Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Men's Wrestling

Spates oversaw the development of heavyweight David Devine who became the first SIUE wrestler to advance to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships since 1987. Devine also was crowned SIUEs first Southern Conference individual champion in 2014. After nine seasons as one of the nation's premier assistant coaches, Spates moved up to become a head coach for the first time. Spates came to SIUE after nine seasons as one of the nations premier assistant coaches. With an impressive track record of performance as both a coach and a student-athlete, he spent four seasons as an assistant at Cornell University, helping Head Coach Rob Koll and the Big Red to a fifth-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships. He also spent five seasons as an assistant coach under his father, Jack Spates, at the University of Oklahoma. Spates was a 2004 NCAA All-American as a student-athlete at the University of Missouri. He was a three-time team captain under Head Coach Brian Smith. Spates competed at the 2004 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star meet in Cedar Falls, Iowa, winning his 149-pound match. He was the 10 wrestler in Missouri history to record more than 100 victories. His coaching career has included six top five team finishes in nine years as an assistant, including two runner-up finishes for Cornell in 2010 and 2011. The Cornell recruiting class was ranked No. 1 in the nation in 2011. Spates has helped oversee seven individual NCAA Division I champions and 28 NCAA Division I All-Americans. He was a major influence on the development of four-time national champion Kyle Dake, of Cornell, who became the nation's first wrestler in 2013 to win NCAA titles in four different weight classes. Dake was named  Male College Athlete of the Year. Spates has been involved at the ground level of collegiate wrestling whether it has been recruiting, running camps, developing individual training sessions, or fundraising. "It's great to have someone who looks at it that no job is too big or too small. He's the kind of guy who rolls up his sleeves and gets in. He was in there every day working with Kyle (Dake) technically, physically, and emotionally. He's been around success his entire life. He has had a very broad scope of programs, and because of that he has an extremely large skill set." "Coach has been one of the most important people to me for the last four years. He's been a great mentor not just in wrestling but as a person as well. I'm really proud of him. He's put in a lot of time and deserves something great. The head coaching job is the next logical step. I'm really excited for him and hope he does some pretty amazing things." "Jeremy is one of the bright young stars in the coaching ranks. He was a very accomplished wrestler and mentored under one of the best coaches we have in Rob Koll. He also spent some time with Brian Smith at Missouri who is another one of our top coaches. Between his dad, the coaches he has wrestled for, and the coaches he has coached under, they are among the best we have in the nation. He has a very, very bright future. It's a terrific hire for SIUE." "He was a three-year captain for me and an amazing leader during my first recruiting class at Missouri. It was like having an extra coach in the program. He came up with the phrase 'Tiger Style' that is the philosophy of our program. He's an unbelievable young man who has a great career ahead of him."     What Others Are Saying About Head Coach Jeremy Spates:

Taylor begins his first season as a volunteer assistant coach with the Cougars after spending 2014-15 as the Director of Operations. Previous to the 2014-15 season, he spent the last four seasons as a member of the SIUE wrestling team. He collected four wins last season, including a pin over Davidson's Dan Hageman in the final week of the 2013-14 regular season.

Owen was a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier as a student-athlete at Boise State from 2008 to 2014.  He was a four-time Pac 10/Pac 12 place-winner and captured a Pac 12 championship during the 2011-12 season at 133 pounds. After an outstanding high school career as a four-time state qualifier at University High School in Spokane, Washington, Owen capped his prep carerr by going undefeated as a senior and earning a state championship. Owen also was a two-time All-State honoree in academics (2007 and 2008). Later in 2008, he earned two medals at the Junior Pan American Games in Cuenca, Ecuador. He won a silver in the Greco competition and a bronze in the freestyle event. During the 2014-15 season, Owen was an assistant coach at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Washington, where his team earned two individual state titles. He also was the club head coach at the Inland Northwest Training Center. Owen, who is the younger brother of SIUE assistant coach Tommy Owen, earned two bachelor's degrees in communications and environmental science. He is currently completing a master's in environmental science at Idaho.