February 23, 2024
OKLAHOMA WILDCATTERS TO COMPETE IN PBR TEAMS LEAGUE
Talor Gooch-led Wildcatters to host inaugural homestand at Paycom Center on July 12-14
Tickets for the inaugural Wildcatter Days on sale Monday, March 4
NEW YORK (February 23, 2024) – Talor Gooch’s FJS Ventures and PBR (Professional Bull Riders) announced today that the Oklahoma Wildcatters will join PBR Teams – a bull riding league featuring the world’s top bull riders.
The Wildcatters inaugural homestand is scheduled for July 12-14 at Paycom Center, the opening weekend of the 12-event 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series season.
Gooch, a 10-season professional golfer and the 2023 LIV Golf Player of The Year, alongside Preston Lyon, CEO/President of Lyon Sports Group, formed FJS Ventures to invest, operate and/or own sports properties. The Oklahoma Wildcatters is the company’s first business venture.
“Bringing a bull riding team back to Oklahoma where we intend to build a championship-caliber team in the state I love is a dream come true,” said Gooch. “I’ve always been a PBR fan. Team competition makes the sport even more exciting, generates coverage, and creates rabid local fan bases. I’m very excited to join a successful and experienced ownership group working toward growing a sport with vast potential.”
Previously, the Oklahoma Freedom competed at Paycom Center for the league’s first two seasons, announcing a relocation to Florida following the 2023 season.
Oklahoma-born and raised, Gooch played collegiate golf at Oklahoma State University, named All-American in 2013. Gooch won his first PGA Tour event in 2021 at the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia, shooting a 64 in his final round. He went on to join the LIV League in 2022, winning a combined five team events, three individual event titles and a Team Championship. He earned the prestigious title of 2023 LIV League Player of The Year.
“When the Freedom relocated to Florida, our priority as a league was to make sure we would be able to serve the incredible fans in Oklahoma with a team,” said Sean Gleason, CEO and Commissioner, PBR. “We’re fortunate that Oklahoma royalty in Talor Gooch stepped in to launch a local team for the long haul. Talor is a proven winner set to build something special for fans.”
The Wildcatters’ roster will begin to take shape when up to six riders will be selected in the 2024 Expansion Draft, which is scheduled to be held in New York in early April. Unrestricted free agency will open following the Expansion Draft allowing the Wildcatters the opportunity to add to their roster. Finally, additional riders will fill out the roster when the 2024 New Rider Draft takes place.
The 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series’ 12-event regular season begins on July 12 in Oklahoma City, hosted by the Oklahoma Wildcatters, and culminates with its championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (October 17-20). Each team in their respective city will host a homestand, and there will also be two neutral site league-produced regular season events in Anaheim, California, and Duluth, Georgia. All PBR Team Series events are carried on CBS Television Network, Paramount+, CBS Sports Network or Pluto TV.
PBR Teams builds on the existing structure of professional bull riding with the same basic rules for judging and scoring qualified 8-second bull rides. Events are structured in a tournament-style format with all teams competing in head-to-head matchups against a different opponent each day. In each game, five riders on a team square off against another team. Full team rosters are comprised of up to seven riders on the Protected Roster and up to five Reserve Roster members. The team with the highest aggregate score of qualified rides among its riders is declared the winner of each game, and each game day has a team winner as well.
The bull riding action for the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series’ Wildcatter Days at Paycom Center begins at 7:45 p.m. CT on Friday, July 12, 6:45 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 13, and 1:45 p.m. CT on Sunday, July 14.
Tickets for the event go on sale Monday, March 4, and start at $20, taxes and fees not included. They can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com and PBR.com, at the Paycom Center Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.
Three-day ticket packages are available, offering fans a 15% discount on select price levels.
Stay tuned to PBR.com for more information on the Oklahoma Wildcatters and the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series season.
About Oklahoma Wildcatters
Oklahoma Wildcatters, owned by FJS Ventures and based at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, is led by Talor Gooch, a 10-season Professional Golfer and the 2023 LIV Golf Player of The Year, alongside Preston Lyon. Preston serves as the CEO/President of Lyon Sports Group, bringing several years of experience and a new vision of athlete representation. Gooch, born in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and a graduate of Oklahoma State, is actively involved in philanthropy through the Talor Gooch Foundation, uplifting and empowering children in Oklahoma. Lyon, beyond sports representation, engages in strategic investments, viewing his clients as more than just athletes. Lyon was born in Gastonia, NC, and now resides with his family in Charlotte, NC. Both passionate about PBR, they have chosen the Oklahoma Wildcatters as their inaugural business venture in their new partnership portfolio.
About PBR (Professional Bull Riders)
PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 800 bull riders compete in more than 200 events annually across the televised PBR Unleash The Beast tour (UTB), which features the top bull riders in the world; the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT); the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD); and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil and Canada. In 2022, PBR launched the PBR Team Series—now ten teams of the world’s best bull riders competing for a new championship—as well as the PBR Challenger Series with more than 60 annual events nationwide. The organization’s digital assets include PBR RidePass on Pluto TV, which is home to Western sports. PBR is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
For more information, contact:
For the Wildcatters: INFO@thewildcatters.com
