At the end of the season last year, the Boxing Club at Iowa State produced four All-Americans. Three weeks ago, the club won five out of its six fights in the first Midwest Invitational that has taken place at Iowa State in years.

Here are three reasons why every Iowa Stater should be paying attention to the club boxing team:

1. College boxing is making a comeback

A great resurgence in college boxing has taken place recently.

Boxing hit a low point in 1960, when the NCAA removed it after a boxer at the University of Wisconsin died. Since then, boxing’s popularity has slowly started to return, specifically in the club scene. 

The rise in notoriety hasn’t gone unnoticed. In September 2015, the Wall Street Journal ran an article by Rachel Bachman that discussed how boxing was making a comeback in the college arena.

2. The team itself is riddled with talent

Iowa State had four All-Americans in boxing last year.

One of the four, Olivia Meyer, is a two-time national champion. Another team member, Daniel Megel, was recognized as the Midwest regional champion.

Unfortunately, two of the four boxers are not competing this year because of varying reasons. However, the club is still just as good and teeming with talent — so much so that it will send five boxers to regionals next week.

Sophomore boxer Sekou Mtayari knows exactly where the success comes from and why the club will continue to be successful.

“We’re a tight-knit group and we hold each other accountable to do well,” Mtayari said. “We’ve put a lot of sacrifice in, so I think we can probably take it all in our weight divisions [at regionals].”

3. Iowa State’s Boxing Club competes at the highest level

Just like how Alabama holds an iron grip on the elite title in college football, the military schools — Army, Navy, Air Force, etc. — hold fast to this title in the realm of collegiate boxing.

Iowa State’s club boxing team isn’t afraid of a challenge; it aims to break the military schools’ monopoly in the collegiate boxing sphere.

The high level of skill is the result of a multitude of components. One major aspect is that members are required to engage in brigade bouts. A brigade bout is where each brigade, about 1,500 to 4,000 soldiers, has a boxing tournament, and a champion from each brigade is decided.

The winner from each brigade is added to their boxing team. Essentially, the best fighters from every branch of our military gather in one extraordinarily adept team.

“One of the coaches for the Coastguard Academy said we were one of the toughest civilian schools they’ve gone up against,” ISU boxing coach Jon Swanson said about the talent of Iowa State’s Boxing Club.