National Duals Qualifications announced

[feet2back]

 

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 2, 2025) – The National Duals Invitational, a groundbreaking $1 million collegiate wrestling event sponsored byPaycom, has announced the qualification process for the inaugural 16-team bracket. Featuring top programs from across the country, this high-stakes tournament will bring together elite competition and unprecedented prize money to the BOK Center in Tulsa this fall.
Automatic entry will be awarded to the top 12 teams in the final 2025 NCAA Division I standings: Penn State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, Cornell, NC State, Northern Iowa, Illinois, Virginia Tech and Michigan. To secure their spots, these 12 teams must complete their participation agreements by April 15. Final teams will be listed on the website as they are confirmed.
“While we know this is not an accurate representation of dual team rankings, we believe it will ensure that the event features some of the best competition in the country,” said Matt Surber, Tournament Director. “I’m excited to see additional participation as we grow the sport of wrestling.”
The remaining spots will be filled through a random drawing on April 24 from teams that finished 13-24 in the NCAA standings. The teams competing for these final spots are Purdue, Missouri, Lehigh, Pennsylvania, Little Rock, Arizona State, Stanford, West Virginia, Navy, Wyoming, South Dakota State, Indiana, Maryland and Oregon State.
The premier 16-team event will feature a total purse of more than $1 million. The top eight teams will earn payouts, with the winning squad walking away with $200,000. The second- and third-place teams will earn $150,000, while fourth place earns $75,000. Fifth through eighth place payouts will be: $50,000, $40,000, $25,000, and $20,000, respectively. All participating teams will receive $20,000 for attending.
Thirty-four-time NCAA champion Oklahoma State will serve as the host school.
This event will be held at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., on Nov. 15-16. Learn more at nationaldualsinvitational.com.

[bnwtwg]

Carl must hate Paycom so much. First it poached his golden goose and now they're bringing back the national duals with big baller financial prizes.

[BigRedFan]

Cornell wrestling social media just now:

"We'll see you in November in Tulsa!"

[ionel]

Carl just now.

[swoopdown]

I'm conditionally dropping my resistance to a dual championship.  The conditions for my support:

• Athlete eligibility be limited to the 30 man folkstyle rosters at the start of the season
• Occur after the NCAA championship 
• Be freestyle 
• Qualifying events held at RTC locations
• If a box is available I get it and catered food of my choice free of charge.

I'm pretty sure I can get Cael to agree to my terms, but only if Ryder rejoins the team.  It's all on Ryder now.

Edited Thursday at 06:02 PM by swoopdown

[ionel]

2 hours ago, swoopdown said:

 

• Athlete eligibility be limited to the 30 man folkstyle rosters at the start of the season
• Occur after the NCAA championship 
• Be freestyle 
• Qualifying events held at RTC locations
• If a box is available I get it and catered food of my choice free of charge.

   Chad Richison says

 

[ionel]

On 4/2/2025 at 2:13 PM, ionel said:

Carl just now.

“It’s sad that we think we have to have the National Duals to create a big event. I mean, we have a lot of really exciting teams, a lot of programs. So does that have to be at the National Duals? That just seems to be the mentality that they’re coming back [to] and it resurfaces all the time. I think there’s obviously some merit to the idea, but it’s just kind of like a broken record.”

[swoopdown]

4 hours ago, ionel said:

   Chad Richison says

 

the problem with billionaires is that they have money 

[MPhillips]

2 hours ago, ionel said:

" I think there’s obviously some merit to the idea, but it’s just kind of like a broken record.”

[Pinnacle]

The Paycom duals.

[Pin Head]

23 hours ago, ionel said:

“It’s sad that we think we have to have the National Duals to create a big event. I mean, we have a lot of really exciting teams, a lot of programs. So does that have to be at the National Duals? That just seems to be the mentality that they’re coming back [to] and it resurfaces all the time. I think there’s obviously some merit to the idea, but it’s just kind of like a broken record.”

They have until the 15th to reply yes or no. Seems like a lot of external pressure for a yes. The field will be top heavy with Big Ten teams. Is there latitude in the Big Ten schedule to skip a team they may meet in the duals?  Some match ups like Mesenbrink vs. Caliendo four times in one year is a bit much. They could also send their B-Team/Redshirt roster to the duals, a formidable squad, and what if they win?