Long-time Reds wrestling head coach to be inducted into New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame

UNB Wrestling Head Coach Don Ryan will be inducted into the N.B. Sports Hall of Fame on May 23, 2026. (Submitted: Don Ryan)

The New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame has announced that long-time University of New Brunswick (UNB) Reds Wrestling Head Coach Don Ryan will be inducted early next year.

He has been coaching at UNB for more than 33 years. He has also won the Atlantic University Sport award for wrestling coach of the year 16 times.

“I’m quite honoured to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” he said. “I have a lot of friends and colleagues who were inducted previously, so when I received the call, I was very honoured to be asked to be in there, because it's such a great group of people.”

Ryan first got involved with UNB wrestling as a student athlete while attending the school in the late ‘80s. After graduating in 1990, he became the assistant coach before filling the role of head coach in 1992.

He never thought he’d hold the coach position for so many years. 

“I thought I'd do it for a while, but it becomes a passion and lifestyle as an athlete … we're going three to four days a week, between five and seven,” he said. “So it sort of became part of my life … those two hours [are] when [you] could find me either as an athlete and now a coach.”

Originally from Chatham, he moved to Guelph, Ontario, for a brief period in 1977, where he was introduced to the sport. 

“When I first moved up to Ontario, being a new kid in school and not knowing anyone, you got challenged a lot back then,” he said. “I had a few altercations in the playground and one day, the wrestling coach was the supervisor of the playground. So I was given a choice of either a week's detention or attend wrestling practice.”

Growing up, Ryan admired wrestlers like Bruce Baumgartner, Dave Schultz and Canadian Clark Davies. 

He describes his style of coaching as defensive-minded while training wrestlers and uses video technology to study moves.

For Johnathon William Sherrard, a fourth-year UNB wrestler, Ryan’s induction into the Hall of Fame couldn’t be more well-deserved. 

“New Brunswick wrestlers wouldn't be nearly as competitive on the national and international level without Don's leadership,” he said. 

“He transformed wrestling in this province and showed everyone that we can be just as successful as the bigger provinces. As a non-traditional sport, wrestling tends to get overlooked, but if there's anybody in the New Brunswick wrestling community who deserves recognition, it's Don.”

Along with his work at UNB, Ryan has also served as president of the Commonwealth Wrestling Committee and as vice-president of United World Wrestling. 

Through both organizations, he has advocated for the sport in developing countries and for wrestling to be accepted into the Commonwealth Games.

When asked if he sees himself coaching for much longer, he said that he’s at the “tail end” of his career. 

However, he would like to still be around for when New Brunswick hosts the Canada Games in 2029, though he said he may pass the baton to a new coach afterwards.

“I'll always be around to assist with whatever I can, because, [as] I said earlier, those two to three hours a day that I have, I'll have to fill that void somehow,” he said. “So if it's just coming out or helping with fundraising or helping with administration … I’ll always be around the sport of wrestling.”