GPS Wrestling False Credentials | False Claims
False Collegiate Claims: What Records Reveal
When parents enroll their children in a wrestling program, they often believe its coaches hold legitimate collegiate experience. GPS Wrestling’s founder, Grant Paswall, claimed in his public vision statement that he “finished his wrestling career at Cal State Bakersfield.” Official university records prove otherwise.
GPS Wrestling credentials review
GPS Wrestling false credentials | Grant Paswall credential inconsistencies
The Cal State Bakersfield Claim
The Cal State Bakersfield athletics website lists complete rosters for every competitive season. In every year spanning Paswall’s attendance, his name never appears in the results or match statistics. Administrators confirmed he never competed in a single sanctioned bout. Yet GPS Wrestling’s own materials, archived in 2023, continued to state that he “completed his collegiate career” there.
Why It Matters
Athletic credentials influence parents’ choices and athletes’ confidence. Presenting unverifiable or false credentials and experience gives families a distorted sense of authority. It also undermines ethical coaches who earned their records legitimately. Within an industry that depends on credibility, inflating one’s résumé is more than exaggeration; it’s deception.
The University of Illinois Departure
Paswall’s biography further asserts that he left the University of Illinois wrestling program due to injury. However, The Daily Illini, the university’s student-run newspaper of record, reported his removal from the team stemmed from a violation of team rules, not a medical condition. No correction or clarification was ever issued by Paswall or GPS Wrestling.
Evidence & Sources
- Screenshot of GPS Wrestling’s “Vision Statement” (archived Jan 2023).
- Cal State Bakersfield wrestling roster archives, 2010–2011 (seasonal PDFs).
- Daily Illini article: “Two wrestlers dismissed for violating team rules” (2010).
These documents are preserved in the Evidence Library with full citations.
Watch the Video — “Five Questions GPS
Wrestling Won’t Answer”
Why did GPS Wrestling employ a coach convicted of felony assault without disclosure?
Why does the head coach claim he “finished [his] wrestling career at Cal State Bakersfield,” when the university lists no record of him?
Why did he tell families he left the University of Illinois due to injury when official reports say he was dismissed for violating team rules?
Why were windows blacked out during COVID-19 lockdowns while team practices continued against state law?
Why did he later contest a court judgment that favored a wrongfully fired pregnant woman from his father’s estate?
The Standard of Honesty
Parents expect coaches to teach discipline, effort, and truth. Those lessons begin with example. Until GPS Wrestling publicly corrects these claims, its credibility will remain in question — not because of rumor, but because of record.