An NCAA champion wrestler at the University of Maryland (1965), Kopnisky came to Missouri as head coach in 1974, and led MU to national prominence. From 1974-86, Kopnisky amassed a record of 125-72-3 making him far-and-away the winningest coach in MU history at that time. Nine of his teams placed at the NCAA Championships. His 1984 squad finished 10th at the NCAA meet, which was MU’s best finish for many years. Missouri had never had an all-America wrestler prior to his arrival at MU, but he coached 11 of them, including MU’s first Big Eight Conference champion in John Sonderegger (1984). His son, John, was a standout on the Missouri wrestling team, too.
