University of Lynchburg

Vinny Barber was announced to be the Lynchburg head men's wrestling coach in April 2025. Barber brings extensive wrestling experience to Lynchburg, with a rich background in coaching and competition. Since September 2018, he has served as a coach for both the men’s and women’s wrestling programs at the University of the Ozarks in Arkansas, where he began as an assistant coach before being promoted to head coach after four years.

Under Barber’s leadership, the Eagles enjoyed notable success, including nine NWCA Academic All-Americans, seven NCAA D3 National Qualifiers, and 13 Conference Champions. He also coached the University’s first All-American in any sport as well as winning the first Conference Championships in Program History. He led the men’s team to victory in the 2024 as the 2025 SLIAC Team Conference Championship. His staff was awarded the SLIAC Coaching Staff of the Year in 2025 and Ozarks was awarded the Conference Wrestler of the Year. The Eagles also had their best performance at the Regional Championships in 2025 scoring a program high 77 points along with 7 All-Region Wrestlers and one NCAA D3 National Qualifier. He led Ozarks to their first ever National Tournament Ranking in 2019 and their first ever National Dual Meet Ranking in 2025.

During Barber’s tenure, the Eagles also saw improvements off the mats.  In the 2024-2025 season his team was recognized as an NWCA Scholar All-American Team when they finished 22nd across all NCAA Division 3 Wrestling Teams with a 3.541 Team GPA.
In addition to his role at the University of the Ozarks, Barber has been the owner and coach of River Valley Wrestling Club-501c3 since 2018. There, he oversaw daily operations for USA Wrestling, designed training plans for club athletes, and competed in Olympic-style competitions at both age-level and senior-level events. The River Valley Wrestling Club helped develop 13 U-23 All Americans and an Olympic Trials Qualifier.

Before transitioning into coaching, Barber worked as an associate content producer for FloWrestling, where he contributed articles, edited video content for wrestling events nationwide, and served as a play-by-play commentator for live-streamed events. He also created weekly podcasts, studio shows, and led marketing and promotional efforts for wrestling events.

Barber was a collegiate wrestler at SUNY Oneonta and Centenary College in New Jersey, both NCAA Division III programs. He earned over 50 wins and 35 college falls at SUNY Oneonta, leading the Red Dragons in pins during his sophomore season. A native of Highland, New York, Barber graduated from the University of the Ozarks with a bachelor’s degree in communications in 2019.