Central Michigan University Athletics
Hall of Fame 2026: Central Michigan Was Just What Wrestler David Bolyard Needed
10/14/2026 12:06:00 PM | General, Our Stories
Last in a series of profiles of members of the 2026 Class of the Marcy Weston CMU Athletics Hall of Fame. The class comprises basketball player Amy Backus, wrestler David Bolyard, football player Ken Ealy, coach Jim Hornak, volleyball player Kaitlyn (McIntyre) Renzi and gymnast Brittany (Petzold) Franklin. The Class will be inducted during a ceremony in McGuirk Arena at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. Admission to the induction ceremony is free and open to the public. The six members will be introduced during the CMU-Western Michigan football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 17.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – David Bolyard wanted bigger and, presumably, better. He needed Central Michigan.
Bolyard was an Akron, Ohio high school sophomore when he attended the 1998 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland. Bolyard, as one might expect from a high school kid in Ohio, was an Ohio State fan and had never heard of Central Michigan.
He watched from the stands as a guy named Casey Cunningham of CMU finished runner-up at 157 pounds, leading the Chippewas to a fifth-place finish in the team standings.
"It was like, Who the hell is this team? I'd never heard of them, didn't think much of it at the time," Bolyard said, adding that that Central Michigan school – remember the Chippewas? Casey Cunnginham? – were among the school recruiting him out of Akron Springfield High School by the time his junior year rolled around. "Now I know a little bit more and I'm following them and (Cunningham) wins the NCAA tournament that year and they took seventh, so they're a very good team, right? Like, Central was this team on the rise.
"When I objectively looked at everything and stepped back and like what was the right thing for me?"
That right thing became apparent as time went on, Bolyard became a Chippewa, and one of the top wrestlers in program history.
He ranks in the top 10 in program history with 109 career victories and was a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier and earned All-American honors with a sixth-place finish at 165 pounds in 2004.
He was recruited to CMU by Hall of Fame coach Tom Borrelli and, like many a Borrelli's protégé, became a devotee.
"I had no idea what I was really getting into," Bolyard said. "(Borrelli is) like this sweet Southern guy right? Until you get him in the wrestling room and then it's not that at all.
"He's really, really hard and really tough and I think there was a while for me where I was taking everything really personally. At his core he is a military guy, and so with every single thing there are no excuses and accountability.
"There was going to be a standard and you were going to meet it. And if you didn't meet the standard, you were going to get, what he would call 'positive reminders.'
"He would be all over me all the time. I swear for like three years he hated me. I knew that wasn't true, but I needed it, I really did. I wouldn't say I was a bad kid (but) I would have knocked your teeth out if you looked at me wrong at that time. I had a huge chip on my shoulder. I think I kind of needed Mount Pleasant at the time.
"Five, 10 years later you step back and look at it and the way he changed your life. I'm unbelievably fortunate to have had him be a part of my life. He's like a father and I would say a lot of the same things about my high school coach and my youth coach and that's a huge reason why I coach, because of those guys.
Bolyard earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from CMU and he met his future wife, Amanda, less than a month after enrolling in 2000.
After serving as a graduate assistant under Borrelli, Bolyard went on to coach at Eastern Michigan and is now in his ninth year as an assistant coach at Michigan, one of myriad Borrelli disciples now in the coaching business.
He and Amanda, a veterinarian, have two children and live in the Ann Arbor area and Bolyard will take his rightful place among the greats of CMU Athletics on Friday.
"I'm obviously really proud of it," Bolyard said. "It means a lot to me; what I'm most proud of is the hard work that we had to do. It was unbelievable and the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and I think that built some unbelievable relationships with teammates and Tom and made me the person I am today."
Bolyard was an Akron, Ohio high school sophomore when he attended the 1998 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland. Bolyard, as one might expect from a high school kid in Ohio, was an Ohio State fan and had never heard of Central Michigan.
He watched from the stands as a guy named Casey Cunningham of CMU finished runner-up at 157 pounds, leading the Chippewas to a fifth-place finish in the team standings.
"It was like, Who the hell is this team? I'd never heard of them, didn't think much of it at the time," Bolyard said, adding that that Central Michigan school – remember the Chippewas? Casey Cunnginham? – were among the school recruiting him out of Akron Springfield High School by the time his junior year rolled around. "Now I know a little bit more and I'm following them and (Cunningham) wins the NCAA tournament that year and they took seventh, so they're a very good team, right? Like, Central was this team on the rise.
"When I objectively looked at everything and stepped back and like what was the right thing for me?"
2026 MARCY WESTON CMU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CEREMONY
Date: Friday, Oct. 16, 2026
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Location: McGuirk Arena Main Floor
Admission: Free and open to the public
That right thing became apparent as time went on, Bolyard became a Chippewa, and one of the top wrestlers in program history.
He ranks in the top 10 in program history with 109 career victories and was a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier and earned All-American honors with a sixth-place finish at 165 pounds in 2004.
He was recruited to CMU by Hall of Fame coach Tom Borrelli and, like many a Borrelli's protégé, became a devotee.
"I had no idea what I was really getting into," Bolyard said. "(Borrelli is) like this sweet Southern guy right? Until you get him in the wrestling room and then it's not that at all.
"He's really, really hard and really tough and I think there was a while for me where I was taking everything really personally. At his core he is a military guy, and so with every single thing there are no excuses and accountability.
"There was going to be a standard and you were going to meet it. And if you didn't meet the standard, you were going to get, what he would call 'positive reminders.'
"He would be all over me all the time. I swear for like three years he hated me. I knew that wasn't true, but I needed it, I really did. I wouldn't say I was a bad kid (but) I would have knocked your teeth out if you looked at me wrong at that time. I had a huge chip on my shoulder. I think I kind of needed Mount Pleasant at the time.
"Five, 10 years later you step back and look at it and the way he changed your life. I'm unbelievably fortunate to have had him be a part of my life. He's like a father and I would say a lot of the same things about my high school coach and my youth coach and that's a huge reason why I coach, because of those guys.
Bolyard earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from CMU and he met his future wife, Amanda, less than a month after enrolling in 2000.
After serving as a graduate assistant under Borrelli, Bolyard went on to coach at Eastern Michigan and is now in his ninth year as an assistant coach at Michigan, one of myriad Borrelli disciples now in the coaching business.
He and Amanda, a veterinarian, have two children and live in the Ann Arbor area and Bolyard will take his rightful place among the greats of CMU Athletics on Friday.
"I'm obviously really proud of it," Bolyard said. "It means a lot to me; what I'm most proud of is the hard work that we had to do. It was unbelievable and the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and I think that built some unbelievable relationships with teammates and Tom and made me the person I am today."
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