Titans Lose Wrestling Coach to Colorado School of Mines

Dan Lewis, who guided the Cal State Fullerton wrestling team to Division I prominence during his 10-year coaching tenure, will resign to become wrestling coach at the Colorado School of Mines, he said Tuesday.

Lewis, who wrestled at Fountain Valley High School and Orange Coast College before winning two Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. championships as a Titan in 1975-76, will remain at Fullerton until his contract expires June 30.

He will take over at the Division II Colorado School of Mines on Aug. 1 for Jack Hancock, who recently retired after 37 years as the school’s coach.

Lewis, who is paid $35,000 a year at Fullerton, said he will receive a “sizable” pay raise next year,

Lewis, who is married and has a 3-year-old son, has been working evenings as a bartender and recently took up commercial acting to supplement his income.

“There are differences between Division II and Division I schools, but I know this is a good move for my family,” Lewis, 38, said. “Housing is more affordable there, and with the salary increase, it will be easier to get by.

“I won’t have to work two jobs and my acting career will be over, but that’s good. I’ll be able to concentrate on the athletes.”

The Colorado School of Mines is in Golden, a town of about 15,000 located 30 miles west of Denver. It’s a small school (2,663 students) that offers only engineering and applied science majors.

The wrestling team has placed among the top 10 at the NCAA Division II meet three times, with a high finish of eighth in 1991.

Recruiting is not easy because the school has the highest admission standards of any Colorado university--students have to rank in the top 10% to 15% of their high school graduating class, and the average Scholastic Aptitude Test score for freshmen is 1,180.

But Lewis was attracted to the job because, unlike Fullerton, it requires no fund raising. The school provides $70,000 a year for wrestling scholarships.

The bulk of Lewis’ Fullerton budget has been provided by Arthur Osborne, a West Covina-based orthopedic surgeon who has donated more than $50,000 a year to the program in each of the past four years.

Lewis said Osborne will continue to help the Titans, who peaked in 1991 when they sent seven wrestlers to the NCAA championships and placed 22nd in the team scoring.

“Fullerton will still be very competitive,” Lewis said. “We have 17 guys returning next season, and they’re good athletes and good people. They’ll have top 20 potential next season.”

Lewis said he will recommend to Titan Athletic Director Bill Shumard that Calvary Chapel High School Coach John Azevedo, a former Olympian and NCAA champion, succeed him.