The NCAA Division II wrestling tournament begins Friday and ends Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.
Since Upper Iowa University is the only D-II school in the state, this tournament might not generate the interest of the D-III meet did a year ago.
But there was a time when the state of Iowa - or rather Northern Iowa - dominated D-II wrestling.
That's right. The Panthers were to D-II what Iowa and Iowa State were to D-I. UNI won two D-II titles in the 1970s ('75 and '78) and placed in the top four of the tournament for nine consecutive years.
UNI's last year in D-II was 1980 when it finished second with six all-Americans, two of whom won national titles.