Earlier this month, Columbia Athletics announced that women’s wrestling will become the university’s 32nd varsity program as of the 2027-28 academic year. Emma Randall, who currently coaches the club team, will be the head coach. A $10 million endowment has been established to support the program. Although they must wait a year, the excitement among members of the women’s wrestling club team is palpable.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to pursue high-level academics and athletics. I’m really excited to be part of this transition,” said Francesca Gusfa. For Mia Collins, a rising sophomore at Columbia Engineering who was part of the club team’s high performance program her freshman year, relishes the thought of being part of a varsity team. “Coming to Columbia, one of the main things that I was looking at was the wrestling opportunity here for women,” said Collins. “Our club is already [at an] elite level. We are so developed as a program that this transition into varsity is more about getting us that eligibility and getting us access to more resources.”
Women’s wrestling was part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program and was voted an NCAA championship sport in January 2025. Its historic first NCAA championship was held earlier this year. Becoming a varsity sport means vastly increased resources, including equipment and travel expenses, as well as salaries allocated for assistant coaches and support staff.
Rising senior engineering student Kaylie Musard, a team captain, has been on the club team for three years. Although she won’t get to be on the varsity team, being part of the lead-up feels powerful. “I always envisioned this since I came to Columbia,” she said. “To start that transition to varsity while I’m still here is very meaningful.”
Randall, who has coached Columbia’s club team since 2021 while also serving as head coach of the New York City Regional Training Center women’s freestyle program, looks toward the possibilities that lay ahead. “It’s been one of those long, slow grinds but it’s been so rewarding to meet with our student-athletes, to see the joy on their faces and know they’re going to receive the support that can help them reach their highest level,” said Randall. “We’ve been doing a lot of work with just the resources that we have as a club, and those are extremely limited. Access to varsity resources … I’m excited to see what we can do with those.”
