Q&A with Former OSU Wrestler Eli Hale on His Transfer to UCO and D-II NCAA Title

Eli Hale spent four and a half years in a Cowboy singlet and made the decision to go to UCO in his last semester of eligibility with an opportunity to start at one of the most historic Division-II programs in the sport. He ended up dominating his way to an NCAA title. I gave him a call this week to talk about the process and how the Cowboy made his transition to UCO to become their 44th NCAA champion.

Seth Duckworth: Could you take us through the process of the UCO transfer and how that all came about?

Hale: Obviously I spent a long time at Oklahoma State, nine semesters at OSU, during that time I was going through a lot of battles just to win the starting spot in my own room. What that ended up leading to was an opportunity for Coach Steidley (UCO head coach) to reach out to me with the chance to get on the mat as the starter. Not only to get on the mat, but to get on the mat in my home state with a lot of my friends and family around. He told me what the opportunity was going to be and what they were doing within the program. UCO’s no slouch as a program there were 43 NCAA champions before me and 15 team titles. It was a really good fit for me to come in with a bunch of kids that I had grown up wrestling around.

SD: Based on feedback I’ve heard there really wasn’t any bad blood with you and OSU right? It was just a good opportunity for you and they supported it right?

Hale: No, nothing bad with OSU. I have some really genuine relationships with people at Oklahoma State. The culture and nature with that program and that athletic department is really open and really inclusive. It really is that family atmosphere and coming with that the transfer process was really open. No one was hiding anything and really they helped me out along the way. I think where that comes from is when you give everything you have to a program, I was really dedicated to that program while there, they reciprocate that and give it back.

SD: So did you graduate from OSU? Are you in grad school now?

Hale: Yes. I’m finishing my masters right now. It’s in higher education administration.

SD: What was the transition like going from a backup at OSU to being “the guy” at UCO?

Hale: It was a grindhouse in that room at OSU from 125-133, but I felt like even making a transition to a new room that I’d been wrestling tough guys every day for a long time and as long as I could keep my emotions in check and just wrestled I’d be fine. The coaches really did an incredible job of fitting me into their system really smoothly and making sure there were no hiccups along the way.

SD: Your story is impressive to me because at all levels of the sport you see a lot of good wrestlers find themselves in a spot where they’re a backup or they hit some adversity with the sport and they’re done with it. You very easily could’ve been that guy and that didn’t happen with you.

Hale: I very easily could’ve been that guy. I actually hurt my back, I blew some discs out in my back and missed 11 straight months. I was terrible when I came back. Before that I was wrestling the best I ever had in my life. It is easy to quit the sport of wrestling because it is so hard, especially if you get hurt or are a backup or something. For some reason or another I stuck with the sport and felt if I put the work in I could be successful and I’m just really happy I had the opportunity to do it. For a long time I had people I’d talk to and they’d ask if I was even still wrestling, that was hard. That’s not an easy situation and wrestling’s not an easy sport to do it in, but I’m glad I pushed through.

SD: Anything else you feel like you want to put out there?

Hale: I’m just glad I had the opportunity to represent OSU for the time that I did and also happy for my opportunity with UCO. I’m really thankful for all my friends, family and fans around the state that have supported me with everything.