Wall of Fame
Malecek completed his 20th season as UWL's head wrestling coach in 2025-26. He has led the Eagles to top-four finishes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships nine different seasons, including a school best second three times (2008, 2010, 2026). The Eagles have four (2007, 2009, 2011, 2024) third-place showings at the national championships and two (2012, 2013) fourth-place finishes.
Coaching 15 NCAA Division III Champions at UWL, the Eagles have earned 77 All-America honors under Malecek's tutelage. He was named the 2024 and 2025 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Coach of the Year and the 2007 NCAA Rookie Coach of the Year. Inducted into the NWCA Hall of Fame in 2024, Malecek has been voted the NCAA Division III Regional Coach of the Year four times (2015, 2018, 2020, 2025).
He has led UWL to 14 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) titles with 86 individual champions. The Eagles have secured 10 WIAC Wrestler of the Year Awards under Malecek and eight WIAC John Peterson Wrestler of the Meet Awards at the league championships. Twelve wrestlers have garnered the WIAC Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award.
Malecek, a native of Osage, Iowa, earned his bachelor's degree in physical education/coaching (1994) and master's degree degree in physical education (2005) from the University of Northern Iowa where he was a four-time NCAA Division I qualifier. He earned All-America accolades in 1994 with a fourth-place finish at 177-pounds and was the team's captain in 1993 and 1994.
