CLARKSVILLE, TN − Van Stokes, who is in his 26th year on the air with Austin Peay State University sports, is being inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Class of 2025.
“The National Wrestling Hall of Fame is pleased to announce our Class of 2025, a deserving group of individuals are being recognized because of the sustainable values they have contributed to wrestling,” said Lee Roy Smith, executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame said in a news release. “Each of these leaders set the tone and modeled the rituals, skills and work ethic necessary to advance the culture of our great sport’s heritage, both on and off the mat.”
The Hall of Fame’s Board of Governors approved the selections on Oct. 29. The Class of 2025 will be inducted during the 48th Honors Weekend on June 6 and 7 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Within the class, the Order of Merit is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the sport of wrestling, but who is not an athlete or a coach. This year, the Order of Merit is being awarded to Stokes.
“It’s really a very humbling honor,” Stokes told Clarksville Now.
Stokes’ roles in USA Wrestling
In 1989, Stokes was selected by the U.S. Army to serve as the representative for the Armed Forces on the Board of Directors for USA Wrestling, the release said. He remained in that role, with the exception of one year in 1997, until his retirement from federal service in 2014. He then served six years on the board as chairman of the Greco-Roman Sport Committee before being elected as an at-large member, a role he continues to this day.
Stokes has served as an officer during eight Olympic quads with four terms as treasurer and two terms as both second vice president and secretary. He has also chaired or served on the following USA Wrestling committees: ad hoc bylaws review, ad hoc fee structure review, ethics and membership, executive, finance, freestyle coaches selection, governance, Greco-Roman coaches selection, Greco-Roman Sport, long range planning, and women’s oversight.
Early leader in Army wrestling
Stokes lettered three years as a running back for Marietta College in the NCAA Division III Ohio Athletic Conference from 1967 to 1969, the release said. After serving for two years in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam era, Stokes completed his master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1974. He served as a regional coordinator and assistant chief of Army Sports in Europe from 1976 to 1985 and was responsible for organizing wrestling clinics, conducting championships, officiating competitions, and developing wrestling programs to serve soldiers in Europe.
Stokes became the sports director for the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell in 1985. He established the installation as the home of the All-Army wrestling team and the Armed Forces wrestling championships in 1987. Stokes served as a wrestling team leader for the Armed Forces at seven World Military Championships, held in Croatia, Finland, India, Sicily and Turkey from 1988-2010. He served as a team leader for USA Wrestling at two Cera Pelado Cups in Cuba, a Pan American Games in Argentina, a World Cup in France, a World Championship in Russia, a Takhti Cup and a Habibi & Movahed Cup in Iran from 1992 to 2010.
Stokes on the air, in community
Stokes began working as a sports broadcaster in 1990 and did broadcasts for multiple Olympic-style sports on ESPN, TBS and other networks, the release said. He served as assistant producer for wrestling at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and at the World Championships in 1995 and 2003. Stokes also served as a television announcer for the national broadcasts of the 1995 World Championships, along with numerous other USA Wrestling competitions, including the U.S. Nationals.
For 26 years, Stokes has done color commentary APSU football and Govs baseball play-by-play on ESPN Clarksville, 104.1 FM.
Stokes has served on the Board of Directors for the Fort Campbell Historical Foundation while also being chairperson of the Clarksville Area YMCA and a member of the National Committee for Membership Standards with the YMCA of the USA. He is a certified conflict mediator and a quality adviser who has delivered leadership training and strategic planning sessions with the Army in Europe, Korea, Japan, and various locations in the United States.