Eric Knopsnyder Penn State Olympian Taylor's decision to coach Oklahoma State bad for Pa., good for wrestling

May 9—David Taylor's decision to leave State College to become the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State is shocking to many, but it's not unprecedented.

Fifteen years ago, one of the biggest names in sport — a likable figure with an Olympic gold medal on his resume — stunned the wrestling world by leaving the college town where he had won multiple NCAA titles as an athlete for a chance to build a powerhouse program in his own image.

Back then, it was Cael Sanderson who opted to leave Iowa State for the greener pastures of Penn State. It was a seismic move that brought the sport's biggest star to its most fertile recruiting grounds. Sanderson went 159-0 and won four NCAA titles as a wrestler for the Cyclones before claiming Olympic gold in 2004. He retired early from competition and quickly became Iowa State's head coach, where he produced three top-five finishes in three years before Penn State made the hire of the century by luring him to State College.

In the 14 NCAA tournaments since he came east — the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID — Sanderson's teams have captured 11 team titles and he's coached 38 individual champions.

This past season, there was never a question of whether Penn State would win the team title (they did) but if the Nittany Lions would break the all-time scoring record for the NCAA tournament (they did that, too).

The best college wrestlers were at Penn State — Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks each won their respective fourth NCAA titles in March — and the country's best men's freestyle wrestlers were at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, which produced eight of the 12 finalists in last month's Olympic Team Trials.

Many of the nation's best high school wrestlers are already in Pennsylvania and, if they aren't, they might be lured here to train with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club before enrolling at Penn State.

Monday's announcement that Taylor — who followed Sanderson from Iowa State to Penn State, where he became a two-time NCAA champion and a key figure in Pennsylvania wrestling — is leaving for Stillwater, Oklahoma, might not change all of that, but it likely will change some of it.

And that's a good thing for wrestling if not Pennsylvania.

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are the most exciting product that the sport has in this country, but without a compelling team race, TV ratings have plummeted. Penn State's record-setting performance in Kansas City was the least-watched tournament since 2011, according to FloWrestling's Andrew Spey.

The 454,000 viewers who tuned into the championships on ESPN represented a 28% decrease in viewership from 2023.

The simple fact is, Penn State running roughshod over the field isn't entertaining for casual viewers who aren't Nittany Lions fans. And when David doesn't have a chance against Goliath — Penn State's 172.5 points was 100 more than second-place Cornell — it's not compelling.

Oklahoma State is one of the bluebloods of the sport — the Cowboys' 34 team titles are 10 more than Iowa has won and 22 more than Penn State has captured — and the hire has people talking about wrestling in May.

When John Smith, a true legend of the sport, stepped down at the end of the season, most assumed that Waynesburg native Coleman Scott, who had left the coaching position at North Carolina to be Smith's associate head coach, was certain to ascend to the top spot.

Even when rumors leaked that the Cowboys were trying to woo Taylor, who has built a very successful M2 Wrestling Club in State College, most felt there was little chance that the Magic Man would leave.

Perhaps Taylor, who was beaten in the Olympic Team Trials by his club teammate in Brooks, was unhappy with how things were playing out within the walls of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club wrestling room. It might have been the allure of being pursued by the sport's most historic program. Or maybe it was the money.

Most likely, it was a combination of all those things, but Taylor's decision has the wrestling world buzzing. It was a big gamble by the Oklahoma State administration. Taylor has little coaching experience outside of M2, but as one of the sport's most popular figures, he'll likely pull some of the nation's top recruits away from Penn State and perhaps take some Nittany Lions with him when the transfer portal opens again.

Even under the best of circumstances, it's hard to imagine him matching Sanderson's accomplishments, but for every wrestling fan bored with Penn State's dominance, it will be fun watching him try.