It would be an understatement to say that Bloomsburg head wrestling coach John Stutzman is familiar with and has an affinity for the Mid-American Conference and its wrestling. 

As a competitor, Stutzman posted a 95-27 in a three-year career for the Buffalo Bulls and left as the school’s all-time leader in career wins. 

As a coach, Stutzman’s duties on the other side of the whistle have taken him to the University at Buffalo, Northern Illinois University, and Bloomsburg during a Division I coaching career that spanned over three decades and counting including nearly two decades as the head coach — first at Bloomsburg, then Buffalo, and now a return to Bloomsburg once again, which took shape last August. 

“I started my coaching career at the University at Buffalo in 1998 in the MAC conference. I moved to Northern Illinois, which is in the MAC conference. I went to Bloomsburg, which was in the EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) at the time, but now is in the MAC,” Stutzman said of his coaching career. “(As an athlete) I went to Buffalo. I spent my whole career, for the most part, in the MAC.” 

According to Stutzman, he may never leave the MAC because he expects to stay put at Bloomsburg for the long haul this time. 

 “I’m more motivated than ever. This place, the facilities, it's a very unique institution. I am so excited to be here,” Stutzman said of his return to Bloomsburg after 11 seasons at Buffalo. “My athletic director (Dr. Michael McFarland) is supportive. They let us do our thing and work hard, which we're doing. 

While Stutzman is happy to be back at Bloomsburg, he is equally as grateful for the plethora of lessons he has learned along the way and for the people he has met everywhere he has coached. 

“Buffalo was a great place for my family and me, but I'm back here (at Bloomsburg) to re-establish our wrestling tradition, and there's no better place for me than Bloomsburg University,” Stutzman said. “ I'm just looking forward to the future and the long-term health of our program, and retiring here someday.

“(My roots), they’re down,” Stutzman said of the commitment to Bloomsburg. “My son absolutely loves it here. He loves the wrestling community (and the) football community. My wife is pumped to move back here when she's able to. My daughter's about to start college right now. So, this is a great situation for everybody, and we are extremely grateful and excited to rebuild and continue to put our program back on the map.”

A Second Stint With The Huskies 

Leaving your alma mater to return to a school where you have already coached is atypical as a head coach. However, that is the trajectory of Stutzman’s tenure as a D1 head coach.

First, he spent eight seasons leading Bloomsburg — all of which produced winning dual meet records — from 2006 to 2013. Then, an 11-year stint at Buffalo, which produced some of the most successful years in program history, included sending 25 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships and putting six Bulls on World teams during his time in the Empire State. 

“First and foremost, (University at) Buffalo will always have a special place in my heart. It gave me an opportunity to be a student-athlete. Coach (Jim) Beichner gave me an opportunity to start my coaching career,” Stutzman said of his alma mater. “It provided me with a lot of my ‘firsts’ in coaching … And I went back (in 2013) to hopefully help restore that Buffalo wrestling tradition. And I think we did that in 11 years. We had a lot of successes. Buffalo is a special place. It will be. It always will be. My son was born in New York.”

Just as Buffalo has familial memories and personal ties for the veteran head coach, so does Bloomsburg. 

“Circumstances led me back here. My wife went to school here. My three brothers-in-law went to school here. My two daughters were born here. My two cousins went to school here, so there are a lot of connections back here,” Stutzman said. 

“But coming back here, it was more ‘me.’ It was more me as a person, as an institution, as a wrestling facility, as a wrestling program. I love it here; I just love it.”

Stutzman also said that the relationships he built in the Bloomsburg community and with the Huskie wrestling alums and donors, some of which date back to his days as an assistant coach under then-coach Dan Wirnsberger, also made the decision to return easy. 

“I was lucky for Dan Wirnsberger when he was a head coach here (at Bloomsburg from 2002 to 2005); he brought me on as his assistant coach,” Stutzman said of his earliest days on staff at Bloomsburg. “So during that time, just building many good relationships with the local community and the guys on the team, this place was special then (in the early 2000s) and it’s a special place now. It was the right place. It was the right fit for me. Wrestling is very important here, and I loved everything about it.”

Wrestling With Resolve 

While it may be exciting, starting something new is seldom easy. Stutzman’s return to the friendly confines of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, has been just that — a challenge on the mat. 

Currently, Bloomsburg is 0-8 on the year, including a trio of shutout losses and a 0-4 mark in conference duals. 

While the results may not be what Stutzman or 14 student-athletes on his roster want, Stutzman said he is beyond impressed with the resolve his athletes have shown over the last four months since his arrival. 

“First, the student-athletes, the resolve of the student-athletes, I mean, this is not what they signed up for. I wasn't the coach they signed up for,” Stutzman said. “But they're buying in, and they're working extremely hard and they're getting better every day.

“They've been knocked down quite a bit the last couple of years, and, now, we're just kind of rebuilding them, trying to rebuild their minds and bodies and get them ultra-confident (again). They are doing a really good job with that.”

When Stutzman returned to Bloomsburg, the cupboard was bare regarding wrestlers and coaches. There were no assistant coaches and barely north of 20 kids on the roster. 

The official roster currently lists 14 wrestlers, including three grad students, one senior, a trio of juniors, five sophomores, and a pair of freshmen. Additionally, the Huskies are just one athlete deep at seven of the team’s 10 weight classes (125, 133, 149, 157, 174, 184, and 285). 

