Collegiate initiatives

NCAA Women’s Wrestling To Become a Championship Sport

October 18, 2023

Women's wrestling took a big step toward becoming the 91st NCAA championship sport, with its projected first NCAA championship occurring in winter 2026. 

The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics voted at its meeting Wednesday to recommend Divisions I, II, and III sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate women's wrestling championship. The Association-wide committee oversees the Emerging Sports for Women program, which includes women's wrestling. 

"We are excited to recommend women's wrestling as the 91st NCAA championship sport," said Ragean Hill, chair of the Committee on Women's Athletics and executive associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Charlotte. "We are extremely proud of the work that USA Wrestling has done to make this a reality in such a short period. Also, thank you to the men's wrestling community for believing in our young women and championing this process." 

NCAA Women’s Wrestling To Become an Emerging Sport

June 1, 2019

The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics has recommended women’s wrestling for NCAA Emerging Sport Status to the Div: I, II, and III Committees for an official ESS designation on August 01, 2020.

Wrestle Like Girl and USA Wrestling successfully brought women’s wrestling under the NCAA umbrella as an Emerging Sport in 2019, with an activation date of August 1, 2020. We will use the same targeted approach to bring Women’s Wrestling to NCAA Championship Status.