It would be hard to find a time when wrestling wasn’t making history; it is one of the oldest sports in the world, after all, with evidence to show it was contested as far back as 15,000 to 17,000 years ago. It is an Olympic medal sport (Greco-Roman and freestyle are the two types showcased at the Summer Games), and it consistently generates interest at the youth, high school and college levels, as well as in the professional arena.
But even with all that history, it would be difficult to find a time when the sport was positioned as squarely in the spotlight as it is now, with the recent news that the NCAA has made women’s wrestling a championship sport.
Before the Committee on Women’s Athletics made its recommendation to move women’s wrestling up to championship status, however, 40 schools had to sponsor the sport at the varsity level and meet other competition and participant requirements. Women’s wrestling, which became an emerging sport in 2020, eclipsed the sponsorship minimum in the 2022-23 academic year. A women’s wrestling committee will now be established to work with the NCAA staff on the development of the first championship, to be held in winter 2026.
That first NCAA event will be a national championship, meaning teams from schools in all three divisions will be competing against one another. When more programs are offered in each division, separate championships will be held. This makes women’s wrestling NCAA’s 91st championship sport. (In addition, the NCAA Board of Governors approved $1.7 million in Association-wide funding at its meeting in April to help establish the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships.)
And make no mistake – the population of women and girls in the sport is continuing its stratospheric growth. In Athens 2004, women’s wrestling was added as a medal sport, bumping up the profile of the sport at the international level.
There were 76 women’s wrestling programs at NCAA schools in 2023-24, with projections pointing to an additional 17 programs in 2024-25. More than 1,200 women wrestlers are competing at NCAA schools today. The sport is also diverse. At least 45 percent of the student athletes who are competing now are of diverse or international backgrounds.
In addition, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) reported that participation on girls’ wrestling teams has continued its own historic rise, with 64,257 participants over the course of the 2023-2024 school year, an increase of 102 percent from the figure of 31,654 in 2021-22.
With so much going on, it was essential to catch up to one of the organizations that has been driving the participation of women and girls in the sport: Wrestle Like a Girl. Sally Roberts, the founder, spent some time with Sports Destination Management to discuss what’s ahead.
Read more content in this issue!
Women’s Wrestling as an NCAA Championship Sport
I can honestly say it has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime ushering this sport into a new era. This moment is a testament to the relentless determination, passion and perseverance of countless athletes, coaches and advocates who believed in the transformative power of wrestling for women — our next generation of leaders.
The interest just keeps on growing, too. We are seeing more participation at the high school and youth levels, meaning the pipeline is strong. As high school enrollment in wrestling teams continues to increase, there will be new wrestlers to fill the rosters of the college programs as those continue to proliferate. High schools nationwide are adding programs and the welcome mats are rolling out.
A National Championship vs. Divisional Championships
For the first few events, all divisions – I, II and III – will compete together under one championship. However, as the sport keeps growing, there will need to be championships in each division. For now, NCAA is keeping everything together until it is appropriate to break off; it’s not as expensive to have everyone compete together, and you do need to be fiscally responsible when you’re growing the sport.
The Visibility of Female Wrestlers
If the Olympics has shown girls who want to be wrestlers one thing, it would be this: If you can see it, you can be it. Helen Maroulis has been a member of Team USA since 2016, and she has been a medalist three times, with a bronze in Paris, a bronze in Tokyo and a gold in Rio de Janeiro. She was a youth wrestler and a college wrestler as well.
We have also seen an increase in media coverage and in the amount of broadcast time women wrestlers are receiving. Additionally, there has been an influx of advertising and sponsorship dollars. Destinations love women’s and girls’ wrestling too; it brings out the families, the fans and the spectators.
The Work Isn’t Done Just Because Women’s Wrestling is an NCAA Championship Sport
Getting the sport to this level at the NCAA has been a great accomplishment but we still have a lot to do. Wrestle Like a Girl is going to continue to grow and enrich the sport; we are going to do this several ways:
- We will be working to train, educate and prepare women to become coaches. We have been working on curating the first of its kind female wrestling coaching curriculum. This program will be very specific to the needs of the female athlete and will address the concerns our athletes have expressed.
- We will continue to work alongside USA Wrestling. When we looked at the landscape of the sport years ago, we realized it would be essential to align ourselves with the national governing body. There are also a lot of other wrestling entities we have been fortunate enough to work with through the years.
- We want to create more opportunities for community collaboration. This is incredibly important to us as the sport continues to grow.
- We want to support and develop the fanbase so that we can continue to build on the position of girls’ and women’s wrestling as a marquee sport.
Scholarship Funding
There is scholarship funding for women’s wrestling; we are continuing to work on more Division I schools to endorse and adopt women’s wrestling programs.
The Benefits of Wrestling
Wrestling is a great sport because it empowers girls and women. They learn a lot through training and discipline, through being a part of a team and through competing. It really is transformative in that it teaches them to become leaders in life. SDM
About the Author
