A first-of-its-kind college wrestling event happening next fall in Tulsa has announced the criteria for its qualification process.
The National Duals Invitational, a $1 million event created by Chad Richison and sponsored by his corporation, Paycom, will feature 16 of the top programs in the nation. That starts with automatic entry for the top 12 teams in last month’s NCAA Championships. Those teams are: Penn State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, Cornell, North Carolina State, Northern Iowa, Illinois, Virginia Tech and Michigan.
Teams must complete a participation agreement by April 15 to secure a spot in the National Duals Invitational. Once a team is confirmed, it will be listed on the tournament’s website, nationaldualsinvitational.com.
The remaining four spots in the tournament will be filled by a drawing on April 24. Teams that finished 13th to 24th at NCAAs are eligible for the drawing. Those teams are: Purdue, Missouri, Lehigh, Penn, Arkansas-Little Rock, Arizona State, Stanford, West Virginia, Navy, Wyoming, South Dakota State, Indiana, Maryland and Oregon State.
“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,” National Duals Invitational tournament director Matt Surber said in a release. “I’m excited to see additional participation as we grow the sport of wrestling.”
The $1 million in prize money will be split among the teams, all of which receive $20,000 for participating. Additionally, the top-eight finishers will earn payouts with the winner getting $200,000.
The National Dual Invitational will be held November 15 and 16 at BOK Center.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NCAA wrestling National Duals Invitational announces eligible teams
