Takedown Report

New Teams for 2023-2024 TDR #31-1

More wrestlers.  That is our desire.
Wrestling can be an effective life-changing practice for not only the student-athletes and also the fans. Wrestling can boost school spirit and be a positive force for the campus at large. The strong growth in the number of colleges and universities that are adding wrestling in recent years is encouraging. We pass along the news of new teams as an encouragement to others to join in on the high school and post-secondary levels.
For the 2023-2024 season colleges and universities have announced at least 45 new teams. Over 30 women’s teams will enter competition this fall for the first time. A few schools will stop having wrestling such as Iowa Wesleyan, which closed thus discontinuing both Men’s and Women’s teams. Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia closed this fall due to financial difficulties. They had restarted their program ten years back after an over a 30 year absence. Limestone University in South Carolina also dropped their women’s team.
Several schools are making the bold step of adding both Men’s and Women’s teams. They are Blackburn College in Illinois, College of the Redwoods in California, Evergreen State College in Washington, Frostburg State in Maryland, Illinois Wesleyan University, Sioux Falls University in South Dakota, Southeast Community College in Nebraska, Utica University in New York and William Woods University in Missouri. Many other schools with a Men’s program will be adding a Women’s team to their athletic departments.
New Women’s Teams will be started at ; Adams State University in Colorado (Division II), Allen University in South Carolina (D-II), Alma College in Michigan (D-III), Baldwin-Wallace University in Ohio (D-III), Buena Vista University in Iowa (D-III), Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania (D-III), Centenary College in New Jersey (D-III), Central College in Iowa (D-III), Cornell College in Iowa (D-III), Dickinson State in North Dakota (NAIA), Dubuque University in Iowa (D-III), Grand Valley State in Michigan (D-II), Iowa Lakes Community College (JuCo), University of Iowa (D-I), John Carroll University in Ohio (D-III), Joliet Junior College in Illinois (JuCo), Loras College in Iowa (D-III), Marymount University in Virginia (D-III), Morningside University in Iowa (NAIA), Northland Community & Technical College in Minnesota (JuCo), Southern Virginia University (D-III), SUNY-Alfred State (D-III), and Westcliff University in California (NAIA). D’Youville University in New York (D-II) will become one of a handful of schools that will have a Women’s team but not a Men’s team! We look forward to when they will add that opportunity for wrestlers.
While a majority of new teams are for Women there are some other schools adding or restarting a Men’s Wrestling team. They include Arkansas Community College at Rich Mountain (JuCo), University of Montevallo in Alabama (D-II), Morgan State University in Maryland (D-I), and Saint Vincent College in Pennsylvania (D-III). A majority of the new teams are at NCAA Division III schools that see the benefits of adding sports teams that increase the enrollment of motivated students. Wrestling opportunities are also steadily increasing in Division II and NAIA schools. The increase in Division I schools has been lagging in pace compared to the other divisions. This can not be simply explained away by Title IX or limited budgets or other excuses. The decision is made by athletic directors and administrators who choose to pour more money into ravenous football budgets. Yes, we are biased in favor of wrestling teams and can be cynical in our lack of empathy and understanding for schools who can afford to provide wrestling yet refuse to do so. We hope that more schools will see the wisdom in expanding their sports offerings. This listing could be missing other new programs, and if so, we welcome news about these other new teams.

November 2, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized