The dean of Central Oklahoma's coaching staff is David James, now in his 35th year atop the perennial powerhouse wrestling program and one of the premier coaches at any level of collegiate athletics.
James, a four-time All-American and two-time national champion as a wrestler at UCO, ranks second among all college coaches at any level in national championships with 12 -- seven in NCAA Division II, five in NAIA -- and has been named national Coach of the Year seven times.
David has piled up an amazing 396-144-5 dual record against some of the top teams in the country, ranking fifth in NCAA Division II and 40th on all levels of college wrestling in all-time dual wins.Â
UCO has had 24 top-four national tournament finishes under James, including five runner-up showings, and the Bronchos have won 19 Division II regional titles.
D.J. has coached 48 national champions and 182 All-Americans at UCO and his career dual record includes an amazing 329-63-1 mark against non-Division I teams.
James took control of the UCO program in 1982 and led the team to a fifth-place NAIA finish and 7-6 dual record that first year. The Bronchos asserted themselves the next year with a 11-5-1 dual finish and the first of four straight NAIA championships, winning by a 33-point margin.
UCO went back to the throne room in 1985, romping to the national title by 53 3/4 points, and made it three straight in 1986 with a narrow 7 1/4-point victory. The Bronchos made it four in a row in 1987, taking the title by 20 3/4 points following a 12-5 dual season.
The championship streak ended in 1988 with a narrow runner-up finish, but James took UCO back to the top in its final year with the NAIA in 1989 with a 13-point margin of victory after a 12-3 dual season.
The Bronchos made the move up to NCAA Division II the next season and were runners-up in both 1990 and ‘91. The breakthrough season came in 1992 when UCO went 14-1 in duals and captured its first-ever Division II championship.
The Bronchos won a second consecutive title in 1993 while crowning three individual champions and UCO made it three in a row in 1994 with an overwhelming 61 3/4-point victory behind four champions.
James led UCO to its fourth consecutive crown in 1995 as the Bronchos rolled up 148 points, the second-highest point total in NCAA Division II history. Â Central fell just short of a fifth straight title in 1996, finishing second with three individual champions, then was third in 1997.
The Bronchos had one champion in 1998 to place fourth, then crowned two national champions in finishing third in 1999. Another runner-up finish followed in 2000 and the Bronchos tied for third in 2001 while going 13-2-1.
UCO made it back on top in 2002, putting together a stellar 15-1 dual record and ending a six-year championship drought by crowning four individual champions in winning its 13th national team title.
James and the Bronchos repeated as title winners in 2003, going 18-1 in duals and finishing with three individual champions. Central’s bid for a third straight title came up just short in 2004, with the Bronchos crowning two individual champions in finishing third.
UCO had its 15-year string of Midwest Regional titles ended in 2005 en route to an 11th-place national tournament showing, but D.J.’s troops bounced back with a 14-3 dual finish and fourth-place national showing in 2006.
The Bronchos captured their 15th title in 2007, following a 15-4 dual season with the Midwest Regional crown and a stirring national tournament performance in beating favored Nebraska-Kearney by 16 points.
UCO was 14-6 in duals, won another regional title and finished sixth nationally in 2007-08 and went 11-6-1 with a regional runner-up finish and another sixth-place national showing last year. The Bronchos struggled to an 8-5 dual record and 15th-place national finish in 2009-10.
A young team that featured no seniors and only one junior in the starting lineup went 15-4 in duals in 2010-11, finishing third in the regional and 13th nationally with three All-Americans.
The Bronchos had another young squad in 2011-12, but still managed a 9-5 dual record and then won their first regional crown since 2008 before tying for 10th in the national tournament with three All-Americans.
UCO had its best season since 2007 in 2012-13, going 13-1 in duals en route to a fourth-place national finish. Â The Bronchos captured the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association dual title, were runners-up in the MIAA and Super Regional Two tournaments and had six All-Americans, including one champion.
Central came back with a 14-4 dual finish in 2013-14 and came in fifth in the national tournament with one champion and two runners-up.  The young Bronchos suffered their first losing dual season under James' helm in 2014-15 in going 7-9 and placing 18th nationally, with Chris Watson going undefeated in winning the national title and earning Division II Wrestler of the Year honors.
David was named MIAA Coach of the Year in 2015-16 after leading UCO to league runner-up finishes in the regular season and tournament. Â The Bronchos ended the year with a seven-match winning streak in compiling a 12-5 dual record.
James graduated UCO with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1980 and spent one year as a UCO graduate assistant. David then served as an assistant coach at Edmond Memorial High School before becoming UCO’s ninth head coach in 1982.
James ranks 13th on the school’s career win list with a 116-16 record. The Del City native was UCO’s first four-time All-American, finishing third as a freshman and second as a sophomore before winning back-to-back NAIA national titles.
He is a member of five hall of fames -- the NAIA Hall of Fame (1988), the UCO Athletic Hall of Fame (1991), the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame (2005), the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2007) and the Del City High School Hall of Fame (2008).
David is married (Cherrie) and has two daughters (Hayden and Ryann).
