Former Oklahoma State Star Inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame

For this former Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestler, induction is a full-circle moment and a retirement gift all in one.

Oklahoma State Cowboys logo. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

For more than two decades Lee Roy Smith has been the executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Now, he’s in it.

Smith was inducted as a distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, an honor announced by Oklahoma State on Friday. The former Cowboys standout — and brother of former program legend and coach John Smith — is retiring this summer.

Part of group of wrestling brothers from Del City, Okla., each put an indelible mark on one of the top programs in the nation. Stillwater also happens to be where the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is located.

“This is an extraordinary, gratifying and humbling opportunity,” Smith said in the OSU release. “To be honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a distinguished member, there's nothing like it. At this stage in my life, it's even more gratifying because I can reflect on being a wrestler, a coach, an administrator and an executive director at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.”

Lee Roy Smith’s Wrestling Life

A legend to the sport, the community and to Oklahoma State.

This Friday, Lee Roy Smith enters the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/HZoc5vuBlV

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) June 4, 2026

Smith’s entire adult life has been around the sport. He’s been a coach, an administrator and a television analyst. But he was the first Smith to wrestle at Oklahoma State. He was also the first Smith to win a national title, which was in 1980 at 142 pounds. He was named an All-American three times and won four Big Eight titles in his weight class.

Perhaps his best legacy was recruiting John — a two-time national champion and a two-time Olympic gold medalist — and the rest of his brothers to OSU. His first job after his playing career was as an assistant coach for the Cowboys.

After OSU, he landed in Switzerland to coach that national team before returning to the U.S. to become Team USA’s freestyle wrestling coach. After producing six world champions and three Olympic gold medalists, he returned to the college ranks to lead the program at Arizona State for nine years. He was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times and guided three national champions.

He also emerged as a prominent voice on television, providing analysis for wrestling for NBC during the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics, along with Big 12 broadcasts.

He took over a National Wrestling Hall of Fame that was in bankruptcy at the time and turned it into the game’s pre-eminent stop when it came to the sport’s history in the U.S. And now, he’s permanently enshrined.