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OSU WRESTLING | National Duals Invitational
sweet surprise and another important event for the Tulsa market.
It was announced on Tuesday, by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, that Tulsa’s BOK Center is the site of the inaugural, Oklahoma State-hosted National Duals Invitational, scheduled for Nov. 15-16 (a Saturday and Sunday).
It’s a big football weekend.
OU visits Alabama.
OSU’s Big 12 schedule has not been finalized, but the Cowboys quite likely play that weekend.
The University of Tulsa has an interesting curveball of a nonconference home game as Oregon State visits on Nov. 15. Because of the demise of the Pac-12, Oregon State for the time being plays a patchwork football schedule.
Also that weekend: the Oklahoma prep football postseason gets under way. That Sunday, of course, Tulsa televisions will glow with a full slate of NFL telecasts.
So, there will be football, football and more football, but every seat in the BOK Center will be occupied for the 16-team National Duals Invitational.
There should be a first-day arena capacity of about 15,000, when the arena floor is covered with mats. When there are fewer mats on Sunday, the capacity swells to about 18,000.
There will be a Saturday sellout and a Sunday sellout. You can bank on it.
There will be high-end entertainment and there will be fans from all over the country.
For the athletes, there will be a lucrative experience.
For some, very lucrative.
In yet another example of NIL having been a massive game-changer, a generous Paycom sponsorship results in $200,000 to be shared by members of the winning team, $150,000 each for the second- and third-place team athletes, $75,000 for the fourth-place team members and at least $20,000 for the wrestlers of each remaining team.
Southern Hills hosted the 2021 Senior PGA Championship, the 2022 PGA Championship and 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur, while Broken Arrow’s Cedar Ridge Country Club was the site of a 2023 LIV golf tournament that most attendees really enjoyed.
As the BOK Center has scored the 2025 National Duals, Tulsa has a fifth consecutive sports calendar that includes a big-ticket event — the type that resonates far beyond the Tulsa city limits.
Bundling the BOK Center’s longstanding relationship with the Big 12 Wrestling Championship, the arena’s successful hosting of the 2023 NCAA Championship and the prevalence of elite youth tournaments, Tulsa is a certifiably hot market for American amateur wrestling.
Most local sports-minded people probably have no clue about the economic-impact strength of Tulsa’s World of Wrestling youth series.
In November, the Kickoff Classic attracted 2,000 competing kids and an average daily attendance of 5,000 to the Expo Square Pavilion.
Concluded last weekend at the Pavilion, the Tulsa Nationals involved 2,250 young wrestlers from 45 states and had a multi-session average daily attendance of 6,750.
In March, there is the National Youth Duals at the Cox Business Center. The expected numbers: 1,000 wrestlers, ages 15 and under; and a daily attendance of about 3,000.
The Big 12 Wrestling Championship has been a Tulsa staple since 2017, and the BOK Center has a contract to keep it through 2028.
In 2028, in case you might have forgotten, Tulsa for the ninth time is a first-weekend site for NCAA Tournament men’s basketball. In 1974, 1975, 1978, 1982 and 1985, NCAA games were played at Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center. The BOK Center was a March Madness venue in 2011, 2017 and 2019.
Before the 2023 NCAA Championship at the BOK Center, longtime Oklahoma State wrestling figure, coach and administrator Dave Martin said, “The people who attend this event are coming here because they really love wrestling and they’re knowledgeable about it. Let me tell you three things that wrestling people like to do.
“No. 1, they like to watch wrestling.
“No. 2, they like to drink beer.
“No. 3, they like to gamble.”
“Tulsa is a great place (for amateur wrestling),” Martin said. “I’m serious.”
The 2023 NCAA Championships had a serious impact on the Tulsa economy: a $16.5 million impact.
As many of the same fans who were here for NCAA wrestling will be back for the Nov. 15-16 National Duals Invitational, Tulsa’s reputation as a hot wrestling market is fortified.
“You throw some money (for the participants) on top of it, and it’s really exciting,” Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Dresser said. “We love to go to Tulsa. We don’t care who the heck we wrestle.”
