Jamison Named Wrestling Coach

Jamison Named Wrestling Coach

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Joe Jamison has been named head coach of the Ursinus College wrestling program, announced Monday by Director of Athletics Laura Moliken.

 "Joe stood out to us in this search for his enthusiasm as an educator and his achievements at a leading Division I institution," Moliken said. "His technical knowledge and ability to implement a successful training regimen are second to none, and we firmly believe those qualities make him an ideal leader here at Ursinus as we move into a new era for the program."

A longtime assistant at Princeton University, Jamison is the successor to legendary coach Bill Racich, who passed away last September after a 38-year tenure in Collegeville.

"I am honored and excited to join Ursinus College as its next head wrestling coach," Jamison said. "Ursinus is a very special place and I look forward to moving the wrestling program forward while upholding the tradition and legacy that Coach Racich created. My goal is to help our student-athletes reach their goals athletically, academically, and ultimately in life. The entire athletic department at Ursinus shares these same ideals, which make this the perfect place for my family and me.

I'd to thank Laura Moliken, Kevin Small, and the entire search committee for putting their faith in me and believing that I am person to lead Ursinus wrestling as this new era for the program begins.

I'd also like to thank my wife, Brooke, and my entire family for their constant support throughout my coaching career. Coming to Ursinus is an ideal move for us, and without their support this would not be possible.

Finally, I'd like to thank the entire staff at Princeton University and Princeton Wrestling Club, especially Chris Ayres. We've worked together for almost 15 years and I've been fortunate to call them friends, colleagues, and mentors."

Jamison brings with him an extensive resume of high-level collegiate coaching experience. He spent a decade as an assistant at Princeton, where he also served as head coach of the Princeton Wrestling Club and executive director of the Princeton Olympic Regional Training Center.

During his tenure, which began as an assistant in 2005, Jamison worked primarily with wrestlers in the 125, 133, and 141-pound weight classes. Thirty-six of his charges qualified for the NCAA Championships, with three going on to become All-Americans, and Jamison's impressive list of trainees includes the 2016 university national champion in freestyle wrestling.

Jamison was heavily involved in all aspects of the wrestling program at Princeton, coordinating team community service projects and assisting with the organization and execution of numerous alumni events and helping to raise endowment funds. He was also the assistant director of the team's wrestling camp for almost ten years (2005-2014).

In his role as director of the Olympic Regional Training Center, Jamison assisted with training regimens and oversaw all living and travel arrangement for the athletes, who ranged in age from elementary school to college.

Jamison has spent the last two years as head coach of the wrestling program at the Cranbury School, where he also worked as a first-grade teacher. During his time at the Cranbury School, he increased middle-school wrestling participation to over a quarter of the male student population.   

"I am thankful for the time that I spent at Cranbury," Jamison said. "Dr. Genco is an outstanding educator and I learned so much during my time there."

A longtime educator, Jamison was a teacher in the Lawrence Township Public School system from 2001 to 2015. For the past three years he has worked as a pedagogy innovation specialist with Pencils of Promise, a New York-based organization that has built more than 400 schools worldwide since its founding in 2008. Jamison helped to develop a literacy program for public schools in Ghana and Guatemala, training staff in order to implement a professional development workshop for teachers in those countries. He was a 2014 recipient of a New Jersey Governor's Teacher Recognition Award.

Jamison graduated from King's College in 2001 before earning a master's of science from Saint Joseph's University in 2008 and completing post-master's graduate credits at North Dakota State University. He lives in Langhorne with his wife, Brooke, and children Henry (6) and Ella (4).