Olson, who coached no less than seven sports at Monmouth, was selected for inclusion in the University of North Carolina-Pembroke Hall of Fame. Last October the veteran coach, already a member of the Jamestown College Hall of Fame and the NAIA Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, was inducted into Upper Iowa University’s Hall of Fame for his accomplishments while serving as the Peacocks’ wrestling coach from 1966-71.

Following a successful career at Upper Iowa which produced 15 all-Americans and five national champions, Olson took his talents to UNCP. He led the Braves for 10 seasons, compiling a 143-32 career record at Pembroke while mentoring 16 all-Americans, as well as 29 all-conference and 69 all-district honorees. The Braves won nine district championships under Olson’s watch, as well as five consecutive (1977-81) Carolinas Conference titles.

Olson, the school’s all-time winningest coach in terms of winning percentage (.817), recorded 14 or more dual meet victories in seven of his 10 seasons at Pembroke, including an 18-2 mark during the 1972-73 campaign after turning in a 17-3 clip the previous season. He is the only coach in the history of the UNCP wrestling program to record a perfect season as well, leading the Black and Gold to an unblemished 12-0 record during the 1979-80 season.

"I’m humbly grateful to be included in the names that are already in the hall of fame there," said Olson. "I am very excited and I am very deeply privileged to have this honor. We took a program and built a foundation and that’s all I wanted to do. The kids bought into it and I had great athletes that worked their tails off. It is amazing to me to see it shine still as one of the best wrestling programs in the country."

Olson’s 39-year coaching record in wrestling stands at an amazing 428-95-1 in dual meets. During his tenure, he produced 61 all-Americans and eight national championships at six collegiate institutions. He coached at Monmouth College from 1990 until his retirement following the 2005 football season. His 1997 team posted the only Midwest Conference wrestling title in school history.

Olson will be inducted at Pembroke Feb. 8 along with UNCP women’s basketball standout Ginnell Curtis. The pair will be honored at the 2008 Alumni Awards and Hall of Fame Banquet in the UC Annex. Their likeness and name will be permanently displayed on UNCP’s Wall of Honor as well.