National Wrestling Hall of Fame nominations are required to include letters of recommendation providing additional facts such as background, achievements on and off the mat and service to the larger wrestling community.

The endorsements for University of Virginia head wrestling coach Steve Garland were no exception and there is plenty of success to talk about. But the praise for Garland is particularly rich in terms of character reference and the intangibles that make a coach memorable. Every testimonial contained phrases like “high road,” “father figure,” “respected and revered,” and “I know I am a better person because I have Steve Garland as a mentor.”

Garland's example has produced a thriving wrestling program for the Cavaliers. Since he came to Charlottesville as a young head coach in 2006, his teams have won two Atlantic Coast Conference championships, produced 14 NCAA All-Americans, and seven Top 25 rankings in the last 13 years. His colleagues voted him ACC Coach of the Year in 2010. He has already created many fine memories, including George DiCamillo's memorable interview as an NCAA finalist, Nick Sulzer being a three-time All-American, and Matt Snyder being ranked eighth in the nation and now a pediatric geneticist, one of the many examples of outstanding wrestlers enjoying outstanding success after they stepped off the mat.

Coach Garland had been ready to make his mark at UVA. He was one of the Cavaliers outstanding competitors, winning three ACC titles at 125 pounds and reaching the NCAA finals in 2000. Born and raised in Middleton, New York, his success on the mat helped lead him into coach, beginning as an assistant at Cornell University and being named Assistant Coach of the Year in 2006. His Virginia connections made haste that year to lure him back south.

Once he was established at UVA, he married Mary English and the couple have two daughters, Sarah (16) and Grace (12).

Garland soon found himself in leadership roles, beginning in 2018 when he became a member of the National Wrestling Coaches Association's Leadership Group. He also served from 2008-11 as a member of the NCAA Division I Rules Committee.

He still get a fine boot, however, from coaching and preparing young men to step on the mat. The high regard for his dedication is best explained by another admirer and rival coach, who praises Garland "not based on his success, but rather on the significance he has had on the wrestling community."