Former NC State wrestling coach Bob Guzzo, who won 13 ACC titles, dies
Former N.C. State wrestling coach Bob Guzzo, who built the Wolfpack program into an ACC power and recently was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame, died Saturday. He was 82.
In his 30 years as the Pack’s coach, Guzzo won 13 ACC titles and finished first in the regular season 12 times. He had an overall record of 356-183-7 and was 115-50 against ACC teams, including a 19-match unbeaten streak in the conference, and had 12 teams finish in the top 25 nationally.
Guzzo coached 86 ACC individual champions, including 24 All-Americans and four who were national champions: Matt Reiss (1980), Tab Thacker (1984), Scott Turner (1988) and Sylvester Terkay (1993).
Guzzo was hired in 1974 by former athletic director Willis Casey and later liked to smile and say that Casey, a demanding and crusty type, gave him one directive: win or be fired. Guzzo’s first Wolfpack team, in 1974-75, was 12-5 and he was named national rookie coach of the year by Amateur Wrestling News. His first ACC championship came in 1976 and the last in 2004 as Guzzo was named the league’s coach of the year six times in his career.
Guzzo grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, along with Chuck Amato, who would play football and wrestle for the Wolfpack and later was the Pack’s head football coach. Guzzo was a three-sport high school star — the quarterback on the football team — and wrestled at 123 pounds at East Stroudsburg State, where he won the 1966 NAIA championship.
Guzzo came to NCSU from the State University of New York at Canton and immediately began recruiting in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, using his many contacts in that wrestling-rich area to bring in talent and build a roster.
At NCSU, Guzzo shared an office for five years with Sam Esposito, the Wolfpack’s baseball coach and a sounding board for the other coaches. Guzzo said the office became an early morning gathering spot, with basketball coach Jim Valvano, soccer coach George Tarantini and others listening to Esposito and seeking advice while swapping stories and one-liners.
In later years, Guzzo delighted in telling the story of recruiting Thacker out of West Forsyth High near Winston-Salem. Thacker was 6-foot-4 and weighed more than 400 pounds but at the time had not won a state prep heavyweight title, finishing third in 1980.
Guzzo said Esposito one day asked if he had signed Thacker.
“I told Sam I was impressed with his kid and family but didn’t offer him,” Guzzo later said. “Sam says, ‘How many matches do you think he’d win?’ I said about 80 percent just based on size. Sam says, ‘How many kids do you have right now that can win 80 percent of their matches?’ I didn’t have a good answer.
“He said, ‘Go get in the car right now and get back over there and offer him a scholarship.’ I did, that same day.”
Thacker, who died in 2007 at age 45, would be a four-time ACC champion, a three-time All-America and the NCAA national champion as a senior. His match record was 92-11-1, an .889 winning percentage, and he had 51 pins.
Guzzo’s biggest ACC rival was Bill Lam, the longtime North Carolina wrestling coach. Lam was at UNC from 1972 to 2003, winning 15 ACC titles, and the matches against the Pack were intense as the two programs dueled for ACC supremacy and traded off ACC titles.
The two were not friends, Guzzo later said, but there was mutual respect between the two coaches as their programs ruled ACC wrestling for 30 years.
In recent years, Guzzo became a morning regular at Starbucks in the Village District, sitting back and holding court much as Esposito once did. Amato often would drop by to join his old friend until he was slowed by health issues.
Guzzo, a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, also was a regular at the Pack’s wrestling practices and matches and his input always welcomed by Wolfpack coach Pat Popolizio. Guzzo, despite his back issues, at times would go on the mat with the wrestlers to offer some hands-on instruction.
Guzzo was inducted into the N.C. State Athletic Hall of Fame on April 25 in Reynolds Coliseum, where Guzzo’s teams scored many memorable victories. Turner, a two-time All-American, also was inducted into the NCSU hall this year along with his coach.
Turner, who won the national championship at 150 pounds, was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the 1988 nationals.
Guzzo is survived by his wife, the former Janis Fish of Easton, and their two daughters, Gina and Valerie; son Robert, and daughter Kristi.
This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Former NC State wrestling coach Bob Guzzo, who won 13 ACC titles, dies."
