Hempstead, NY -- Hofstra honored its only NCAA national champion with a halftime ceremony for Nick Gallo during the Pride's wrestling match versus third-ranked Cornell Sunday night at the Mack Sports Complex.
Almost 32 years have passed since Gallo defeated Iowa's Keith Mourlam, 8-3, in the championship round of the 126-pound weight class in 1977. The University will unveil a banner that will hang from the Mack Sports Complex's rafters to commemorate that accomplishment.
"It's a pretty neat thing," Gallo said. "I won a national championship for myself, but also for a lot of other people. Having that banner at Hofstra means a lot to me, since I was able to go to school there and make a mark and have something that will last there forever."
Gallo's on-the-mat accomplishments extend beyond Hempstead. The three-time NCAA Championship qualifier also earned a spot on the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Freestyle Wrestling teams. He also garnered two All-American selections, including one as a freshman in 1975 and again two years later when he won it all.
"Nick's been big part of Hofstra wrestling. He's been a big supporter of us," Hofstra Wrestling Head Coach Tom Shifflet said. "It's great we have a banner up there. It's a motivational tool for all of our guys to see that banner and try to work hard to achieve the same thing."
Speaking at his Ronkonkoma office in Suffolk County, Gallo said many of his friends and coaches said he would struggle to compete for a national championship out of Hofstra, which didn't have the reputation of a formidable wrestling program at the time. That didn't stop Gallo from earning the No. 1 seed heading into the NCAA Championships.
"I tried to focus on qualifying first," Gallo said. "Once I got there; I knew once I saw the crowd and see how much it meant to other people, my energy level would rise right away.
Despite three decades passing since the title run, Gallo still can rattle off the final score of most of his tournament matches. The championships were held in Oklahoma, a place that very welcoming to Long Island participants. Though Iowa State took home the team title that season, Gallo earned individual honors by being named Outstanding Wrestler.
"I had a good season and I was seeded first. All of the matches were pretty tough, but my closest match was my finals match. My philosophy was to score as many points as I could, take the officials out of the match and take the crowd out of the match because I didn't have that many people supporting me until I got into the finals."
After his colligate playing career ended, Gallo returned to Hofstra as the fifth head coach in Pride wrestling history. Gallo, who was inducted into the Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006, led Hofstra to a 49-25 dual meet record during his tenure from 1979-83, posting a .662 winning percentage, including a 13-3 record in his final season.
When it came time to pick a college, Gallo decided to stay close to home and forgo a chance at attending a school with a more renowned wrestling program.
"I see Hofstra as an opportunity for anyone who goes there," Gallo said. "I heard the rumors that you couldn't win it [a title] at Hofstra because it was too small of a school; you didn't have the support, you didn't have the competition.
"I tell everyone that it was about finding a way. I wrestled during the summers and the spring. Anyone who goes to Hofstra can do the same thing, even at this point. You don't even have to do it as much, because the program has come so far and competes against the best schools."
Gallo regularly comes to matches to cheer on the current squad, which is ranked 21st in the country. He said he is proud of maintaining that link to something that has positively impacted his life.
"I look at Hofstra as a great opportunity," he said. "It's paid me back enormously throughout the years."
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