Catching up with Former Hawkeye Brooks Simpson

Brooks Simpson hears about his big moment in Iowa wrestling lore quite a bit. Take a recent Johnston County I-Club meeting, where the all-American-turned-preacher led a prayer.
Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz was there, too. “He turned and said, ‘I was at that wrestling match against Iowa State in 1988, and it was the single greatest sporting event I’ve seen in Iowa City,’” Simpson recalled.
In case you’re not familiar: Top-ranked Iowa State was visiting No. 4 Iowa on Jan. 16, 1988, and the Cyclones were threatening the Hawkeyes’ 43-match home winning streak. Iowa State had a big lead and defending NCAA champion Eric Voelker up against Simpson, a sophomore, at 190 pounds. Simpson fell behind 6-1 but pinned Voelker at 4:46 for a momentum-shifting win. Iowa took the match 22-15.
Simpson went on to win a Big Ten Conference title in 1990 and now is the preaching pastor at Grace Community Church in North Liberty, where he lives with his wife and two children.
How did you get into preaching?
I had never been to church in my life until my third year at Iowa. I started coming to church, the same one (three-time national champion Hawkeye wrestler) Barry Davis attended. I eventually became a Christian. Out of school, I was a teacher – taught science, chemistry and physics – and coach. ... I love to teach and coach, but the coaching I do now – I look at it this way: I teach people how to wrestle with real life issues.
Are you still involved with wrestling?
I still go to the meets when they’re in Iowa City. But this is a young man’s sport. I’d just end up getting hurt. My insurance doesn’t cover stupidity.
What do you think of current coach Tom Brands, who you went to school with?
I think Tom is doing a phenominal job. Tom has one speed, and it’s intense and it’s all the time. I’m proud of Tommy, I think he’s doing a great job. He’s a great ambassador for the sport
Do any of your parishioners remember or talk about your wrestling days?
I get that all the time. A lot of people that are my age or older, they remember back in the day. It’s a cult sport with a tight fanbase. The fans know the sport. We have wrestlers who attend the church, too. It’s a great wrestling town. They wrestle here, they stay here.