Bryan M. Snyder (born June 15, 1979) is an American former folkstyle wrestler who currently serves as the associate head coach of the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

Amateur wrestling career

High school

Snyder attended

Easton Area High School Easton Area High School is a large four-year public high school located in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania. It is one of nine public schools and the only high school in the Easton Area School District. As ...

(EAHS) in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

where he was a three-time

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. (PIAA) is one of the governing bodies of Secondary school, high school and middle school athletics for Pennsylvania. PIAA's main office is located in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harri ...

(PIAA) state placer. He won the 135-pound PIAA state championship during his senior year in 1997. He also helped keep The Streak alive for EAHS by winning PIAA District 11 titles in 1996 and 1997. Snyder finished his high school career with a 112–12 record.

College

Snyder committed to the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

as the top recruit at 134 pounds.

1997–1998

Snyder

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

during the 1997–98 season, wrestling unattached at 142 and 150 pounds. He compiled a 6–2 record and a first place finish at the UNK Hardees Open.

1998–1999

Snyder entered the 1998–99 season as the Nebraska starter at 157 pounds. On January 11, 1999, Snyder was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week after going 4–0 and winning the Great Plains Open. Snyder went into the 1999 Big 12 Wrestling Championships with a 26–3 record, earning the first seed despite having a rib injury. Snyder won his first round match before defeating David Maldonado in the championship match, becoming the fourth Nebraska freshman to win a conference title. Snyder was the fifth seed at the 1999 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, winning his first three matches before losing to Casey Cunningham in the semifinals. Snyder would then defeat Chris Ayres in the consolation semifinals before losing to Larry Quisel in the third-place match. Snyder became the second-highest-finishing Nebraska freshman with his fourth-place result and the third to earn

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

status. Snyder finished his freshman season with a 32–5 record.

1999–2000

On December 19, 1999, Snyder won the Reno Tournament of Champions after going 4–0 and defeating Larry Quisel in the finals. On December 30, Snyder went 4–2 to finish fourth at the Midlands Tournament. On February 7, 2000, Snyder defeated Eric Jorgensen to win the NWCA All-Star Classic. At the 2000 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, Snyder defeated

Shane Roller Shane Derrick Roller (born July 14, 1979) is a retired American mixed martial artist who is perhaps best known in his career for competing as a Lightweight for the UFC and WEC. Background Roller was born and raised in Bixby, Oklahoma, along wit ...

in the first round before David Kjeldgaard forfeited out of the championship bout due to an aggravated knee injury making Snyder the 157-pound champion. Entering the 2000 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Snyder had a 19-match win streak and was favored to win the 157-pound title, but was upset by Shaun Shapert in the first round of the tournament. Snyder would then win five straight matches before being defeated by T.J. Williams in the consolation semifinals but would bounce back and defeat Luke Becker to finish fifth in the tournament while earning All-American status. Snyder finished his junior season with a 43–3 record and a dual mark of 18–0. His 43 wins tied him for second in Nebraska history for a single season and his dual winning percentage (100.0%) tied Gil Sanchez who achieved the same feat during the 1986–87 season. On May 21, 2000, the Big 12 All-Stars faced the Korean University National Team with Snyder defeating Hong Kyung-Rae by a 10–4 decision.

2000–2001

On December 18, 2000, Snyder was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week after two bonus point wins. At the 2001 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, Snyder again won his first round match before defeating Cole Sanderson in the finals to become Nebraska's second three-time conference champion. Snyder earned the second-seed for the 2001 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, winning his first two matches via falls before picking up decision wins over Cole Sanderson and Luke Becker to advance to the finals against T.J. Williams. Snyder would be defeated in double overtime to finish as the runner-up in the tournament. Snyder finished his junior season with a 28–2 record.

2001–2002

On January 15, 2002, Snyder was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week after defeating third-ranked Luke Becker.

Coaching career

Harvard (2002–03)

On July 18, 2002, Snyder was named an assistant coach at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Nebraska (2003–05)

In 2003, Snyder became a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

for

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

Arizona State (2009–10)

On July 29, 2009,

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

hired Snyder as their head assistant coach.

