Takedown Report

Women’s wrestling on track for first NCAA championship in 2026

Oct. 26—Women’s college wrestling is on track to become the 91st NCAA championship, based on sports sponsorship and participation research released earlier this month.
Women’s wrestling was identified as one of six emerging sports along with acrobatics and tumbling, equestrian, rugby, stunt and triathlon.
The NCAA recognizes an emerging sport as a women’s sport that is intended to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women, while helping that sport achieve championship status. Legislative bylaws require that emerging sports gain championship status within 10 years or show steady progress to remain on the list.
More than 40 schools sponsored women’s wrestling at the varsity level and met the sport’s minimum competition and participant requirements in the 2022-23 academic year. Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith said in 2021 that the school was “in talks” to add a women’s wrestling program.
Six other sports have earned NCAA championship status through the emerging sports program; rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003) and beach volleyball (2015). The Committee on Women’s Athletics anticipates making a recommendation at its February meeting to sponsor legislation to add a national women’s college wrestling championship, the NCAA said in a news release. “If this recommendation is made, the projected timeline to add a women’s wrestling championship is for each division to sponsor a proposal for the 2024-25 legislative cycle and vote on the proposals before or during the 2025 NCAA Convention,” the release reads. “If adopted, the first women’s wrestling championship would be held in winter 2026.”
In the 2022-23 academic year, 51 teams reported sponsoring women’s wrestling, a 12-school uptick from the year prior. Division III accounted for 30 schools in the 2022-23 sponsorship data, followed by 19 in Division II and two in Division I.
“What women’s wrestling has accomplished in a short period of time is exceptional. They are a model practice on how to move the needle forward,” said Ragean Hill, chair of the Committee on Women’s Athletics and executive associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Charlotte. “The CWA is excited that young women will have another championship sport to participate in at the collegiate level and while pursuing their education. I can’t wait to witness the sport’s first NCAA championship.”
Lee Roy Smith, executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, provided his comments about the sport now moving forward toward an official NCAA Championship.
“The National Wrestling Hall of Fame is encouraged for the pioneering impact women will experience with a NCAA Wrestling Championship of their own,” he said. “Such opportunities at the collegiate level are sure to spur additional growth in youth wrestling across the USA … rest of story at … Sports.yahoo.com/womens-wrestling-track-first-ncaa

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