Philip Grebinar, you and your perennially successful matmen have
become legends in New England wrestling. you have had unparalleled
success in 22 years at WPI's head coach, compiling an enviable
lifetime record 300-79-4- an astounding 80 percent winning rate.
your teams have gone on to win three New England College COnference
Wrestling Association Championships as well as a host of other
regional tournaments and championships.
Wrestling was in you blood from an early age. Growing up on Long
Island, where wrestling is a major sport, you wrestled in high
school and as an undergraduate at the SUNY College at Cortland,
until a knee injury ended your career. After pursuing graduate
studies at Coartland, you arrived at WPI in 1972, where you coached
football and baseball for a time in addition to wrestling. During
your first four years at the Institute, the wrestling team had a
losing record, but by then you had planted your future
success.
Each year since you arrived, you have scoured New England for
the best high school wrestlers and then doggedly worked to recruit
them. The result has been a concentration of wrestlers that
continue the proud tradition at WPI and keep your loyal fans packed
shoulder to shoulder in the "snake pit" to cheer your wrestlers on.
Those talented grapplers have included 146 All-New Englanders and
36 competitors in the NCAA Division III national tournament.
As your successes mounted, you were always quick to give the
credit to the skill and determination of these young men. But your
students and peers knew otherwise. "Grebby's the best," one fellow
coach said. "I've never seen anyone, anywhere, put in the energy he
puts into his school and his program."
As testament to the high regard in which you are held, the New
England College Coaches Wrestling Association named you Coach of
the Year in 1985, 1987 and 1994. The Referees Association honored
you with the New England Sportsmanship Award for 1992-93. A
wrestling official yourself, you have also won honors for your work
in that capacity. In 1986, for example, you were named Official of
the Year by USA Wrestling Massachusetts.
Philip Grebinar, for your unparalleled success as a coach at WPI
and for your lifetime of support to the Instiute's
student-athletes, WPI is proud to induct you into its Athletic Hall
of Fame.
