Columbia University Athletics

Joe Nord enters his eighth season with the Columbia wrestling program for the 2023-24 campaign. It is his ninth season overall at Columbia after serving as a volunteer assistant coach during the 2015-16 season.
 
In July 2023, Nord was promoted to the David and Michael Barry Associate Head Coach of Wrestling. He served as the David and Michael Barry Assistant Coach of Wrestling for the previous eight years.
 
Nord helped oversee a historic season in Columbia wrestling history during the 2022-23 season. The Lions sent a program record six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships after scoring the most points in program history at the EIWA Championships. Eight Columbia wrestlers placed at the EIWA Championships and five earned auto bids to the NCAA Championships. Columbia finished tied for fourth as a team at the EIWA Championships, notching its best finish since the 2014-15 season and its seventh top five finish in school history.

During the 2019-20 season, Nord spent time with the upper weight classes, helping Lennox Wolak (174) collect Honorable Mention All-Ivy League honors during the season after going 3-2 in the Ivy League.
 
Nord spent 2015-16 season as the Volunteer Assistant Coach, working primarily with the upper weight classes while helping in the development of NCAA Qualifier and first team All-Ivy League selection Garrett Ryan. With Nord's guidance, Ryan impressed again in the 2016-17 season, earning an EIWA heavyweight title and returning to the NCAA Championships.
 
"I am thrilled to announce the addition of Joe Nord to our staff as the David and Michael Barry Assistant Coach of Wrestling,” said the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli upon Nord's hiring. “Joe brings value in multiple facets to Columbia University and will help guide our men both on and off the mat to become even more successful. His experience wrestling collegiately and internationally, coaching multiple top-10 NCAA Championship teams, as well as earning his Master's degree in business administration make him a perfect fit for moving this program forward in the direction I envision."
 
"He will be instrumental in developing our upper weights with his hands on approach to coaching, while being a great mentor and role model to our team with his tremendous character."
 
Nord began his tenure with the Lions prior to the beginning of the 2015-16 season, after spending two years on staff at the University of Minnesota.
 
During his time with the Gophers, Joe helped with the day-to-day operations of the program while also coaching, training and competing himself. At Minnesota, Nord helped the wrestling team to two top-10 NCAA Championship finishes including a runner-up team finish at the 2014 NCAAs. From 2014 to 2015 Joe competed in many international tournaments including the Dave Schultz Memorial, the Minnesota Storm Holiday Cup and the Men's US Open in freestyle.
 
Prior to returning to his alma mater, he spent the previous two years as an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina, where he also obtained his Master's degree in Business Administration.
 
Nord wrestled for the Gophers from 2006-11, competing at both 197 and heavyweight. He was a four-time letterwinner and the recipient of the Verne Gagne Scholarship/Leadership Award as a senior.
 
A native of Waconia, Minnesota, Nord won state championships in 2005 and 2006. He also earned high school All-American honors in both folkstyle and freestyle. Nord graduated from the University of Minnesota in the spring of 2011 with a degree in Business Marketing Education and Applied Economics.