How Wyatt Hendrickson's NCAA upset created momentum for new National Duals Invitational
Jenni CarlsonThe Oklahoman
Matt Surber was headed to the family’s farm south of Tuttle a week or so ago when he made a quick stop at a hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop gas station.
His Oklahoma State wrestling shirt caught the clerk’s attention.
“Oklahoma State wrestling,” the cashier said. “Man, that heavyweight, that’s crazy, right?”
The clerk was referring to Wyatt Hendrickson, the Cowboy wrestler who knocked off Olympic gold medalist and Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson in the finals at the NCAA Championships.
The upset sent shockwaves not only around wrestling but also beyond.
And no one is happier about that than Surber.
The former Tuttle High School wrestling coach turned school principal is also the tournament director for the National Duals Invitational, the new college wrestling tournament set to debut later this year at the BOK Center in Tulsa. It’s the brainchild of Chad Richison, the Paycom founder, and the tournament's $1 million purse has turned heads.
Even though Surber had high hopes for the event from the start, he believes the surge in wrestling interest since Hendrickson’s monumental win could make the tournament even bigger.
“I know it’s sheer circumstance,” Surber said, “but it’s going to benefit us in pushing this because there are a lot of eyes on wrestling.”
The National Duals Invitational wants to add even more eyes.
That’s been the goal since Richison started talking about launching a college event a year ago. He grew up wrestling in Tuttle and credits the sport for helping shape his character and his path. He has long been an advocate for wrestling.
When he started talking to Surber, who got to know Richison through Tuttle wrestling, the goal was to generate buzz and enthusiasm.
“We’ve got the big event. We’ve got the NCAAs,” Surber said. “But most people would say that the dual setting, the dual format, the team setting of that is what’s most attractive to fans.”
Two teams. Head to head. Cue the drama.
Once upon a time, the National Duals provided that format, but over the years, the participation of the biggest and best major college programs dwindled.
Richison wanted to bring back a dual tournament that would draw the top teams.
No better way to lure them than with money.
With Richison’s company, Paycom, sponsoring the event, the winning team in November will go home with $200,000. The top eight finishers will win prize money, and because every team will receive $20,000, travel costs should be covered.
Surber hopes the payouts and the chance to face top-quality competition will lure premier programs.
Then the hope is for those programs to lure fans to the event. Some may go to the BOK Center and attend in person. Others may watch on TV; details for streaming the early-round duals are still being ironed out, but the finals will be broadcast on ESPNU.
The momentum behind wrestling right now should only help drive interest. Surber believes the inaugural year has a chance to be great and the event has a chance to only get better.
“Chad and Paycom have made a commitment to continue it year after year,” Surber said, “and we expect it to grow.”
The National Duals Invitational hopes to create its own momentum, too.
“One of the great things is money made off of this tournament … will be put into the purse money,” Surber said. “We are not in it to make any money, so if we make an extra $500,000 this year, we plan to put it all in the purse money.”
Who knows where that could drive the payouts. Maybe the winning team gets a quarter of a million next year. Perhaps in a few years that number rises to half a million.
That might not make the National Duals Invitational bigger than NCAAs, but it could be a formula for big success.
Surber believes so fully in what the National Duals Invitational could mean for wrestling that he added the tournament director duties to an already full plate. Being a high school principal takes up a lot of time. Same for the boards and groups he’s part of.
ut Surber is energized by the possibilities of this new event.
And that clerk at the mom-and-pop gas station a few weeks ago was a reminder of that.
“I promise you that cashier has never talked about wrestling,” Surber said with a smile.
The National Duals Invitational wasn’t born out of the buzz created by Wyatt Hendrickson’s upset of Gable Steveson, but there's an undeniable wave of momentum right now.
Matt Surber is happy to ride it.
