult, particularly because he won a lot.”
In Doug’s final year with the Grizzlies (then Indians), he won the 1972 RMAC Championship and NAIA National Championship title at 142 pounds. His win helped the team earn their third national wrestling title, which started a run of four national championship titles within a five-year time span.
Aside from his victories, Doug was also known for his reliability and leadership.
“He was the one we could always count on,” said Gene. “He wasn’t the captain… but Doug was the kind of guy you could count on.”
After his stint as a collegiate wrestler, in 1973 Doug graduated from Adams State with a degree in Physical Education. He served as a student-assistant coach for the 1973 National Championship Team and competed internationally as a member of two USA World Cup (1973 & 1975) Freestyle teams.
In 1979, Doug went on to earn his master’s degree from Colorado State University-Fort Collins (Colorado State), while serving as a graduate assistant for Colorado State’s wrestling program. Doug started coaching full-time in 1982 when he became Colorado State University-Pueblo’s (formerly University of Southern Colorado) first head wrestling coach. He would later spend the next 20 years building a champion-based program.
At CSU-Pueblo, Doug amassed 12 top 10 teams and eight top five teams. He led the ThunderWolves to seven RMAC Championship titles and finished second in the nation twice (1985 & 1991). Doug is known for coaching RMAC wrestling coaches Dax Charles (CSU-Pueblo Head Coach), Chuck Pipher (Colorado Mesa Head Coach) and Chris Currier (former CSU-Pueblo Assistant Coach), to national championship titles and All-American recognition.
Pipher was a three-time NAIA national champion, four-time All-American and was later inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame. During CSU-Pueblo’s first year in the NCAA (1991-92), Doug coached Charles to CSU-Pueblo’s first Division II national championship title at 150 pounds. Currier would follow with a national title at 149-pounds in 1999 and both finished their collegiate careers as three-time All-Americans.
In 2001, the ThunderWolves wrestling program was eliminated due to budget constraints. Four years later Doug headed to Las Vegas, New Mexico to continue his coaching career at New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU). This upcoming academic year (2018-19) will be Doug’s 13
th season as the head coach for the Cowboys.
Without a doubt, Doug has become instrumental in creating a wrestling dynasty full of successful teams and individuals in the RMAC. For over 35 years as a head coach, Doug has created more than 70 All-Americans, over 40 combined individual national champions and RMAC champions and coached two RMAC All-Star Teams (Bulgaria & Hungary). He was also named RMAC, NCAA Western Regional and Colorado Collegiate Coach of the Year.
“His success [stands out to me the most],” stated Gene. “He works hard at it and he’s been successful.”
Throughout the past decade, his leadership and guidance in the wrestling community landed him in five different Hall of Fames. In 2007, the 1972 Adams State Wrestling team was inducted into the RMAC Hall of Fame and two years later, he was inducted as an individual into the Adams State Hall of Fame (Class of 2009). Then in 2011 and for the next two years to follow, he was inducted into CSU-Pueblo’s Hall of Fame (Class of 2011), the NCAA Division II Coaches Association Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2012), and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2013).
“I’m proud of him,” said Gene. “[He is a] great brother [and a] great person.”
Doug will be inducted into the 2018 RMAC Hall of Fame on Friday, July 13 at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel. To purchase tickets online and for more information, visit the
RMAC Hall of Fame page.