Nelson Brands’ appeal in the NCAA’s probe into sports gambling was denied earlier this month.

But Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands, Nelson’s uncle, said on Wednesday his nephew will still be an influential part of the program, even if the 174-pounder’s college career is over.

“There’s a couple of different paths to go there for sure,” Tom Brands said during a Zoom conference. “But he will remain part of our team. That was the first discussion him and I had.”

Nelson Brands announced on X (formerly Twitter) on December 19 that his appeal of a one-year suspension had been denied by the NCAA. Brands had one year of eligibility remaining, so the suspension effectively ended his college career.

“There was no feeling sorry for himself,” Tom Brands said. “He was talking about how important it was that I knew, as his coach, that he was going to remain available. So he's taking some time off in the next couple of days, and he'll be back in here to do what he does best. And that's being a great teammate.”

Tom Brands said he appreciated that Nelson would still be around with the program, working with other wrestlers.

“It’s a great characteristic,” Tom Brands said. “It’s very valuable. He’s basically just gravitated, or graduated, into a Hawkeye Wrestling Club role, even though he'll still be on the roster. But he will be in that I'll-do-whatever-I’ve-got to do-to-help-you-get-ready mode, and at the same time helping himself. He can still grow and he can still learn and he can still get better every day as well.”

Heavyweight Tony Cassioppi, also appealing his suspension, is in a similar role, Tom Brands said.

“He will continue to train and he will continue to compete,” Brands said of Cassioppi, who qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials with a fifth-place finish in the Senior Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas earlier this month. “You saw that he qualified himself for the trials in April in State College and he's going ahead like the best in the world go ahead. When you're hit with adversity, you keep putting one foot in front of the other. There's nothing else to do.”

Soldier Salute Lineup 

Brands said he expected 27 Iowa wrestlers, including three who will wrestle unattached, will compete in this weekend’s Soldier Salute in Coralville.

Brands hopes the tournament could help solidify Iowa’s lineup heading into the final three months of the season.

“There’s a couple of weights where it could be significant, and you can probably guess those,” Brands said. “We have options, which is always good. We want those options to emerge as a clear-cut (favorite), meaning that there's just no debate because athlete A is just kicking butt and taking names. That's the best way to solve it.

“The second best way to solve it is when both guys are kicking butt and taking names and then they solve it in the finals amongst themselves. Actually, that's probably the best way. The way that you don't want is that both are struggling. And then you’ve got to make decisions as a coach. You really want to leave it up to these guys and their performance.”

Back From Break

Iowa hasn’t wrestled since the 38-3 win over Columbia on December 8, so Brands said it will be good to be back into competition.

“We want to evaluate our guys when we're done, but we want them to be, more importantly than that, ‘What did we get out of it?’” Brands said. “We’ll have to prepare and be ready. Zero hour is upon us. In two days time, we’ll be going at 10 a.m.

“It’s good to be back from break. But Christmas and Thanksgiving are wrestling holidays. These guys are professional in their approach.”