CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois head wrestling coach Mike Poeta has received a new four-year contract, as approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees at its July meeting. The agreement has Poeta on contract through the end of the 2028-29 season.

Poeta recently concluded his fourth season at the helm of Fighting Illini Wrestling, where he has returned the program to the national spotlight. He guided Lucas Byrd to the 2025 NCAA Championship at 133 pounds, becoming the program's first national title winner since 2016 and its first-ever at the 133-pound weight class. A month prior to his NCAA title, Byrd also secured the Big Ten Championship at 133 pounds. As a team, Illinois finished in 10th place at the 2025 NCAA Championships, marking the program's highest finish in nine years.

"We are pleased to continue Mike's longstanding relationship with the University of Illinois and Fighting Illini Wrestling by extending his contract for the next four years," Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman said. "As a former Illini All-American and proud U of I graduate who later served as an assistant coach before taking the reins four years ago as head coach, Mike has a special appreciation for this place and this program, and he wears his loyalty and dedication on his sleeve. Mike's passion on the mat is self-evident. Last year's individual and team accomplishments represented a meaningful step forward for the program, and we look forward to an even brighter future under his continued leadership."

Poeta helped a total of eight wrestlers to qualify to the 2025 NCAA Championships in Byrd, Danny Pucino, Kannon Webster, Braeden Scoles, Danny Braunagel, Edmond Ruth, Zac Braunagel and Luke Luffman, the most the program has sent since 2020. Webster earned silver at the Big Ten Championships to become the first Illinois redshirt freshman to place that high in seven years. A trio of his wrestlers won the consolation ladder to earn bronze at the conference meet in Ruth and the Braunagel brothers.

Poeta's numbers through his first four seasons include one NCAA Champion, three All-Americans, two Big Ten Champions and 20 NCAA Championships qualifiers.

"I am beyond excited and grateful to have a long-term coaching commitment with the University of Illinois," Poeta said. "I want to thank Josh Whitman for having the trust in me to lead this program. I have the greatest assistant coaches and support staff in the country and am thrilled to keep it going with them. I'm grateful for my family as well, dealing with the crazy hours that this job entails, and I'm happy that I can continue to provide for them working at a place we all love. This is only the beginning though, there's a lot of work left to be done to get us where we want to be as a program. I cannot wait to continue pushing Illinois Wrestling to places it hasn't been at in a long time and to a level it has never been before."

In his third year, Poeta aided Ruth to All-America status and a Big Ten Championship at 174 pounds. He led two more wrestlers to their first NCAA Championships appearance in Pucino and Chris Moore, with Moore becoming the first true freshman to qualify to the national meet since 2017.

During his second year, Poeta guided five wrestlers to NCAA Championships qualification. In his rookie season as head coach, he assisted Byrd to All-America status at 133 pounds, extending Illinois' All-American streak to 30 straight seasons.

Poeta was an Illini assistant for five years before being named head coach. Prior to joining the Illinois staff, he spent five years as the owner and head coach of the Poeta Training Center in Lake Forest, Illinois. Poeta was a member of Illinois' 2005 Big Ten Championship team and earned three All-America honors and two Big Ten titles during his collegiate wrestling career.