Women's Wrestling Facts & Resources

Building the Future of Women’s Wrestling

Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports at the scholastic and collegiate levels. The NWCA has remained committed to helping create new opportunities for girls and women to compete, lead, and thrive in wrestling.

The NCAA recently announced that women’s wrestling will become its 91st championship sport, with a combined Division I, II, and III championship beginning in March 2026. The NAIA officially recognizes women’s wrestling with a national championship, and the NJCAA has also recognized women’s wrestling as an emerging sport.

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74,000+

Girls Wrestling in High School

150+

Colleges Sponsoring Varsity Programs

States with Girls State Championships

2004

Olympic Recognition Began

Why This Matters

Rapid National Growth

Participation continues to rise across the country, creating stronger pipelines from youth and high school wrestling into college competition and coaching leadership opportunities.

Championship Pathways

Formal championship structures through the NCAA, NAIA, and other governing bodies are helping give women wrestlers greater visibility, legitimacy, and opportunity.

NWCA Advocacy

The NWCA has helped promote women’s wrestling growth through leadership development, program support, and advocacy for expanded participation at schools nationwide.

Facts & Resources

Since 1994, the number of women who wrestle in high school has grown from 804 to more than 74,000, according to participation numbers released by the NFHS.
In 2026, the NCAA announced that in 2027-28 Division III Women will host its own championship.
In 2025, the NCAA announced that women’s wrestling would become its 91st championship sport.
In 2022, the NAIA adopted women’s wrestling as its 28th championship sport.
In 2020, the NJCAA announced it would recognize women’s wrestling as an emerging sport.
In 2020, the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals hosted separate NAIA and NCAA women’s divisions for the first time.
In 2019, the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Coalition announced the creation of the Cliff Keen National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships for NCAA teams. The event was hosted by Adrian College on March 6-7, 2020.
In 2019, the Committee on Women’s Athletics recommended Emerging Sports status for women’s wrestling to the NCAA.
More than 150 colleges now sponsor a varsity women’s wrestling program.
Forty-six states now sanction an official scholastic state championship for girls: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Since 2004, women’s wrestling has been a recognized Olympic sport.
Women’s high school wrestling participation numbers are higher than NCAA-sponsored sports such as crew, fencing, skiing, and rifle, as well as NCAA emerging sports such as rugby, sand volleyball, and equestrian.
Since 2015, the NWCA has invited 100 coaches annually to take part in the NWCA CEO Academy for Women Coaches as part of the NWCA Traditional Leadership Academy.
The NWCA has been instrumental in helping add women’s wrestling as a new sport at a number of schools.

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Stay connected to the latest developments, access NWCA resources, and help continue building stronger opportunities for girls and women across every level of wrestling.

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