Barry Davis begins his 21st season officially at the helm of the Wisconsin wrestling program, but enters his 22nd season as part of the Wisconsin wrestling program after serving as interim head coach during the 1993-94 season. Davis has an overall dual record of 195-144-11.
In his 20th season at the pinnacle of the program, Davis' squad received multiple All-America honors for the first time since 2011. Senior Tyler Graff (133) became the program's fourth four-time All-American after a second-place finish at the NCAA championships. Freshman Isaac Jordan (157) earned an All-America honor after seventh-place finish, becoming the fourth member of his family to acquire the accolade while wrestling at Wisconsin.
The 2013 season saw Davis help Tyler Graff earn the third, and highest, All-America honor of his career, placing third at 133 lbs. Under Davis, Graff became the ninth three-time All-American in Wisconsin history. Davis also helped Jackson Hein and Connor Medbery qualify for their first NCAA championships appearances.
In 2012, Davis helped Ben Jordan become an All-American at 165 lbs., joining his father, Jim Jordan, and uncle, Jeff Jordan, on the prestigious list.
Davis led the Badgers to their third-straight top 10 finish at the NCAA Division I Championships in 2011, and coached four of the seven wrestlers who qaulified to All-America honors.
In 2010, Davis won the biggest accolade of his coaching career when he was named the National Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Davis helped Wisconsin to a fourth place finish at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, tying for best finish in school history and best under his reign. In addition, he helped aid then-sophomore Andrew Howe to his first NCAA Division I title at 165 lbs. and a perfect 37-0 overall record.
His Badgers finished the 2008-09 dual season with a 9-8-0 overall mark and 3-5 mark in the Big Ten. The 2008-09 season marked the 11th time (and 10th-consecutive year) Davis's teams have won at least nine duals. More impressive, Davis's 2008-09 squad finished ninth at the NCAA championships, tying for the best finish in his 15-year tenure. Five wrestlers qualified for the 2009 NCAA Championships and Wisconsin brought home three All-Americans including runner-up at 165 lbs., Andrew Howe, Kyle Ruschell (3rd at 149 lbs.) and Zach Tanelli (4th at 141 lbs.).
Davis reached a milestone during the 2007-08 season by recording his 150th career win with an 18-15 victory over Oklahoma on Feb. 21, 2008. This made him just the second UW coach to do so, joining George Martin who coached for 32 years and finished 182-163-12.
Davis was installed as the 15th head coach in Wisconsin history on March 4, 1994, after serving as the program's interim head coach for the 1993-94 season. In his 18 seasons leading the Badgers, Davis has firmly instilled his values of commitment, intensity, loyalty and energy on the UW program.
During his tenure, Davis has coached seven individuals to 11 Big Ten titles, including the latest, Andrew Howe, who captured the 165 lbs. title as a true freshman in 2009. Howe is the only true freshman during Davis's tenure to win a Big Ten title. Davis also coached Donny Pritzlaff (165 pounds, 1999, 2000, '01), Keith Davison (190 pounds, 1994), Matt Hanutke (118 pounds, 1994), Eric Jetton (126 pounds, 1997, '98) and Kevin Wilmot (167 pounds, 1997) Tom Clum (125 pounds in 2004 and 133 pounds in 2006) to conference championships.
Additionally, 21 of Davis' wrestlers have earned All-America honors while two have claimed NCAA titles. Pritzlaff won back-to-back national championships in 2000 and 2001 and Jeff Walter won the 1996 heavyweight title. Sixty-two wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA championships under Davis' direction, including 2015 Badgers Tyler Graff, Jackson Hein, Connor Medbery and Cole Tobin.

A 1985 graduate of the University of Iowa, Davis began his coaching career as a graduate assistant to legendary head coach Dan Gable from 1986-87. Davis was an assistant coach at Iowa from 1988-92, helping guide the Hawkeyes to four top-six finishes, including NCAA championships in 1991 and 1992. He coached former UW assistant coach Bart Chelesvig from 1987-92.
A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he captured three state titles and posted a 102-6-1 career record at Prairie High School, Davis was born on Sept. 17, 1961. He married the former Nan Doak in 1986. Nan is a former NCAA champion long distance runner at Iowa and was an alternate on the 1988 United States Olympic team (10,000 meters). Barry and Nan are the parents of two daughters, Amanda and Amy and the Davis family currently resides in Madison.

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