The NCAA Div. I Council Voted “Yes” to Women’s Wrestling. Now What?
Last month the NCAA Division I Council adopted legislation to grant women’s wrestling emerging sport status (ESS). The vote, which was postponed from the end of April, brings the trio of NCAA divisions together in granting women’s wrestling Emerging Sport Status (ESS). Divisions II and III passed the vote in January.
This celebrated milestone becomes effective on August 1, and, as part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, women’s wrestling will have 10 years to reach 40 programs as a prerequisite for championship status.
However, it wouldn’t be outlandish to think women’s wrestling might reach the 40-program requirement prior to even obtaining ESS on August 1. There are currently 39 varsity NCAA programs that sponsor women’s wrestling and talk of several more with interest in the addition.
It is not, however, as simple as gaining the programs and then, bam, championship status. There’s a significant amount of work on the horizon, and community awareness and involvement can help drive commitment to growth that transcends all levels and styles of wrestling.
Here’s an if/then scenario:
If women’s wrestling has 40+ NCAA programs prior to August 1, then the work is to maintain and hopefully add to those 40+ program for a complete academic year—in this case, 2020-21.
If the 40+ programs are retained, then the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will (hopefully) recommend that women’s wrestling become a championship sport, and the measure should be put up for vote in January, 2022. This process can be likened to the 2020 vote for ESS. Each division will vote on an individual proposal.
If Divisions I, II and III vote “yes” to championship status, then a date will be recommended for when championship status will go into effect. With multiple factors at play, it could be another several years out, and may depend on the NCAA’s strategic and budgetary planning processes.
Throughout this entire process, Wrestle Like A Girl, The Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Coalition and the NCAA CWA will help guide the efforts of member organizations and key stakeholders.
In March 2020, the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) took place for the very first time—a taste of the split that is moving forward to establish a level of exclusivity between intercollegiate organizations. While comments about all the acronyms flying across the room provided some entertainment, the name was actually intentional as it follows suit with the NCAA ESS program—preemptive of a positive outcome for the wrestling community. The NCWWC represents NCAA backing, and will remain intact until the sport reaches championship status.
Even in a world where all of these if/then situations play out in favor of the wrestling community, each division will still be working to grow. Initially as a championship sport—we’re playing on potential years of presumptions here—the championship would remain as the 40+ NCAA programs competing in a single multidivisional (I-III) championship.
Ambassadors within each division will be doing the hard work of reaching a required 40 programs within each respective division before they are able to branch off into their own divisional championship.
For example, if the number of Div. III institutions reaches 40, then Div. III programs would split, and have their own divisional championship event, while Divisions I and II remain combined.The current 39 NCAA programs are largely across Divisions II and III: Div. I (1), Div. II (15), and Div. III (23).
NCAA backing places student-athletes in a position to gain access to historically absent resources and additional educational opportunities for women in the sport of wrestling. Stay tuned for more updates to the ongoing story of bringing women’s wrestling into the NCAA.
Transition Wrestling is an independent women’s wrestling news publication.
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