The Allen University Yellow Jackets wrestling program is making waves in the world of collegiate wrestling. From its humble beginnings as a club sport to its current status as a sanctioned NAIA competitor, Allen University is committed to providing opportunities for student-athletes to excel both on and off the mat.
The Foundation
Coach Robert “Hollywood” Hemingway founded the Allen wrestling program in 2014. It started as a club sport before it became sanctioned to compete in the NAIA in 2017. Last season, its first at the intercollegiate level, Hollywood guided Allen to Nationals! The Yellow Jackets were the only HBCU squad to compete on that stage and in the NAIA. Allen University nearly made it back this past season but finished second in its conference championship.
Win or lose, coach Hollywood believes wrestling provides an opportunity to shine in all aspects of life. It's the sport that steered him out of trouble at a young age. He emphasizes the importance of faith and support for his athletes, encouraging them to pursue graduate studies and other opportunities. Hemingway said: “Always go back to faith, because that’s how I am. Wrestling kept me straight, [and] I wasn’t a bad kid, [I] just was a good wrestler. I tell a lot of people now, guys who are going to go to the next level, graduate school, whatever it takes, we’re going to support them. This is their home now. One thing about it is, when you talk about African Americans in wrestling, we’re here, we have to get the other African Americans at the HBCU’s to say, ‘Hey, Allen got a program, look at what they’re doing.’”
Eric Pack: Leading the Charge
Eric Pack was named the head coach of the Allen University wrestling program in 2019. He also serves as the head coach for the men's and women's wrestling programs.
Coaching Credentials
Before coming to Allen, Pack spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach at nearby Newberry College primally working with the upper weights. He also helped the Wolves to a NCAA Div. II national runner up finish in 2009, three top-five teams at the NWCA National Duals, 8 NCAA Regional Championship teams, four ECAC Championships, 75 NCAA National Qualifiers, 38 NCAA All-Americans, 7 NCAA National Finalists and three NCAA Individual National Champions.
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Pack was also the head coach at Swansea High School in Swansea, SC where his team was the 3A state runners-up in 2017 in the SCHSL. As a wrestler, Pack earned All-American honors while at Bakersfield Junior College before finishing his wrestling career at Div.
Women's Wrestling: A New Chapter
Allen University President, Dr., announced the addition of women's wrestling to its athletic programs. "We are elated to add women's wrestling to our existing programs here at Allen University," Director of Athletics Cox said.
The addition of women's wrestling is a significant step for Allen University, aligning it with other schools in the region that have recently added women's wrestling programs. These include Div. I Presbyterian College, Div. II Limestone College, NAIA St. Andrews University and Div. III Greensboro College.
"I'm extremely excited for the addition of women's wrestling," said head wrestling coach Eric Pack. "This is a vision I have had for a while."
Key Women's Wrestling personnel at Allen University include Head Coach Eric Pack. If you're thinking about becoming a member of Allen University Women's Wrestling program they are the people you must contact.
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Recruiting and Exposure
High school student-athletes have a discoverability problem. And discoverability is the key to college exposure and recruitment. Just having a recruiting profile doesn’t guarantee you will get recruited. You need your profile to showcase all of your academic and athletic achievements, and be able to instantly connect to college coaches who are interested. If you can’t quickly find and message any college coach you want, then you’re not solving your biggest problem in getting recruited for Wrestling.
The Head Coach of Allen University Yellow Jackets Wrestling is Eric Pack - make it as easy as possible for them to learn about you as an athlete, and be able to start a conversation with you. 100% of college coaches and programs are on the SportsRecruits platform.
If you are interested in getting recruited by Allen University Yellow Jackets Wrestling, you should get to know more about the school, what academic programs are offered, and important members of the coaching staff - these are the people you need to connect with. It’s important you build a relationship with the coaching staff. You can certainly start by filling out the Allen University Yellow Jackets Wrestling’s recruiting questionnaire and getting on their list, but that’s only the start. To get actively recruited, a college coach needs to see you compete, which is why it’s important to have an online athletic recruiting profile.
NCSA offers student student athletes the information and tools they need to enhance their chances of being recruited by a Women's Wrestling program, whether it's at Allen University or another school. Since 2000, NCSA has been connecting coaches and athletes which is a vital component of the recruiting process. This year alone you'll find 127627 Women's Wrestling high school athletes utilizing the NCSA network, technology and scouting professionals to get their highlights before 5112 coaches at 1790 colleges Women's Wrestling programs nationwide. If you want to join the Allen University Women's Wrestling program you need to start building relationships and a highly-visible, professional quality recruiting profile. Starting that process as soon as possible is crucial to your success. So make your free profile to become a verified NCSA Women's Wrestling athlete and start connecting with coaches at the Allen University Women's Wrestling program today.
Recent Achievements
History was made recently in Mount Olive, NC, as Cathia Timas delivered a performance for the ages-going 5-0 with all pins to become the first wrestler in Allen University history to win an individual tournament title. Her dominant display at the Mt.
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The junior phenom not only went undefeated, but she also pinned all five of her opponents and added a technical fall to her early impressive resume. According to Head Coach Eric Pack: "Cathie's win is a statement-not just for her, but for where our program is heading,".
Sophomore Morgan Thomas proved her star is rising fast after an impressive run that included a victory over a former All-American from Mount Olive. With Timas leading the charge and young talent stepping up across the board, Allen University Women's Wrestling is clearly trending upward. The Hive has taken notice.
Scholarship Opportunities
Allen University Yellow Jackets does offer athletic scholarships for Wrestling. Need-based and academic scholarships are available for student-athletes. Athletic scholarships are available for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NAIA and NJCAA.
The 2022 men's team is preparing for the start of their season in November with a "Blue v. White" Intrasquad match coming up on Oct.
Here you'll have access to information about the school and details on their Women's Wrestling program like who to contact about recruiting, names of past alumni, what scholarship opportunities are presented ... and ways to start the recruiting process.
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