Women's wrestling is on track to become the NCAA's 91st NCAA championship, based on the latest sports sponsorship data released this month.
Other sports in the Emerging Sports for Women program also showed significant growth in the latest data (see breakdown below).
Women's wrestling highlighted the six sports in the Emerging Sports for Women program, meeting the requirements to be considered for an NCAA championship. Specifically, more than 40 schools sponsored women's wrestling at the varsity level and met the sport's minimum competition and participant requirements in the 2022-23 academic year. The sport's growth puts it on track to become the sixth sport to earn NCAA championship status through the Emerging Sports for Women program, joining rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003) and beach volleyball (2015).
The Committee on Women's Athletics — an Association-wide committee that oversees the Emerging Sports for Women program, which was established in 1994 based on a recommendation from the NCAA Gender Equity Task Force — anticipates making a recommendation at its February meeting to Divisions I, II and III to sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate women's wrestling championship. If this recommendation is made, the projected timeline to add a women's wrestling championship is for each division to sponsor a proposal for the 2024-25 legislative cycle and vote on the proposals before or during the 2025 NCAA Convention. If adopted, the first women's wrestling championship would be held in winter 2026. This timeline is consistent with past sports added as National Collegiate Championships through the Emerging Sports for Women program.
All three divisions received updates from the Committee on Women's Athletics in their October meetings. The Committee on Women's Athletics will continue to use the governance periods before its February meeting to discuss the women's wrestling championship in detail. This process will provide opportunities for membership and stakeholder feedback on relevant details, such as sport committee composition, championship format, bracket size and dates, which would be included in a recommendation from the Committee on Women's Athletics. Before a women's wrestling championship can be established, funding must be considered by the appropriate financial oversight committees.
"What women's wrestling has accomplished in a short period of time is exceptional. They are a model practice on how to move the needle forward," said Ragean Hill, chair of the Committee on Women's Athletics and executive associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Charlotte. "The CWA is excited that young women will have another championship sport to participate in at the collegiate level and while pursuing their education. I can't wait to witness the sport's first NCAA championship!"
Five other sports are currently in the Emerging Sports for Women program: acrobatics and tumbling, equestrian, rugby, stunt and triathlon. Stunt is the latest sport to be added to the program. Divisions I and II have approved it, and Division III will vote on whether to add the sport at the 2024 NCAA Convention.
Below is a summary of the sports currently in the program, including the 2022-23 sports sponsorship numbers schools reported to the NCAA. (Note: The number of schools that report sponsoring a sport does not always equal the number of schools that meet that sport's contest and participation minimum requirements to be counted toward the 40-school threshold.)
Acrobatics and tumbling
2022-23: 37 schools reported sponsoring acrobatics and tumbling. This included 26 schools in Division II, seven schools in Division III and four schools in Division I. In 2021-22, 33 schools reported sponsoring acrobatics and tumbling.
Average roster size: 26 athletes.
Season of competition: Spring.
Equestrian (Divisions I and II)
2022-23: 22 schools reported sponsoring equestrian, the same number as in 2021-22.
Average roster size: 37 athletes.
Season of competition: Spring.
Rugby
2022-23: 29 schools reported sponsoring rugby, spread out evenly among the three divisions (Division I: 10 schools, Division II: 9, Division III: 10). The sponsorship number represents a six-school increase from 2021-22.
Average roster size: 29 athletes.
Season of competition: Fall.
Stunt
2022-23: Because of the timing of being added to the program, stunt was not part of the latest sports sponsorship and participation data collection. However, 22 schools self-reported sponsoring stunt in 2022-23.
Average roster size: 18-50 athletes, according to the sport's self-report.
Season of competition: Spring.
Triathlon
2022-23: 34 schools reported sponsoring triathlon, one fewer than in 2021-22. This includes 13 in Division II, 13 in Division III and eight in Division I.
Average roster size: 7.
Season of competition: Fall.
Women's wrestling
2022-23: 51 teams reported sponsoring women's wrestling, a 12-school uptick from 2021-22. Division III accounted for 30 schools in the 2022-23 sponsorship data, followed by 19 in Division II and two in Division I.
Average roster size: 15.
Season of competition Winter.
