The Oklahoma State Cowboys have had a season of winning! They are after training under the ever-so-iconic Magic Man. Remember the days when David Taylor stepped on the mat wearing his Nittany Lions singlet? Well, the magic of those days is still alive, as he trains his prodigies to greatness. The Cowboys are ranked #3 and currently have an unblemished 8-0 record. While all is good on the mats, it seems like behind the scenes, there is some trouble brewing.

When Taylor used to don his PSU singlet, he went match after match winning. And never once had to worry about scheduling! However, the first-year coach has had some troubles with the same since the moment he joined. “I didn’t know there was so much flexibility in scheduling,” said Taylor in a press conference soon after he took the coaching position. Turns out, with the season in full swing, scheduling still troubles the Magic Man!

Despite being an undefeated maiden season, it was not easy on Coach David Taylor!

When David Taylor joined in as coach, he was frustrated with the entangled strings of scheduling. He even went on to say that the “jockeying” within scheduling had surprised him. But this time, as Taylor stands undefeated, he has taken a bold stand at the National Wrestling Coaches Association conference! So what did Coach Taylor propose?

Well, he said, “National Duals would be great for wrestling.” But why is that something revolutionary? Well, for the first time since 2011, NWCA National Duals brought back a Division I bracket. This meant that 14 schools that stood outside the major conferences like ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC were seen. This meant a greater competition level and a new pool of competitors. Sounds like a step forward already, doesn’t it?

Well, yes, it sure is. But Taylor wishes to see something better. A gathering of all the top programs in a unified dual format. “Dual meets are awesome; they’re easy to follow for the casual fan. You (put) it at the beginning of the year before the conference events start, and you get the best teams to come to compete. You’re incentivized to wrestle your best lineup,” he said. However, there is another big issue that the schedule faces. What about the timing?

Coach David Taylor has a solution for that too! As Taylor sees it, “Pick the projected best eight or 16 teams, you pick a date in November and people can prepare for it.” In other words, use November to ensure top teams get a chance to compete before conference schedules take over. Additionally, his idea avoids the scheduling headaches that come with balancing conference and non-conference matches. Since the road of scheduling seems rather tough to Coach Taylor, what did the 24-25 season schedule for the Cowboys look like?

What does Oklahoma State’s schedule look like this season?

If David Taylor’s first season has been a rollercoaster, Oklahoma State’s schedule is the track. The Cowboys seemed to have found it “hard to start balancing non-conference events.” They started their season with Utah Valley, Arizona State, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. All of these names are the Big 12 names. So, what about non-conference duels?

Well, the David Taylor squad went up against only a few non-conference names. This included Oregon State, which is a part of the Pac-12; Virginia State, which is part of the ACC; and NC State, which is also a part of the ACC. There’s also Iowa, which is a part of the Big 10, where OSU is yet to go up against them. All these names are strong wrestling names; however, they had duels with OSU simply because of smart scheduling.

So what Taylor is suggesting is perhaps a great way to bring the biggest names amid the Power Four against the best wrestlers. David Taylor also went on to add, “I don’t want to move away from the national championship being decided as it is. But I do think National Duals would be great for wrestling.” It is evidently a balancing act that has the potential to bring out the best duels and great matches instead of being restricted by the conference names.