To ask N-G wrestling beat writer Bob Asmussen a question about Johnson's departure, click here.

CHAMPAIGN - From now on, Mark Johnson will be pinning down donors.

The University of Illinois wrestling coach is stepping down after 17 years at the school to become chief executive officer of the Champaign County YMCA.
In that position, he will work to raise money for a new YMCA building in southwest Champaign that will also house Larkin's Place at the Y. The Y's interim CEO, Kim Webb, will become chief operating officer and run day-to-day operations.

"Mark will lead and build the new Y, and Kim will run the Y," said Tim Johnson, chairman of the Y's board of directors and regional director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Since Mark Johnson came to Illinois in 1992, the UI wrestling team has had 17 straight winning seasons and an overall record of 203-44-3. In 2005, it won the Big Ten championship for the first time since 1952. Johnson was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association's "Coach of the Year" in 1995 and was Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2005.

Johnson said he was approached last fall by board members Jeff Wampler and Rick Stephens about taking the Y job but wouldn't make a definite commitment until wrestling season was over.

The toughest thing about taking the job, he said, was telling his wrestlers he was leaving.

That came during a brief team meeting Monday afternoon.

"The hardest thing about making the move was looking the young men in the eyes and seeing the hurt in their eyes. I saw some hurt. I saw some disappointment," Johnson said, adding he thanked his athletes for their efforts. "Then I turned the meeting over to (UI Athletic Director) Ron Guenther and walked out because I was starting to get emotional."

Tim Johnson said Mark Johnson - who is a longtime acquaintance but no relation - was the first name to come up during the search process and the only candidate the Y board really considered.

He praised the wrestling coach for his leadership qualities, stressing the board was looking more for a leader than someone well-versed in the YMCA system.

Johnson said he hadn't tired of coaching wrestling, but called it a young man's sport.

"I'm one of the older coaches, and I'm only 53," he said.
"I've been looking a while to possibly get out of coaching," he added. "I'm an intense guy. There's only so much energy you can have after coaching wrestling over 30 years."

Mark Johnson said he hasn't been a member of the local Y, but early in life, he worked out and trained at the Upper Rock Island YMCA in Moline. That's where he met his wife, Linda, who was working there at the time.

Mark Johnson said he doesn't know exactly how much the Champaign County YMCA will need to raise or when it's likely to move to the new facility.

"I told the board I'll help you do whatever you want me to do," he said. "We haven't talked about specific numbers. Obviously we want a quality Y for this area, so it will take a good amount of money."

As for a schedule, Johnson said, "we haven't talked about timelines and datelines, when the money needs to be in the bank or when the first shovel(ful) needs to be dug. ... I think all those decisions will be made in the coming months."

Last fall, the Champaign County YMCA named a new board of directors and agreed to merge with Larkin's Place, which aims to provide recreational facilities for those with disabilities.

When the merger was announced, the YMCA expanded the size of its proposed new facility on Windsor Road, east of Staley Road, to 80,000 square feet. The projected cost also doubled to about $20 million. The Y has until the end of 2010 to move out of its building at 500 W. Church St., C.

"When the new board took over with the new vision for rebuilding the YMCA, we knew the most important thing was leadership," said Tim Johnson, who once served as CEO of a YMCA in Wichita, Kan.

Tim Johnson said having both a chief executive officer and chief operating officer will mean greater expense for the Champaign County YMCA, but he said "visionary board members" are covering the expense. He said he's known Mark Johnson since 1980, when both were involved in wrestling in Iowa.

Mark Johnson's wife, Linda, is a physical education teacher at St. Matthew's School in Champaign. They have two daughters: Tricia, who works in community relations for the Tampa Bay Rays, and Mackey, a physical education teacher at Franklin Middle School in Champaign.

Johnson said he feels he has strong interpersonal skills and is good at building relationships.

"I'm a competitive guy, and I look at this as a challenge," he said. "I know I can get this Y built."