The strong growth of youth, high school and collegiate wrestling as a whole is easy to pin down — girls’ wrestling now ranks as the fastest-growing high school sport in participation in the U.S.

Last November, Indiana became the 46th state to sanction girls’ wrestling at the high school level, joining Louisiana earlier last year and Rhode Island, West Virginia, Alabama and South Carolina in 2023. Prior to Hawaii becoming the first state to sanction the sport for girls in 1998, a girls only choice to wrestle at the high school level was to compete directly against boys.

The growth is told in one simple statistic in 2025: Girls now make up 18 percent of high school wrestlers.

Then came news earlier this year that the NCAA has added women’s wrestling as its 91st championship sport, providing another opportunity for female athletes to compete. Divisions I, II and III approved the addition at the Association’s annual Convention in January.

What’s that mean? It means that women’s wrestling now advances from the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program to become a national collegiate championship, featuring female athletes from all three divisions competing against one another. The NCAA’s first women’s wrestling championship will be in 2026.

“We are thrilled that women’s wrestling will be an NCAA sport,” NCAA president Charlie Baker says. “We extend a big thank you to everyone who supported this effort and the athletes, coaches and fans for their passion for a fast-growing and exciting sport that brings even more opportunities for women to participate in athletics.”

There were 76 women’s wrestling programs at NCAA schools in 2023-24, with projections pointing to an additional 17 programs in 2024-25. More than 1200 women wrestlers are competing at NCAA schools in 2025. The sport is also diverse   at least 45 percent of the student-athletes competing are of diverse or international backgrounds.

Also helping drive this effort was women’s wrestling standing as an Olympic sport since 2004.

“College sports are huge in the United States,” said University of Iowa student-athlete wrestler and 2024 Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades in a press release. “This shows how much women’s wrestling is growing. Since I was a little girl, I dreamed about being an NCAA national wrestling champion. It will fulfill so many little girls’ dreams, including mine.”

The spike in girls’ wrestling helped overall wrestling participation at the high school level for the 2022-23 school year top 300,000 for the first time since 1978, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). For the 2023-24 year, high-school wrestling participants reached 356,131.

The hyper growth in girls’ wrestling has been fueled by a campaign led by Wrestle Like a Girl, a nonprofit founded by former U.S. champion wrestler Sally Roberts, and supported by USA Wrestling, the national governing body, that has helped the perceptions and infrastructure around the sport change. UFC has been a major sponsor of Wrestle Like a Girl since 2018.

For team dealers, the major growth opportunity is serving the new and expanding girls’ wrestling programs, including supporting demand for female-specific gear and tastes. However, the growth in girls’ wrestling is also believed to be fueling an uptick in participation in boys’ wrestling.

According to NFHS, boys’ participants reached 291,874 for the 2023-24 school year, climbing 17.9 percent since in 2018-19, the last school year prior to the pandemic, and reaching levels not seen since the eighties.

Participation on the boy’s side at high schools peaked at around 350,000 in the mid-seventies before the cancellation of some wrestling programs at the college level, blamed on the enactment of Title IX, trickled down to impact participation at high schools. The National Wrestling Coaches Association has claimed 171 collegiate programs were eliminated due to the effects of Title IX. 

Broadly, girls’ participation is now seen elevating the sports’ overall profile given the extensive media coverage of the emergence of girls’ wrestling, the steady birth of new tournaments for girls and the arrival of unusual alliances with the sport.

In January, for example, e.l.f. Beauty, the popular Gen-Z cosmetics brand, signed on as the first beauty sponsor of The Wonder Women of Wrestling Varsity Tournament, the largest high school girls’ wrestling competition.

“These young women are breaking barriers in the sport with passion, resilience and courage — exemplifying e.l.f.’s mission to be bold disruptors with a kind heart,” explains Patrick O’Keefe, chief integrated marketing officer at e.l.f. Beauty.

Boys’ participation is also being helped by households, with a new girl wrestler often leading their brothers to take up wrestling.

“If you have both boys and girls in your family, it’s kind of a one-stop shop,” Wrestle Like a Girl’s founder Turner recently told the Wall Street Journal in an article exploring girl’s wrestling’s benefit to boys. “Everybody can go to the same practice.”

