OSHKOSH, Wis.- Ruben Chavez was named UW-Oshkosh assistant women's wrestling coach by head coach Chad Cook on Wednesday (Sept. 16).
"We're excited to welcome Ruben as a part of our staff!" Cook said. "He has a great background of competing at the highest levels and helping others compete for World and Olympic titles. His work ethic and passion are second to none, and his desire to help others is strong as well. We're building something great here at Oshkosh, and Ruben is going to be a huge part of that!"
Chavez comes to Oshkosh with more than 22 years of coaching experience across the youth, high school, club, collegiate, national and international levels. Most recently, Chavez served as the head women's wrestling coach at Wesleyan College (Ga.), where he helped establish the foundation for the Wolves' new women's wrestling program.
"I am incredibly grateful and excited for the opportunity to join the UW-Oshkosh and work alongside Chad in continuing to build the program," Chavez said. "Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to learn from outstanding coaches, mentors, and athletes, and I look forward to bringing those experiences to UWO."
Prior to Wesleyan, Chavez served as the interim head women's wrestling coach at Friends University (Kan.) during the 2024-25 season. He oversaw the Falcons' day-to-day operations, including athlete development, practice planning, competition preparation, recruiting and program administration.
Chavez has extensive experience with USA Wrestling, including being selected to coach at USA Wrestling Women's National Team training camps at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center and the USA vs. Ukraine Women's National Team Camp in Iowa City. He has also served on the Team Texas and Team Georgia coaching staffs at national-level events, including the USMC Junior & 16U Nationals and USA Wrestling National Duals.
Throughout his coaching career, Chavez has helped develop more than 200 state qualifiers, 100 state placers, 35 state champions and 40 collegiate All-Americans. He has also coached NCAA and NAIA national champions, World Team members, World medalists and World champions in freestyle wrestling.
Chavez spent more than a decade as an assistant wrestling coach at Iowa City High School from 2012-23, helping develop numerous Iowa state champions, placers, and qualifiers. He also coached and developed a U20 World Champion and World silver medalist and assisted in the development of eight NCAA Division I student-athletes.
Before beginning his coaching career, Chavez wrestled at the University of Iowa from 2003-06. He was a member of Hawkeye teams that finished second, fifth and fourth at the NCAA Division I Championships. Chavez later spent time with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club as a resident athlete and college athlete mentor and coach from 2008-11.
"I am grateful to Chad and UW-Oshkosh for this opportunity, and I cannot wait to get to work."
Chavez earned his bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Iowa in 2017 and his master's degree in IT management from Western Governors University (Utah) in 2025. He is also a USA Wrestling High-Performance Leader with Copper, Bronze, Teal and Silver certifications.
