Chris Bono, who built the South Dakota State University wrestling program to national prominence, stepped down Saturday to accept the head coaching position at the University of Wisconsin.

In his six seasons at SDSU, Bono coached 24 NCAA qualifiers and five All-Americans. He also led the Jackrabbits to a 64-41 dual record that included four consecutive winning seasons and a 22-3 mark against Big 12 Conference foes since joining the league at the start of the 2015-16 season. SDSU was a fixture in the national rankings each of the last three seasons, rising to as high as No. 12 this past season.

The 2017-18 campaign was the most successful under Bono as the Jackrabbits compiled a 14-2 dual record that included a school-record 14 consecutive victories to end the season. SDSU finished third at the Big 12 Championship as Seth Gross and Nate Rotert won individual conference titles. Two weeks later, a program-record seven Jackrabbits competed at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and posted a 12th-place finish. Gross became SDSU’s first national champion at the D-I level by winning the 133-pound crown, with Luke Zilverberg (157) and David Kocer (174) also earning All-America honors