Brian Smith - Missouri Wrestling Head Coach On Belief, A One More Mentality, & Tiger Style

#223: Brian Smith has served as Missouri’s head wrestling coach leading the Tigers for over 27 years. Under his leadership, Mizzou’s program has transformed into a national powerhouse through the establishment of the “Tiger Style” culture. During his tenure, he has guided the team to 23 winning seasons, including three undefeated dual campaigns, coached over 192 NCAA qualifiers and nearly 70 All-Americans, and mentored six individual national champions who collectively won ten NCAA titles 

Smith is the winningest coach in program history, with a career dual record at Missouri around 334‑120‑3 (about a .734 win‑rate), and remains one of the most decorated leaders in collegiate wrestling. He’s earned national recognition twice—winning Dan Gable Coach of the Year in 2007 and NWCA Coach of the Year in 2017—as well as multiple conference Coach of the Year awards across both MAC and Big 12 affiliation. Beyond competitive success, his wrestlers have consistently excelled academically, earning more than 150 academic honors. Coach Smith also serves on national wrestling committees and has made lasting contributions to the broader sport at both the collegiate and Olympic levels

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he was a decorated Michigan State wrestler before embarking on a coaching career that included stints at Western High School (FL), Cornell, and Syracuse.

For more on Coach Smith follow him on all social media platforms, as well as the Mizzou Wrestling Program at mutigers.com 

You can find his book Tiger Style: Eight Steps to Create a Winning Culture on Amazon in the link below. 

Enjoy the show! 

Insta: @smithbq126

Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Style-Create-Winning-Culture/dp/B0DN1PN5LM