Earlier this month, women’s wrestling moved ever closer to becoming the 91st NCAA championship sport. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics voted to recommend that Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate women’s wrestling championship. If it proceeds, the first NCAA championship will take place in winter 2026.
Currently, women’s wrestling programs exist as an intercollegiate sport at some colleges and universities and as a club sport at others. If it is designated with NCAA championship status, it will be the sixth sport to receive this through the Emerging Sports for Women program, joining rowing, ice hockey, water polo, bowling, and beach volleyball.
This comes as great news to one of the sport’s most ferocious advocates, Sally Roberts, founder and CEO of Wrestle Like a Girl, whose mission is to empower girls and women through the sport. “We make sure that we’re ushering this movement that’s going to benefit all for generations to come,” she said.
Roberts said this move toward NCAA championship status is powerful. It potentially can lead to athletic scholarships for young women in the U.S. and internationally.
“When we submitted the bid for women’s wrestling to become an NCAA Emerging Sport, we did it with a coalition of national leaders here in the United States with the vision that we wanted to be an inclusive sport that could provide opportunities for girls not only here in the United States but across the globe,” she said. “We made it freestyle, which is the Olympic style of wrestling.”
Approximately 43% of female participation in wrestling are girls and women of color. Women’s wrestling made its Olympic debut in 2004. NCAA championship status will lead to the development of more talent, as the collegiate ranks serve as training ground for athletes in many sports, such as track and field and swimming.
A multi-stakeholder coalition is working together to see that NCAA championship status becomes a reality. There is currently a varsity system of official NCAA programs. As of February 2024, there are 57 schools with women’s wrestling programs that meet NCAA qualifications. Additionally, there are over 20 club programs.
“With the reduction of barriers to entry and the opening of doors of access to opportunities, the schools are absolutely adding women’s wrestling programs at a fervent pace,” Roberts said.