Barry Weldon was a three-time Colorado state high school champion for Cherry Creek High School, after placing third as a freshman at the Oklahoma state high school championships. He was a two-time All-American for Iowa State and won the NCAA title at 177 pounds in 1997. Weldon was a graduate assistant for Bobby Douglas at his alma mater in 1998 and 1999 before becoming the head assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma. In six seasons with the Sooners, he helped coach five NCAA champions and 23 All-Americans while OU won two Big 12 team championships, finished third at the NCAA tournament three times and finished fourth twice.