OSU WRESTLING | National Duals Invitational
Bill Haisten: National Duals event makes Tulsa an even hotter wrestling market
- Jan 22, 2025 Updated 23 hrs ago
Bill Haisten
Tulsa World Sports Columnist & Writersweet surprise and another important event for the Tulsa market.
It was announced on Tuesday, by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, that Tulsa’s BOK Center is the site of the inaugural, Oklahoma State-hosted National Duals Invitational, scheduled for Nov. 15-16 (a Saturday and Sunday).
It’s a big football weekend.
OU visits Alabama.
OSU’s Big 12 schedule has not been finalized, but the Cowboys quite likely play that weekend.
The University of Tulsa has an interesting curveball of a nonconference home game as Oregon State visits on Nov. 15. Because of the demise of the Pac-12, Oregon State for the time being plays a patchwork football schedule.
Also that weekend: the Oklahoma prep football postseason gets under way. That Sunday, of course, Tulsa televisions will glow with a full slate of NFL telecasts.
So, there will be football, football and more football, but every seat in the BOK Center will be occupied for the 16-team National Duals Invitational.
There should be a first-day arena capacity of about 15,000, when the arena floor is covered with mats. When there are fewer mats on Sunday, the capacity swells to about 18,000.
There will be a Saturday sellout and a Sunday sellout. You can bank on it.
There will be high-end entertainment and there will be fans from all over the country.
For the athletes, there will be a lucrative experience.
For some, very lucrative.
In yet another example of NIL having been a massive game-changer, a generous Paycom sponsorship results in $200,000 to be shared by members of the winning team, $150,000 each for the second- and third-place team athletes, $75,000 for the fourth-place team members and at least $20,000 for the wrestlers of each remaining team.
Southern Hills hosted the 2021 Senior PGA Championship, the 2022 PGA Championship and 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur, while Broken Arrow’s Cedar Ridge Country Club was the site of a 2023 LIV golf tournament that most attendees really enjoyed.
As the BOK Center has scored the 2025 National Duals, Tulsa has a fifth consecutive sports calendar that includes a big-ticket event — the type that resonates far beyond the Tulsa city limits.
Bundling the BOK Center’s longstanding relationship with the Big 12 Wrestling Championship, the arena’s successful hosting of the 2023 NCAA Championship and the prevalence of elite youth tournaments, Tulsa is a certifiably hot market for American amateur wrestling.
Most local sports-minded people probably have no clue about the economic-impact strength of Tulsa’s World of Wrestling youth series.
In November, the Kickoff Classic attracted 2,000 competing kids and an average daily attendance of 5,000 to the Expo Square Pavilion.
Concluded last weekend at the Pavilion, the Tulsa Nationals involved 2,250 young wrestlers from 45 states and had a multi-session average daily attendance of 6,750.
In March, there is the National Youth Duals at the Cox Business Center. The expected numbers: 1,000 wrestlers, ages 15 and under; and a daily attendance of about 3,000.
The Big 12 Wrestling Championship has been a Tulsa staple since 2017, and the BOK Center has a contract to keep it through 2028.
In 2028, in case you might have forgotten, Tulsa for the ninth time is a first-weekend site for NCAA Tournament men’s basketball. In 1974, 1975, 1978, 1982 and 1985, NCAA games were played at Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center. The BOK Center was a March Madness venue in 2011, 2017 and 2019.
Before the 2023 NCAA Championship at the BOK Center, longtime Oklahoma State wrestling figure, coach and administrator Dave Martin said, “The people who attend this event are coming here because they really love wrestling and they’re knowledgeable about it. Let me tell you three things that wrestling people like to do.
“No. 1, they like to watch wrestling.
“No. 2, they like to drink beer.
“No. 3, they like to gamble.”
“Tulsa is a great place (for amateur wrestling),” Martin said. “I’m serious.”
The 2023 NCAA Championships had a serious impact on the Tulsa economy: a $16.5 million impact.
As many of the same fans who were here for NCAA wrestling will be back for the Nov. 15-16 National Duals Invitational, Tulsa’s reputation as a hot wrestling market is fortified.
“You throw some money (for the participants) on top of it, and it’s really exciting,” Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Dresser said. “We love to go to Tulsa. We don’t care who the heck we wrestle.”
