First, A national dual tournament is not a priority for the Big Ten power schools. Cael, Ryan, and Brands would need to get on board with a national dual tournament first. Then the rest of the schools would fall in line. We had that to an extent with VA Duals, but the Big Ten power brokers kept forcing the format to change until it no longer became a priority.

Second, the tournament would have to occur early in the season. A couple problems exist. Most weekends are now booked with a high quality tournaments like the Cliff Keen, Southern Scuffle, Midlands, etc. The power schools prefer those tournaments And have active partnerships. Each school would need to alter its schedule to join a single dual tournament. Very difficult scheduling

Once January rolls around, coaches will begin to focus on getting their wrestlers ready for the NCAAs via conference duals. A National Dual tournament would be too grueling to go with conference duals in the two months leading up to the NCAA.

The sport would need to grow outside of the Big Ten with title contenders coming from outside the conference for this to be a discussion point. If Cael or Brands we’re honest, they would tell you the Big Ten dual season is the national dual tournament.

The VA Duals changed to accommodate Penn State and Iowa 3-4 years ago until they ended their involvement. The previous format was the top 8 Big Ten Schools versus the previous year conference champs plus several wildcards. It wasn’t a tournament but rather a Dual exhibition featuring arguably the top teams in the country battling another over a two day period.