Nebraska (2010–)

On June 15, 2010, Snyder returned to Nebraska as an assistant coach. Before the start of the 2014–15 season, Snyder was promoted to associate head coach under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Mark Manning. In 2017, Manning and Snyder were named winners of the Terry McCann Award as USA Wrestling Freestyle Co-Coaches of the Year after being the personal coaches of gold medalist

Jordan Burroughs Jordan Ernest Burroughs (born July 8, 1988) is an American freestyle wrestler and former folkstyle wrestler who currently competes at 74 kilograms. In freestyle, Burroughs was the 2012 Olympic gold medalist, and is a six-time world champion ...

and silver medalist James Green at the

2017 World Wrestling Championships The 2017 World Wrestling Championships were the 14th edition of World Wrestling Championships of combined events and was held from August 21 to 27 in Paris, France. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Gr ...

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

NCAA Championships record

! colspan="8", NCAA Division I Championships Matches , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event , - ! style="background:white;" colspan="6", 2002 NCAA Championships at 157 lbs , - , Loss , 18–6 , align="left", Luke Becker , style="font-size:88%", TB 4–5 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan="5", March 21–23, 2002 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan="5", 2002 NCAA Division I Championships , - , Win , 18–5 , align="left",

, style="font-size:88%", 5–2 , - , Win , 17–5 , align="left",

Gray Maynard Bradley Gray Maynard (born May 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight and Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Between 2008 and 2011, he competed in a noted rivalry with forme ...

, style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 16–5 , align="left", Tony Overstake , style="font-size:88%", TF 25–10 , - , Win , 15–5 , align="left", Warren Stout , style="font-size:88%", TF 25–10 , - , - ! style="background:white;" colspan="6", 2001 NCAA Championships at 157 lbs , - , Loss , 14–5 , align="left", T.J. Williams , style="font-size:88%", TB 2–3 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan="5", March 15–17, 2001 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan="5", 2001 NCAA Division I Championships , - , Win , 14–4 , align="left", Luke Becker , style="font-size:88%", 3–2 , - , Win , 13–4 , align="left", Cole Sanderson , style="font-size:88%", 7–2 , - , Win , 12–4 , align="left",

, style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 11–4 , align="left", Sulieman Mumin , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - ! style="background:white;" colspan="6", 2000 NCAA Championships 5th at 157 lbs , - , Win , 10–4 , align="left", Luke Becker , style="font-size:88%", 6–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan="8", March 16–18, 2000 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan="8", 2000 NCAA Division I Championships , - , Loss , 9–4 , align="left", T.J. Williams , style="font-size:88%", 5–7 , - , Win , 9–3 , align="left", Shaun Shapert , style="font-size:88%", 7–2 , - , Win , 8–3 , align="left", Cole Sanderson , style="font-size:88%", 10–3 , - , Win , 7–3 , align="left", Warren McPherson , style="font-size:88%", 3–2 , - , Win , 6–3 , align="left", Ed Hockenberry , style="font-size:88%", 10–6 , - , Win , 5–3 , align="left", Ray Stofko , style="font-size:88%", 10–3 , - , Loss , 4–3 , align="left", Shaun Shapert , style="font-size:88%", 4–5 , - ! style="background:white;" colspan="6", 1999 NCAA Championships 4th at 157 lbs , - , Loss , 4–2 , align="left", Larry Quisel , style="font-size:88%", 2–8 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan="6", March 18–20, 1999 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan="6", 1999 NCAA Division I Championships , - , Win , 4–1 , align="left", Chris Ayres , style="font-size:88%", 4–3 , - , Loss , 3–1 , align="left", Casey Cunningham , style="font-size:88%", 0–1 , - , Win , 3–0 , align="left", Mike Ziska , style="font-size:88%", 6–5 , - , Win , 2–0 , align="left", Ben Boozer , style="font-size:88%", OT 4–2 , - , Win , 1–0 , align="left", Eric Jorgensen , style="font-size:88%", 6–2 , -

Personal life

Snyder graduated from the

with a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (de ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

communication studies Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...

in 2002. In 2005, he earned his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in sociology. He then enrolled in the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university located in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. Established in 1912 as an extension of the University of C ...

where he earned his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in sociology in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Bryan Living people 1979 births American male sport wrestlers Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestlers Arizona State Sun Devils wrestling coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestling coaches Amateur wrestlers 20th-century American sportsmen