Bio

Nick Ackerman’s is one of the most inspiring stories in NCAA History. Despite losing his legs due to bacterial meningitis as a baby, Ackerman went on to win the 2001 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship at 174 pounds for the Storm. His win over heavily-favored Nick Slack of Augsburg was voted the No. 1 Most Dramatic Championship Victory in NCAA History by NCAA Champion Magazine in 2008. The third national champion from Simpson, Ackerman earned the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Medal of Courage and in 2001 became the first – and only – Division III wrestler to win the Hodge Award, given to the outstanding college wrestler of the year. Ackerman graduated from Simpson with bachelor’s degree in environmental science before attending Northwestern from 2003-04, where he became a certified prosthetist. Ackerman works as the Director of Prosthetics at American Prosthetics and Orthotics in Davenport, Iowa, a position he has held since 2001. He and his wife Rachel and their sons Mason (2) and Gray (6 months) reside in LeClare, Iowa.