There are 52,406* girls wrestling at the high school level across the country this season.  That’s up 46% from last year. For perspective, The National Federation of High School Sports reports that last season there were 55,829 girls playing field hockey, 96,762 girls playing lacrosse, 468 girls playing rugby, 18,215 girls playing water polo, and 8,939 girls playing ice hockey. 

Relative to these statistics, girls wrestling participation is impressive, but will the soaring participation trajectory impact the number of Division I programs?

As of today, the 52,406 girls wrestling across the country have four NCAA Division I teams to choose from: Presbyterian College, Sacred Heart University, University of Iowa, and Lindenwood University.  In contrast, the 55,829 girls playing high school field hockey have 81 Division I teams where they can compete. The 96,762 girls playing lacrosse have 117, the 468 girls playing rugby have 9, the 18,215 girls playing water polo have 33, and the 8,939 girls playing ice hockey have 38.  

According to the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Coalition’s website, there are 80 NCAA Division II & III women’s wrestling programs. However, it’s hard to overlook the discrepancy going on for women at the Division I level. 

The lack of Division I programming leaves individuals involved with women’s wrestling scratching their heads.  Why wouldn’t Division I decision-makers jump on board as early adopters?  

Kate Zavuholnik, Vice President of Cornell University’s Women’s Freestyle Wrestling Club says, “The time is now!  Too many girls are forced to choose between their athletic and academic careers.  Adding a Division I women’s wrestling program will drastically shorten the gap between a once gender-exclusive sport and support women athletes in their pursuit of higher education.  It will recognize the work that women athletes put in and draw in a new and engaged fan base.” 

Our young women are yearning for Division I opportunities that don’t yet exist and it’s up to us to help them. 

Other sports have done it. We can too.   

Dripping data and visibility for the sport on decision-makers is a good place to start.  One way to do this is by creating opportunities for female wrestlers to compete on Division I campuses and at Division I men’s events.  We saw this happen this season with women’s divisions being added at the Princeton Open in November and at The Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in December.  Exhibition matches are also popping up during intermissions at men’s Division I dual meets. 

Moreover, at last year's Eastern Interscholastic Wrestling Associations (EIWA) Championship, four women’s matches took place before the semi-final round and it will happen again this year.  

Gene Nighman, Executive Director of the EIWA, shares, “We’re both pleased and excited to showcase women’s wrestling matches in conjunction with the EIWA championships. Women’s matches offer the same excitement and action as men’s wrestling and the EIWA is proud to play its part in the growth and promotion of women’s wrestling.”  Nighman goes on to explain, “The ultimate goal is for the EIWA to hold a women’s championship as the qualifier to the NCAA Women’s Wrestling National Championship.”  

The exhibition matches will take place at The University of Pennsylvania on March 5th prior to the semi-final round at 10:00 am. The matches will also be live-streamed on Flowrestling. Kevin McGuigan, the Director of Wrestling Operations at The University of Pennsylvania has been supportive of creating space for women’s developmental practices at the Pennsylvania RTC and is now working behind the scenes to ensure successful visibility for women at the EIWA Championships.

“We’re thankful for the opportunity to host the 119th EIWA Championships in the Palestra this year. This will be the second year in a row that women’s matches will be contested before the semi-finals. In Philadelphia and in the surrounding suburbs, we have seen considerable growth in women’s wrestling at the high school level. Hopefully, having these matches on a bigger stage in front of a larger crowd will showcase what is possible for young women wanting to compete at the next level.”