National Duals - where does the $ go?
- Thread starter Mattski
- Start date
I’m aware, but the point stands any coverage by espn or other national markets can’t be a bad thing for wrestling. Certainly you agree?
Nothing says grow the sport quite like an event at a high school in Tennessee that's carried by a wrestling video provider.
I believe he was talking about the event that already happened in PA. Unless he's talking about the Collegiate duals and just messed to name up
He specifically said Duals. If he's referring to the Collegiate Classic, held at a high school in PA and again covered by a wrestling media service...even worse.
It could help grow the sport in Tennessee at the youth level. Tennessee only has one DI and two DII schools. Don't know the geography well enough to make an informed decision on location, but a larger venue could help as well.
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Fyi no TV networks want wrestling. Cornhole gets more viewers on ESPN. If ESPN wanted wrestling they would've asked for the whole event last weekend. Also ESPN has lots of wrestling on ESPN+ yet we never see them promote any of it or talk about the results on ESPN.
Flo talks about wrestling daily 365 days a year people can hate all they want but the we gotta be on TV to grow the sport isn't true at all. Wrestling needs to realize it's a niche sport and support those who support wrestling
Has the dual meet mat been replaced recently? In the old cesspool there were complaints about needing a new one.
Tom said in the pre-meet interview the use of funds would be discussed with administrators. I highly doubt there will ever be a public disclosure about the use of these funds.
I'm not sure if you quoted me expecting an answer from me or was just using my post as a frame of reference but I have zero idea; I'm not an Iowa fan nor do I live in the Midwest anymore so if you were asking me I am completely useless to you (and in general to most people).
With Iowa's resources it shouldn't take an event like this to have a high-quality mat for competition.
I've dealt with this for years with powerlifting, an even more niche sport. You can't make the general public watch and love it.
Who cares how much it "grows the sport"? I don't think that was the main goal for the guy. He loves and supports wrestling in Oklahoma. It's not his job to grow the sport and our sport isn't going to ever hit the mainstream. You've got a guy putting up big enough money to bring in all these top teams and give them some money. Sure, a handful of those teams probably don't need the prize money but I'm sure it helps a lot of them. I give the guy credit for putting money into the sport, just wish he was an Iowa fan.
This event was a great addition the set was very good and will definitely grow the sport. I have no problem if the paycom CEO is an Oklahoma guy.
This does however make some of the homer anti Iowa calls make more sense, but if they are going to title this as national duals and truly want to grow the sport the location should change each year.
This does however make some of the homer anti Iowa calls make more sense, but if they are going to title this as national duals and truly want to grow the sport the location should change each year.
It's accurate ONLY 106K watched the finals on ESPN 2. I would see Cornhole on TV I looked it up it was summer of 2024 and an event had 113k. I just looked at 2025 ratings and they've dropped significantly to 50k. But from 2022-24 it was 150k to 279k depending on the event
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Yes it was mostly a Flow event this year but this is the first year and I am sure there is ambition to eventually get it on a more mainstream platform. Don't know if that will succeed but at least someone is trying.
As far as growing the sport, let's not forget that even the top programs aren't exactly wallowing in revenue and many hold their breath every time there is a hole in the AD budget. You don't have to too old to remember the loss of some pretty elite programs. Growing is great, but I will take helping to preventing more bleeding. Anything that gets more eyeballs on the sport is good for the sport as a whole. Fans of the sport should welcome any support they can get, even from a Cowboy.
As far as growing the sport, let's not forget that even the top programs aren't exactly wallowing in revenue and many hold their breath every time there is a hole in the AD budget. You don't have to too old to remember the loss of some pretty elite programs. Growing is great, but I will take helping to preventing more bleeding. Anything that gets more eyeballs on the sport is good for the sport as a whole. Fans of the sport should welcome any support they can get, even from a Cowboy.
Only 106K watched the finals on ESPN2. Next year ESPN might not want it. Last year iowa St vs Oklahoma st did 120k on ESPN. Everyone says I love duals they're awesome yet nobody watched. For comparison last year NCAAs ROUND 2 did 151K
That’s like saying horse shoes or lawn darts has a bigger fan base
Not certain, but thought I saw an ad that said Iowa vs Okie State will be on ESPN2. ????????
Disingenuous comparison. NCAA ROUND anything is an established event where both the team and individual champs are crowned. Meanwhile, the duals is in its very first year, under this iteration and possibly the most dominant team of all time didn't attend. It needs time to promote and gain support. With the right people behind it I am 100% certain it could challenge the NCAA Tournament.
Now, that doesn't mean that I don't agree with your stance regarding it being a fringe sport. There is a very solid glass ceiling that this sport would need something almost unnatural to happen to break through. But, that doesn't mean the National Duals couldn't maximize its reach with the right support...
With the viewer numbers from last years events the 106k would be around 15th on the list. 106k is a horrible # and I would be surprised if ESPN even bids on the finals next year. My opinion it should all be on FLO. When was the last time ESPN gave a wrestling result on a show? They have events on ESPN+ every week yet we hear nothing about those .
It has to be promoted, advertised and actually be an NCAA sponsored event. Hell, didn't ESPN2 basically take the Finals over last minute? I actually looked for it online on the ESPN2 television schedule the day before and it still showed post game volleyball in that time slot....I am not saying it is ever going to even sniff 500k, but using this year as a prime example is simply disingenuous. Make it a true National Title Event, which would force PSU to attend and the viewership ABSOLUTELY would skyrocket, even without the promotion and advertising...
The finals drew far more viewers.
Not sure the above numbers take into account anything other than network ratings, not including those who watch ESPN web feeds which is how most watch earlier rounds.
Early rounds of the national duals were on Flo. Are you talking about NCAAs
Espn 2 was announced at least 2 weeks out that it moved from ESPNU . NCAA isn't gonna sponsor the duals unless its for the championship. And I don't see that happening anytime soon. The event only happened because of a donation it's not sustainable or making a ROI
Corby you forgot to mention that the "regular" Iowa-tOSU in February will likely pull in at least 50% more viewership based on recent years. Many "regular" duals have eclipsed 106K on B1G and the ESPN networks in recent years. Most involve PSU, Iowa, or both, but not all. I think there was a Michigan-Nebraska dual, or something like that, that beat the pants off that number.
Guys talking about this "growing the sport" are oblivious to this. It's a fine event that every wrestling junkie wants to see because of the matchups and it gets us more good content in a timeframe that is usually pretty barren for us fans, but stop making it out to be more than that. It's not growing the sport, it sure isn't "the crown jewel of wrestling," and it's never going to be the national championship of the sport - that event actually DOES work for wrestling ($, viewership, etc).
There is what some guys want to see, and then there is reality.
Highly unlikely. Not sure they would be invited even if they wanted to frankly. We already dual them twice this year.
Yes and that message was talking about the duals. Nowhere in that message was anything said talking about the NCAA tournament
Damn...I totally thought you switched gears and started talking about the NCAA tourney somewhere in that convo. Totally my bad.
