Tiger Style: Two words that forever changed Mizzou wrestling
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
When Brian Smith took over the University of Missouri's wrestling program in 1998, he brought with him an approach that would completely reshape it.
Compete, believe, expect to win and do one more. Those four attitudes combined to form the pillars of "Tiger Style," two words that have defined nearly three decades of Mizzou wrestling.
"I came up with something that we wrote down, and 'Tiger Style' is just a way to guide behavior," Smith said.
"It truly is a lifestyle, that's how you go through your day-to-day," junior Aeoden Sinclair said when asked what "Tiger Style" means to him. "I think coach Smith has been able to instill that in us."
Sinclair is just one of many athletes to earn All-American status during Smith's tenure. He was coached by former Tiger and national champion Ben Askren through high school, which largely influenced his decision to come to Columbia.
"Coach Smith coached Ben Askren, like almost everything that Ben has taught me has come from coach Smith," Sinclair said. "It's like a trickle-down effect. Ben's a huge part of why I'm here and he's had an amazing impact on my life, and that's all from coach Smith."
Along with him, now-fifth-year senior Cam Steed was the other Tiger to receive All-American honors in the 2025-26 season. Together, they became the 65th and 66th athletes to finish in the top eight at the national championships.
"We've had like a sibling-almost-kind-of relationship," Steed said about Smith. "He gets on me, but I know it's always in my best interest, but I wouldn't be here without him giving me a chance... I think he deserves a statue, just in my opinion."
Smith set the record for most wins by a coach at MU, with 351 at the end of his 28th season, but he remembers a much different culture at the start of tenure.
"I remember my first day, walking up to do the first interview in the gym of the Hearnes [Center], and reporters were laughing at me when I said, 'We're going to win Big 12 titles, we're going to win team trophies, we're going to do all these things,'" Smith said.
"Winning isn't something that coach Smith only talked about on match day," Mizzou Athletic Director Laird Veatch said. "It's a standard that's reflected in how his teams prepared, how he led, how his guys compete, and how they respond when life gets hard. That's what 'Tiger Style' means to me."
It's only fitting his coaching staff would embrace that same mentality, living by those same pillars. When the time came to select a replacement, the choice was almost a no-brainer. The program will be handed off to associate head coach Kendric Maple next season.
"One of the sayings I always say to my team: 'The best time to fix the roof, is when it's sunny,' and the program is in great shape," Smith said.
"My first week on the job, I walk in and he's on the phone, so I sit down, and out of nowhere he goes, 'Well fire me then, I don't care. I want to win, I want to do it the right way. Fire me.' Right then I walked out that office and I'm like, I can stand behind this guy because I can see the same passion, the same drive that keeps me up at night wanting to win," Maple reflected on his first interaction with Smith.
That mentality of wanting to win, while mentoring young men to be the best version of themselves on and off the mat, is why Smith is leaving the program in the hands of Maple.
"'Tiger Style' quickly became something where I was waking up every day, taking notes with my notepad, coming to work every day seeing how to just soak in all the wisdom," Maple said. "So coach Smith, I thank you for your mentorship, your leadership, and your friendship."
