Takedown Report

Could College Wrestling’s National Duals Invitational Go on Without Penn State?

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson didn’t exactly endorse the idea of a national duals tournament. But it’s coming to the 2025 college wrestling schedule.
A major college wrestling duals tournament will be introduced in 2025, one that will feature more than $1 million in prize money and is being called a “game-changer” for NCAA Division I wrestling. The big question is: Will Penn State compete?
Oklahoma State announced Tuesday the creation of the National Duals Invitational, a two-day team event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that will showcase some of college wrestling’s top teams. The event, sponsored by Paycom and with Oklahoma State acting as the host school, is scheduled to bring 16 college wrestling teams to Tulsa’s BOK Center on Nov. 15-16, 2025. The champion claims a $200,000 prize, certainly a unique enticement to bring in the nation’s best teams. However, Penn State might not be one of them.
The top-ranked Nittany Lions, who have won 64 consecutive dual matches and are pursuing their 12th NCAA team title under head coach Cael Sanderson, don’t appear yet to be preparing for the event. At least according to Sanderson, who discussed the proposal for a national duals at his weekly media session Monday. “I saw that coming around again,” Sanderson told reporters in State College. “I mean, they have somebody that’s trying to host the event down in Oklahoma. I think that’s just kind of always been what people think the answer is the national duals. I don’t really feel any differently now than I do about it 10 years ago, right? I mean, I think you can create a big event without including every team in the country, right?”
Sanderson was asked Monday about Oklahoma State coach David Taylor’s recent comments to FloWrestling regarding a proposed national duals event. Taylor promoted the idea, saying that a national duals tournament would benefit college wrestling. “As we move forward, we have to figure out ways we can continue to market our teams, our programs and the guys that are on the mat. That’s the future,” Taylor told FloWrestling. “I think having both sets a good schedule. I think it’s something the kids will look forward to, the programs will look forward to. But I don’t want to move away from the national championship being decided as it is. But I do think National Duals would be great for wrestling.” … more at … https://www.si.com/college/pennstate/wrestling/could-college-wrestling-s-national-duals-invitational-go-on-without-penn-state-01jj540z5edb
And …

Oklahoma State Coach David Taylor Thrilled For National Duals In Tulsa
Oklahoma State wrestling coach David Taylor teased the idea of an early-season national dual tournament. A week later, the event was revealed.
Oklahoma State coach David Taylor posted a Jan. 14 message on X  suggesting the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s National Duals should return to the college wrestling calendar with an early-season date featuring the top-ranked teams in the country. 
Speak and you shall receive, coach. 
One week later, Flowrestling and Oklahoma State announced the National Duals Invitational, sponsored by Paycom. It’s a massive attempt at advancing the popularity of the sport, especially in the region, with Tulsa tabbed as the host city. With the November 15-16 date, it will provide valuable early-season incentives that will undoubtedly benefit every participating program — exactly what Taylor envisions. “I think it’s something coaches, athletic directors, wrestlers, are going to be really excited to be a part of,” Taylor said. “And then the way the money can be split up, coaches can decide how they want to do that. If they want to put it in their foundation, if they want to focus on NIL, there’s a lot of needs in college wrestling right now. [We’re] just being creative on how we can grow wrestling and create exciting events.” The 16-team field will vie for a purse worth more than $1 million. Each team will receive $20,000 for participating and the top eight squads will receive additional payouts between $20,000 and $200,000.  Any wrestling program could benefit from the financial gain, national spotlight and early-season litmus tests between wrestlers, some of whom otherwise might not meet until March. 
But perhaps most importantly, it gives Division I wrestling the much-discussed regular-season, marquee dual tournament a large segment of the community has been clamoring for in recent years.  “This is an event that programs and fans can get really excited about,” Taylor said. “It’s early, it gives people something to put on their calendar, you can schedule around it how you want to. I think it’s going to be something that can be a part of really growing our sport. People are really excited about it.”
Taylor said he’s already had people call and tell him their hotels are booked and they’re just waiting on the lineups to be finalized.  College wrestling leaders have discussed the duals since the NWCA’s Division I National Duals dissolved in 2011. That event regularly attracted top teams for an early-January bracketed event, but coaches haven’t been able to form a consensus on when, where and how to make a similar event work. … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13551050-oklahoma-state-coach-david-taylor-thrilled-for-national-duals-in-tulsa
And …

College wrestling gets boost from new $1 million National Duals Invitational
Chad Richison has long been a fierce proponent of wrestling, encouraging new initiatives and funding different projects. But now, the Paycom founder and CEO is launching a first-of-its-kind college wrestling event in his home state. The inaugural National Duals Invitational, sponsored by Richison’s Paycom, will be held Nov. 15-16 at Tulsa’s BOK Center with a total purse of more than $1 million.
Yes, a purse for a college wrestling tournament.
National Wrestling Coaches Association executive director Mike Moyer calls the new event a game changer. “Due to the unprecedented challenges in NCAA Division I athletics today,” he said in a release, “it is more imperative than ever to have more big moments in intercollegiate wrestling so we can substantially grow our fan base and viewership.”
Half of the squads in the 16-team event, which OSU will serve as the host school for, will earn payouts with the winning team taking home $200,000. Second and third will earn $150,000, fourth $75,000 while fifth through eighth earns between $50,000 and $20,000.
Each team will receive $20,000 just for participating. 

Funding of that magnitude is rare in college sports outside of football and basketball. And they may continue to be the big winners when revenue sharing kicks in — possibly even pushing schools to drop sports or sports to be cut entirely.
Wrestling is one of the sports with an unknown future, and that was the case before this current shift of the landscape. Over the past 50 years, the number of Division I programs has almost been cut in half, from 155 in 1975 to 79 this season, according to FloWrestling. … more at … https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/2025/01/21/ncaa-wrestling-national-duals-invitational-paycom-chad-richison-million-dollar-payout/77843340007/

January 28, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | news, sports, wrestling