(Photo courtesy of Tulsa athletics)OU is headed for the SEC, which leads to some uncertainty about their future in wrestling as the conference doesn't sponsor the sport.
Though there is a chance they could stay as an affiliate in the Big 12, most don't expect the conference will allow that.
In a unique chain of events, it looks like there is at least some level of a possibility that the conference could have a replacement in the city that hosts their tournament.
The University of Tulsa has publicly stated that they are looking to potentially add sports to grow their enrollment. Wrestling has been a sport that's been successfully used to do that in recent years, especially at the smaller college level.
Most reading this know enough of the sport to understand why this could make sense. Oklahoma has been a traditional power historically on all levels of wrestling; they would have easy scheduling with Oklahoma State and Oklahoma and would quickly develop a fanbase comparable to many other wrestling programs.
But ultimately starting a new program takes a lot of things. Funding being a huge piece, and this early in the conversation would certainly be a bit of an unknown. But buy-in from the administration is just as if not more important than the funding piece.
The Senior Associate Athletic Director for Tulsa is Dr. Brian Scislo. To say Scislo knows wrestling would be an understatement.
The following is from Scislo's bio on the University of Tulsa website.
"Scislo came to Tulsa following two years as a senior staff assistant in the office of the Director of Athletics at the University of Notre Dame.
Before that, Scislo spent three years at Ohio University as an assistant wrestling coach while pursuing his master's degree in business administration in 2004 and sports administration in 2005.
He earned his bachelor's degree in comprehensive social studies and political science from the University of Findlay (Ohio) in 2002. Scislo was a member of the wrestling team where he was a three-time All-American and two-time Academic All-America selection."
You don't get to Scislo's position by doing things that are not best for the university you work for, but it's hard not to think that Scislo's familiarity with the sport and knowledge on how to develop a program could play a role in the decision making on what programs they may add.
Further, the President of the University of Tulsa even seems open to the idea.
Brad Carson Tweeted that he read the initial story suggesting wrestling as an option.
Read, acknowledged, interesting.
�" Brad Carson (@bradrcarson) August 20, 2021
He later Tweeted this about his communication with the wrestling community since the initial announcement that they may add another sport.
I just want to say that I've heard from so many in the wrestling community over the last two days that, well, it is pretty amazing. You guys (and many women) are an impressive impressive group of advocates for what is indeed an incredible sport!
�" Brad Carson (@bradrcarson) August 21, 2021
Ultimately who knows how seriously the university is considering wrestling? Wrestling could be very much in play for Tulsa, or it could be an afterthought and they're simply humoring our sports' rowdy fanbase, who are obviously very excited at the prospect of a new wrestling program. But this warm reception is certainly a positive sign and if they add the sport, Tulsa could be the program that replaces OU if the conference holds together after their exit.
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