Throughout his stellar career as a referee Dave Frisch not only officiated at the top level of collegiate wrestling, but regularly officiated NCAA finals matches, particularly those expected to be fast-moving and difficult to call, a further tribute to his expertise.

Frisch officiated some of the biggest matches in NCAA history, but none was more memorable than the finals in Albany, New York, in 2002 when Cael Sanderson of Iowa State defeated Jon Trenge of Lehigh at 197 pounds to become the first NCAA wrestler to go undefeated while winning four NCAA titles.

Frisch worked 24 NCAA Division I Championships in 25 years from 1984 to 2008. The only year he missed came in 1991, when he was selected to officiate at the event but pulled out of the tournament after his wife, Becky, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

He was a Top 10 official at every NCAA tournament he worked and was the top-ranked official on 15 occasions, including 12 of his last 15 years. Frisch was a lead official every year he worked the NCAA finals, where the Top 10 officials were each assigned a championship bout.

A graduate of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, Frisch began officiating in 1976 and was working the Junior College National Championships and the NCAA Division II Championships in his third year as an official. By the time he turned 30 he was calling NCAA Division I tournaments. During his career, he worked 24 NCAA Division I National Championships, 14 NCAA Division II National Championships, and 14 Junior College National Championships. Frisch also officiated the NAIA national tournament and more than a score of major conference tournaments in the Big Eight, Big Ten, Pac-10 and Western Athletic Conference. He also worked countless duals and tournaments as a high school official in Colorado and Minnesota.

A three-year starter for St. James High School, Frisch helped the Saints win the Minnesota state wrestling team title in 1972. As a college wrestler and a team captain, he qualified for the National Junior College wrestling championships twice and the NCAA II wrestling championships twice.