Bio

Rich Wenner is a 1986 ASU alumnus receiving his BS degree in Physical Education and his MS degree in Exercise and Wellness from ASU in 2009. Wenner has been a sports performance coach for nearly four decades at ASU. After serving as an Assistant Strength Coach from 1987- 1995, Wenner served as the Head Strength Coach from 1995-2000 where he was named the Pac-10 Strength Coach of the Year in 1996. 

Wenner was the Head Strength Coach of Olympic Sports from 2000 until 2003 when he took the title of Associate Head Sports Performance Coach. In 2005 the National Strength and Conditioning Association named Wenner as an Elite Strength and Conditioning Coach through its Coach Practitioner Program, a distinguished list of only 32 coaches across the United States and around the world. In 2018 he was once again promoted to Head Sports Performance Coach of Olympic Sports.

Wenner is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA, NSCA Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach Emeritus, level 1 certified coach through USA Weightlifting, level 1 Precision Nutrition certified and Bioforce Certified Conditioning Coach. Wenner has authored half a dozen strength training articles and was a guest speaker at the 1988 NSCA National Conference.

During his three-plus decades at ASU, Wenner has worked with 4 NCAA Championship teams, 15 individual NCAA Champions, 30 Pac-10/12 championship teams, 210 Pac-10/12 individual champions and All-Pac-10/12 first team selections and 204 First Team All-Americans. Some of these teams include the 1997 Rose Bowl team, 1988 Wrestling National Championship team, the 1988 and 1998 College Baseball World Series Championship game teams and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Elite Eight teams in 2007 and 2009.

Wenner is a 15-time national powerlifting champion, having competed in 35 national and international competitions. Wenner was the 1986 IPF Junior World Powerlifting Champion as well as the 2014 IPF Master 2 Classic World Champion establishing new world records in the bench press and deadlift for his age group. He has set many American and national powerlifting records including the Collegiate National Powerlifting total record as a member of the 1986 ASU Collegiate National Champion Powerlifting Team, a record which stood for 18 years. Wenner serves as the Head Coach for the Powerlifting America University National Team as well as Cat 2 international referee for the International Powerlifting Federation.

Wenner has been married to his wife Pauley for 31 years.