Mike Poeta is making quite the splash with his first coaching hire after being named the head coach of Illinois in April. The Fighting Illini announced that Ed Ruth we be joining the staff as an assistant coach on Thursday evening.

Extremely excited to announce the addition of Ed Ruth to our coaching staff.

Welcome to Champaign, @edruth67!! ??#ILLINI x #JoinTheFight https://t.co/IX5IM6RUYw

— Illinois Wrestling (@IlliniWrestling) July 2, 2021

Ruth joins the Fighting Illini after spending seven months in Raleigh, NC, as an athlete developmental coach at the Wolfpack Wrestling Club.

As an athlete, Ruth was a three-time national champion for Penn State (in 2012 at 174 pounds and in 2013 and 2014 at 184 pounds) and part of four national championship teams. With an NCAA record of 163-3, Ruth is the all time leader win percentage leader at Penn State. In freestyle, Ruth represented Team USA at the 2014 World Championships in Uzbekistan.

Illinois Wrestling announced the hire with the following release:

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – University of Illinois head wrestling coach Mike Poeta announced the addition of Ed Ruth to his staff on Thursday, July 1. Ruth will serve as an assistant coach with the Fighting Illini wrestling program.

"I am so excited to announce the addition of Ed Ruth to the Illinois wrestling staff," said Poeta. "Ed's wrestling credentials speak for themself and he will go down as one of the greatest college wrestlers of all time. Not only does he bring world class wrestling skills to get our guys to another level, but after getting to know him more, I saw how much of a role model and mentor he will be. He'll be great at growing our wrestlers as young men and assisting them in reaching their wrestling goals."

Ruth, a native of Harrisburg, Pa., joins the Illini wrestling staff following several years as a professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter. Ruth wrestled collegiately at Penn State from 2010-2014, where he was a three-time NCAA champion and four-time Big Ten champion at 184-pounds. He also garnered a 136-3 overall record during his career as a Nittany Lion.

Following his time in State College, Ruth was a representative for team USA at the 2014 World Wrestling Championships and was also a Silver Medalist at the 2015 USA World Team Trials.

"He brings a great family to Champaign. His wife Nina was a tennis player at Penn State and they have an awesome 6-year-old son named Kastle. I know Illinois Wrestling fans are going to be excited. We have the perfect guy to help get us to the top."