National Duals Invitational Announces Additional Qualifiers

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Duals Invitational, a groundbreaking $1 million collegiate wrestling event sponsored by Paycom, has announced that six additional teams have earned automatic qualification for the 2026 tournament. Featuring top programs from across the country, the tournament will bring elite competition and high-stakes prize money to Tulsa this December.

The tournament’s format grants automatic qualification to the top 10 finishers at the NCAA Championships, with the remaining spots filled by teams drawn from those finishing 11th through 20th in the NCAA rankings. Four Ivy League institutions in the top 20 informed organizers they are unable to participate due to a conflict with final exams, opening the door for six additional programs to qualify automatically.

Qualified teams must complete their participation agreements by mid-April to secure their spots.

Virginia Tech, Wyoming, Arizona State, Missouri, Illinois and Lehigh have all received automatic qualifier invitations, joining NCAA top-10 finishers Penn State, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio State, Stanford, Michigan, Iowa State, Minnesota and NC State.

“The National Duals Invitational is continuing to offer opportunities to the strongest programs to compete in a high-stakes spotlight,” said Matt Surber, tournament director. “With an increased prize purse and strong momentum from last year’s debut, we expect to elevate the event even further this December.”

Topping $1,230,000, the 2026 prize purse will represent one of the most significant financial contributions in college wrestling. The top eight teams will earn payouts, with the winning squad walking away with $250,000 — a $50,000 increase over the $200,000 Ohio State earned as inaugural champions in 2025. The second- and third-place teams will each earn $175,000, while fourth and fifth place will both secure $100,000. Sixth through eighth place payouts will be $40,000, $25,000 and $20,000, respectively. All participating teams will receive $20,000 for attending and will have the opportunity to compete for $50,000 in team takedown bonuses.

The 2026 event will take place Dec. 12-13 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Fans can follow every match leading up to the event exclusively on FloWrestling.

For updates and more information, visit nationaldualsinvitational.com.

About the National Duals Invitational

The National Duals Invitational is a premier collegiate wrestling event featuring 16 of the top NCAA Division I teams competing for a total purse of more than $1 million. Hosted at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Invitational offers substantial payouts to participating programs, including $250,000 to the championship team. The National Duals Invitational is sponsored by Paycom.