Gable: "I never will stop liking my six years at Iowa State."

Dan Gable cannot imagine a life in which he was not the head wrestling coach at Iowa. It's in his blood, and it's where he cemented his legacy as one of the greatest sports figures in American history.

Although Gable says in the decades following his retirement that he would have been just as content staying at his alma mater, Iowa State, and becoming its head wrestling coach if it had been offered.

As it is with most things, timing was everything, and history is that Gable moved on to Iowa City and propelled Hawkeyes wrestling to new heights with 15 national championships in his 21 years from 1976-97.

"It ended up being a good thing and I tried to stay on a good relationship even though I kind of went crazy sometimes in dual meets," Gable remembered last fall. "People probably got a little irritated about that, but I never verbally wanted to get into a confrontation and always felt like I’m an Iowan and I still do."

Gable described himself as a "one-dimensional guy" and focused solely on wrestling while a member of the Cyclones, but it’s hard to argue against his results. He was unbeaten as a prep at Waterloo West (64-0) and 117-1 at Iowa State with two national titles in three years, losing the final match of his collegiate career.

After blasting through his competition to win the gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Gable was ready to turn his eye to coaching, particularly at Iowa State. But there was a hang-up. There weren't any spots. Dr. Harold Nichols was firmly in place at the helm of the ISU program with Les Anderson as his trusted assistant.

However, there was a spot open at Iowa.

"I think they saw (my potential as a coach) more than Iowa State, or Iowa State just took for granted, 'OK, this kid is loyal, he’ll stay here.' Which I would have," Gable remembers. "What happened was Iowa out-recruited Iowa State."

Gary Kurdelmeier, who was hired at Iowa in 1972, brought Gable onto his staff the same year and won three Big Ten titles and two NCAA championships in four seasons. When Kurdelmeier moved on to be an assistant athletic director with the Hawkeyes in 1976, Gable was the natural successor, and thrived in his role as head coach for two decades.

To Iowa State, Gable will likely always be the one that got away.

"I feel like I'm very proud to represent the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes and really growing up being a Panther," Gable said. "I didn’t want anybody in the state of Iowa not to like me. I didn’t care so much outside (the state) because of the rivalry and all that kind of stuff. There are a few that I’m sure will hold a grudge. That’s the way it is."

"All the years that I’ve been over here and coached the Hawkeyes and been in this system, I’ve never not wanted the Cyclones to be an excellent team," he continued. "I've never stopped liking my six years at Iowa State, and I never will stop liking my six years at Iowa State."

You can find Dan Gable's full story in Section 12 of 100 Things Iowa State Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, which is available online now and at bookstores across the state of Iowa.