“I got here and I got here August 28, so recruiting was all done. We started with about 22 kids and five heavyweights,” Stutzman recalled. “(Today) we got 14 or 15 guys that committed to continue to buy-in and do what we need of a Division I athlete, the workouts and training and all that good stuff, so that that (roster size) has been a challenge.”

Roster depth aside, Stutzman takes solace in knowing that the wrestlers he has on his roster today are a great fit for Bloomsburg wrestling's culture and the tradition he and his assistant coaches, Mitch Moore and Taylor Cahill, hope to restore in the coming seasons.  

“We want guys who want to go out there and want to wrestle. And we want guys who want to compete. We want guys who want to be part of the program and sell out for the brand, sell out for Bloomsburg wrestling. The history and tradition is there,” Stutzman said of the culture he hopes to bring during his second stint at the helm of the Huskie program. 

“These kids are trying really hard. Like I said, they're getting better every day. Sometimes, you don't see it in the results, but their fight is getting better, and their workloads are getting better. They understand where we're trying to go, and that's the beauty of where we're at. What you see today is not going to be tomorrow, and what you see tomorrow is not going to be the next day, and that's how we're going to stay positive and move this thing forward.”

The First Recruiting Class

While Stutzman’s roster may be sparse for now, that certainly will not last much longer. Stutzman inked a rather gaudy 2025-26 recruiting class, including 32 wrestlers from eight states. The monster class of future Huskie wrestlers boasts individual state and team titles, multiple state qualifiers, and nationally ranked high school wrestlers.

“That's the beauty here (at Bloomsburg). There's not a lot that you have to change, you know. The blueprints (for success) have been set here… We've had tons of success here, and the blueprint is in place here,” Stutzman said. 

As soon as anyone steps into Stutzman's office on Bloomsburg's campus, they will see a tangible and visual representation of his blueprint for success. 

“So you walk in my office, I have a big picture of Nelson Field House packed (with fans),” Stutzman said. “And I just point out that picture and say, ‘This is what we used to do here,’ so very real to me, that's a very real feeling. Because we did it, we were able to have great success here. 

“The recruiting end is easy because of our location. We've done it here. We brought great kids here, and we brought kids in like Frank Hickman and Richard Perry who were undervalued in high school. They came here and they had tremendous success for us. So, the proof is real.”

Stutzman went even further as to why Bloomsburg’s geographical location in Northeastern Pennsylvania proves advantageous. 

“We're in an area where our proximity to everything is unbelievable,” Stutzman said. “We’re an hour and a half from the Lehigh Valley, two hours from Harrisburg, and two and a half hours from Philly. We're about two hours from New Jersey. We're two and a half or three hours from New York and we're three hours from Western Pennsylvania. We're located in a mecca wrestling.

“And there are so many kids out there that that get lost under the radar because, maybe, they were eighth in the state, but they fell through the cracks. There are so many of those types of kids here that it will allow us to find those kids and be successful.”

Stutzman praised his two assistant coaches, Moore and Cahill. Stutzman said they deserve much credit for their efforts thus far, especially the recent work they’ve done regarding recruiting and alumni engagement. 

“(Mitch) Moore and Taylor Cahill, they have done an unbelievable job of recruiting, bringing kids to campus, and just believing in Bloomsburg,” Stutzman said. “And I think when everybody believes in Bloomsburg, I think great things are going to happen down the road.

“They (recruits) are signing on because we're going to give them an opportunity to achieve their goals, whatever those are,” Stutzman said. “We're selling the competition. Come in here and compete for a job, come in here and compete to be a national champ, come in here and compete to re-establish our great wrestling tradition.”

The Future of Bloomsburg Wrestling is Bright

Stutzman acknowledges that the program is not where he wants it to be. That said, he is immensely excited about the heights it will reach soon. 

“I mean, look, nobody wants to lose every match, right? That's what I can tell you. Nobody is going out there and saying, ‘Hey, I'm trying to lose.’ Nobody wants that,” Stutzman said. 

“It is a testament to the Will Morrows of the world. You know, he's been in the program. He wants to be part of a good team. Leo Hess — he's doing a good job as a freshman. (Guys like) senior Kolby Flank, sophomore Mason Rebuck, and others. We have got some really good kids that care. Right now, we have to build their confidence and put them on the right path to be successful.”

Stutzman said he is excited about many things but knows he has to trust the process along the way. 

“I'm really excited about the guys in the program progressing and developing and being great mentors to these young guys next year. I think that's so important. As we continue to build a program, the goals will be set pretty high,” Stutzman said. 

Stutzman said he has both short-term and long-term goals for the program.

“First and foremost, we want to re-establish our great wrestler tradition. “We want to pack Nelson Field House. We want to give back to the community, host wrestling camps and be seen. Those are the short-term goals that we can accomplish right now.”

As for the long-term goals, those are a bit loftier for Stutzman and company. 

“We want to compete for MAC championships, which I think we're going to be very capable of doing in three to five years,” Stutzman said. And then we want to get some guys on the podium at the National Tournament again. And, hopefully, get into the top 20 nationally again. And, those things are all doable.”

Most importantly, Stutzman said he will have fun building the program back up. 

“We're just looking forward to building this thing and having fun doing it. The biggest thing I've learned over the last 10, 11, 12 years is, is there's enough pressure out there,” Stutzman said. “Why put pressure on yourself? Enjoy this process. Let's enjoy where we're going. Let it rip and have some fun doing it.”

Watch Bloomsburg home duals this season live on Flowrestling.