After 54 years of commitment to the sport of wrestling, Notre Dame College head wrestling coach Frank Romano has been elected to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Ohio Chapter. The official induction ceremony will take place on Sunday, Oct. 19 at the Embassy Suites in Dublin, Ohio.

Having dedicated the past 54 years of his life to the sport of wrestling – both as an athlete and as a coach – Romano is being recognized for his lifetime commitment to wrestling.

"I had known that I had been nominated, and that there was a chance," said Romano. "I was actually in Florida taking a few days of vacation, sitting at a restaurant when the phone call came in … I was just overwhelmed with the whole thing."

After picking up the sport of wrestling as a 7^th grader in 1961, Romano went on to win two state championships at Maple Heights High School. From there, Romano continued his wrestling career at Ohio State University, where he was a three-time NCAA National Qualifier along with being team captain in both his junior and senior seasons.

After graduating from Ohio State in 1970, Romano continued to wrestle for six years after college, and even tried out for the 1976 United States Olympics wrestling team. While continuing his athletic career, Romano also began his coaching career in 1970 as the head coach at Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus, Ohio. From there, Romano continued to coach at Cleveland-area high schools such as St. Edward's, Kenston, Elyria and even his alma mater Maple Heights. Romano then spent 22 years coaching at Kent State University, the first 15 years as assistant coach and the last seven as head coach from 1996-2003.

After retiring from coaching in 2003, Romano then returned to coaching in 2006 as he spearheaded a brand new wrestling program at Notre Dame College. Despite having no equipment, no wrestling mats and no assistant coaches at first, it didn't take long for Romano to turn the program into a national powerhouse. Less than four years after starting the wrestling program at NDC, Romano led the Falcons to their first ever national championship in 2010.

"Coach Romano has done a remarkable job in buildint the Falcon Wrestling program from its inception," said Director of Athletic Scott Swain. "To have already won the number of national championships in such a short time is incredible. The NDC Wrestling seamless transtition of winning from NAIA to NCAA competition is an unmatched accomplishment. Frank has set the bar very high for success in NDC Athletics."

Before beginning his ninth season as head coach at Notre Dame College, Romano will first celebrate his induction into the Ohio Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with family, friends and former coaches and athletes on Oct. 19.

"It's a situation where you pretty much feel vindicated about what's happened," said Romano. "If you do this as long as I've been doing it, you want to hope that someone notices. When you're recognized by your peers, that's a big thing. I'm really excited."