Northern Michigan brings women’s wrestling back to campus
Marquette, MI—Northern Michigan University announced today that they will bring women’s freestyle wrestling back to campus, this time as an NCAA Div. II sport.
The women’s program will operate as a club, beginning in the fall of 2020, and then roll into full Div. II status in the fall of 2021.
NMU has a rich history of women’s wrestling. From 2004-2012, campus was home to resident athletes—in high school and college—as part of the United States Olympic Education Center. The USOEC program enabled athletes to train at a high level, and offered early opportunities for international training and competition. Former USOEC Head Coach Shannyn Gillespie pieced together a great write-up of the program, here. Former USOEC Assistant Coach Tony DeAnda is now coaching at Div. I program Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC.
The addition at NMU bumps Michigan’s program count up to 4: Adrian College (DIII), Davenport University (DII), Siena Heights University (NAIA) and now Northern Michigan University (DII).
NMU is the first Div. II program to add in several months, while Div. III has been on a roll, adding 6 programs in 2020 alone. There are now 36 NCAA women’s wrestling programs across the country, leaving the women’s wrestling community 4 NCAA programs away from the 40-program requirement to reach championship status.
According to USA Wrestling, there are 4 athletes with ties to an NMU undergrad qualified for the 2020 Olympic Team Trials qualifiers: Alyssa Lampe, Erin Clodgo, Whitney Conder and Jenna Burkert. If we take a wider look at the USOEC program participants in general, we can add even more names, starting with Erin Golston. Former USOEC athlete Carlene Sluberski is the head coach at the University of Providence, and Ally Somera is the assistant coach at New Jersey City University.
The Wildcats expect to hire a women’s coach this summer, who will spend a season recruiting the fall class of 2021. During that time, the women’s locker room area will be renovated to accommodate a full lineup of varsity wrestlers. Because NMU is home to the US-OTC for men’s greco-roman wrestling, there isn’t much extra renovation needed for the startup program.
Press release: Northern Michigan University
As a resident athlete at the USOEC program from 2010-2012, here’s my reaction:
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