The NCAA committee of women’s athletics approved and is proud to announce the newest division I, division II, and division III teams of Women’s Wrestling in addition to a Women’s Wrestling athletic championship. The athletic director at Charlotte, NC, Reagan Hill, mentioned in a press conference that “We are extremely proud of the work that USAQ wrestling has done to make this a reality in such a short period of time-”.
Within the 2023-2024 school calendar and moving forward, more than 70 American schools plan to sponsor the women’s wrestling team. Most importantly though, in order to be approved as a real sport, there are some requirements that need to be met. The funding of this NCAA collegiate sport needs to be evaluated by the financial oversight committee of the NCAA division to ensure that all corresponding colleges and the organization are able to make this possible. As another requirement, 40 schools must also sponsor the team at a varsity level and meet the sport’s minimum guidelines and participant requirements. This means that there must be enough student-athletes on each team to compete.
If this sport becomes fully approved, according to AP News, it will be the 6th sport to earn the NCAA championship status as part of the “Emerging Sports for Women’s Program which follows rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003), and beach volleyball (2015).” The first official championship should commence in the winter season of 2026. Collegiate-level women’s wrestling will also expect to have a more diverse population as 43% of the student-athletes on the rosters are minorities.
Some are touting the inclusion of NCAA women’s wrestling as a great feminist movement promoting strong women and self-defense for women. Stating that overall it spreads the right message on gender equality to empower younger students and our future generations to be strong.