Eric Douglas is in his third year as a volunteer assistant coach for the Purdue wrestling team.
"I'm just delighted to have Eric here as my third assistant at Purdue," Purdue coach Jessie Reyes says. "It's a great opportunity for him to come in here and use his work ethic and his skills to help our players this season. Eric is one of those hardnosed young men that will teach the other athletes to wrestle hard and with intensity. We're really glad that he's on board, and he has a great future in coaching."
A two-time NCAA qualifier, Douglas spent the 1998-99 school year teaching and coaching at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon, Mich.
Prior to his high school coaching experience, Douglas was a four-year letterwinner for the Boilers from 1994-98. He capped off an outstanding career for the Old Gold and Black by becoming the school's 41st All-American at the 1998 NCAA Championships. Douglas placed eighth at 158-pounds, compiling a 3-3 record over the three-day tournament. He finished 1998 with a team-high 30 wins, giving him a 90-57 career record.
This season, Douglas' main duties will be to coordinate community activities, run conditioning practices and keep order in the wrestling room. Douglas also coaches the River City Wrestling Club in the Greater Lafayette area, a youth wrestling organization for boys and girls.
A 1998 graduate of Purdue, Douglas received his bachelor's degree in physical education.
A native of Valparaiso, Ind., Douglas is a 1993 graduate of Valparaiso High School, where he was a four-year letterwinner in wrestling and a two-year letterwinner in cross country. Douglas closed out his prep career with back-to-back runner-up finishes in the state championships (45-1 as a senior and 45-6 as a junior). Following his senior year at Valparaiso, he placed second at the high school national tournament.
Douglas is single and lives in West Lafayette.