STILLWATER, Okla. – Seven contributors to the sport of wrestling will be honored Sunday, Oct. 9, by the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Wayne Bishop, Dennis Brand, Scott Chenoweth, Jim Love, Barry Patterson, Rick Reeves, and Todd Steidley will be honored with a banquet and induction ceremony in Oklahoma City at the Jim Thorpe Museum. A cocktail hour will begin at 3 p.m. with dinner and the ceremony to follow at 4 p.m.

Reservations are $45 per person and are available online at www.ok-nwhof.ticketleap.com and are being accepted at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater.

Six of these honorees will be inducted with Lifetime Service to Wrestling Awards, an honor given annually to those coaches, officials and contributors who have given a minimum of 20 years of service to the sport of wrestling, to their communities, and most importantly, to the young people they have coached, taught and inspired.

Dennis Brand will be inducted as an Outstanding American, someone with a wrestling background who has excelled in other walks of life.

For more information on the honorees or to purchase tickets for the banquet, contact Maghan Cawlfield at the NWHOF by phone at (405) 377-5243 or email at info@wrestlinghalloffame.org.

Following in the footsteps of Bob Dellinger, his close friend and teacher, Wayne Bishop left his mark on wrestling in the state of Oklahoma through journalism. Bishop graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma in 1965. He covered his first high school state wrestling tournament in 1968 while working for the Broken Arrow Ledger. In 1970, he began covering sports at the Tulsa World Herald, including college and high school wrestling. Bishop has won many awards for his work in the sport, including the Scholastic Wrestling News national award, and he was a two-time winner Bob Dellinger Award from Amateur Wrestling News. 

Dennis Brand will receive the Outstanding American Award for his work outside the sport of wrestling. In 1970 Brand was a Big Eight champion for the University of Oklahoma at 158 lbs. He applied the skills learned in a wrestling room to a highly successful lifelong career in banking. In 1993, Brand accepted a position with BancFirst as president of its Shawnee market. At the time BancFirst had total assets of $750 million; today total assets exceed $5.4 billion. Brand became Chief Operating Officer in 2003 and in 2005 was named Chief Executive Officer. BancFirst is the largest state-chartered bank in Oklahoma with 90 branches in 50 Oklahoma communities with over 1,600 employees. Brand currently serves as a board member and treasurer of Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Foundation and as a board member of Midwest Housing Equity Group. As a past drive chairman for the United Way he was recognized in 1996 by United Way of America with the Mary M. Gates Service Award.

Scott Chenoweth was a three-time state champion for Perry High School and a three-time All-American for the University of Nebraska (1989-1991). From 1993 through 1995 he served as an assistant wrestling coach at Perry High School before taking over the program in 1996. During his 16 years as head coach (1996-2011), his teams have won 12 state tournament championships, 11 state dual tournament championships, and four academic state championships. Perry has never placed lower than third at a state tournament during Chenoweth’s tenure. His dual meet record stands at 263-76. Chenoweth has been named OWCA coach of the year 12 times and was a NHSACA national coach of the year finalist. He currently serves as Superintendent of Perry Schools.

Jim Love has spent 42 consecutive years involved in wrestling as a competitor, coach, and fan of the sport. During that time, he coached 44 state qualifiers, 17 state placers, nine all-staters, four regional champions, and two state champions. He has served as the wrestling coach at Anadarko (1983-1990), Ardmore (1990-1992), and Little Axe (1992-present). His teams at Little Axe have compiled nine district championships, two conference championships and a 175-67-1 dual meet record. Love was twice named Midwestern Conference Coach of the Year (1987 and 1989) and was an all-state wrestling coach in 1999. He was also an all-state wrestler in 1977.

In 2002, Barry Patterson coached Cushing High School to its first state wrestling title in 69 years. In 2003, Cushing won its first state dual team title ever. In 2004 and 2005, Cushing won both the traditional state title and the state dual team title, and from 2007 through 2009 they won three consecutive dual team titles. Patterson has a career dual meet record of 133-24 during his tenure as head wrestling coach at Cushing High School (1996-2009). His numerous awards include the 2005 NWCA Oklahoma Coach of the year, 2009 Oklahoma Coach of the Year, and 3A Coach of the Year three times. He currently serves as athletic director at Cushing High School. 

During his 31 years at Skiatook High School, Rick Reeves has served as both the assistant coach and the head coach for the team. He took part in a class 3A state team championship (1987), four regional championships, and seven district championships. Skiatook wrestling teams also had two state dual team runner-up finishes (1998 and 1999) and four regional runner-up finishes. Since taking over as head coach in 1994, Reeves has coached 39 state place winners, nine state champions, and five all-state wrestlers. He also spent 25 years coaching junior high football, nine years as an assistant high school football coach, and four years coaching junior high track. 

Todd Steidley was a state wrestling champion for Tulsa Union High School before a successful collegiate career. He was a NAIA national champion for the University of Central Oklahoma in 1987, and a Division I NCAA qualifier for Utah State in 1985. Steidley was the head wrestling coach at Bristow High School from 1992 through 1998, leading his team to state titles in 1994, 1996, and 1997, as well as state dual team titles in 1995 and 1998. From 1996 through 2006, he coached Ponca City High School to four state team titles (2003-2006) and three state dual team titles (2003-2005). He was named coach of the year in Oklahoma eight times during his coaching tenure. Steidley currently serves as principal at Claremore High School.