In some states including Texas, adding a girls’ wresting often leads to the establishing a boys’ squad.

Other factors seen supporting wrestling overall include the expansion of youth wrestling tournaments and that wrestling tends to more affordable than several other team sports with reasonable registration fees and no need for expensive equipment.

Chad Clark, SVP at Cliff Keen Athletic, in a similar vein believes part of wrestling’s attraction for girls is that it’s easy to pick up. “You don’t need to know how to throw up curve ball. You don’t need that know how to skate and hit a puck,” he explains. “It’s hands and feet on a wrestling mat. All you need to learn how to do is some of the techniques.”

At the same time, Clark believes girls are looking for “real opportunity to compete.” He notes that his daughter chose to play hockey for the physical demands of the sport that can test an athlete’s limits. “She just got interviewed for article here locally and they asked her what drove her to hockey, and she said it was the ability to compete, have that physical contact, and be able to physically manipulate your opponent. And I think that holds true for wrestlers as well.”

Clark believes that similar to the impact of Olympics’ recognition in 2004, NCAA championship recognition will lead to more girls wrestling at the high school level as they can aspire to face off collegiately. He said, “If the NCAA really gets behind it, you’ve got a lot of different opportunities for girls to keep competing.”

But the big news remains the NCAA adding women’s wrestling as its 91st championship sport. “This means so much to women’s wrestling and to women’s sports in general,” says University of Iowa’s Blades. “It gives women’s wrestling recognition and shows that it is important, not just around the world, but also in our country.”

Before the Committee on Women’s Athletics made its recommendation to move women’s wrestling to championship status, 40 schools had to sponsor the sport at varsity level and meet other competition and participant requirements. Women’s wrestling, which became an emerging sport in 2020, eclipsed the sponsorship minimum in the 2022-23 academic year. A women’s wrestling committee will now be established to work with NCAA staff on the development of the first championship for winter 2026.

“The NCAA’s approval of women’s wrestling as its 91st championship is a groundbreaking achievement that reflects the continued rise and strength of women’s sports,” explains Ragean Hill, chair of the committee and executive associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Charlotte.

“This milestone opens the door to new opportunities for female student-athletes across Divisions I, II and III, showcasing the NCAA’s commitment to fostering equity and growth in collegiate athletics,” Hill adds. “The Committee on Women’s Athletics is thrilled to celebrate this historic moment and look forward to the future impact of women’s wrestling on campuses nationwide,” Hill said.

USA Wrestling, the national governing body for the sport, and organizations such as Wrestle Like a Girl have steadily supported efforts for an NCAA championship in the sport.

“USA Wrestling salutes the NCAA leadership for its historic decision to make women’s wrestling its 91st NCAA championships,” says Rich Bender, executive director of USA Wrestling.

“Women’s wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 2004 and is the fastest-growing sport for young women in our nation,” Bender adds. “We thank each of the NCAA institutions which have already added women’s wrestling for their leadership and vision and invite others to consider providing this opportunity. We celebrate today with all of those within wrestling and college athletics who have worked so hard to make this dream a reality.”

Meanwhile, Sally Roberts, CEO and founder of Wrestle Like a Girl, also shares her excitement.

“I am filled with immense pride and gratitude as we celebrate the landmark decision,” Roberts says. “This moment is a testament to the relentless determination, passion and perseverance of countless athletes, coaches and advocates who believed in the transformative power of wrestling for women — our next generation of leaders.”

The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics oversees the Emerging Sports for Women program and worked with the wrestling organizations throughout the process.

Women’s wrestling is the sixth emerging sport to earn NCAA championship status. Since the emerging sports program was established in 1994, based on a recommendation from the NCAA Gender Equity Task Force, five women’s sports have earned NCAA championship status: rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003) and beach volleyball (2015). In the 2023-24 academic year, these sports collectively included nearly 14,000 student-athletes, about six percent of the total student-athletes competing in NCAA women’s championship sports, according to the most recent NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates data. Women’s wrestling accounted for an additional 1226 student-athletes in 2023-24.

The emerging sports program continues to thrive. Currently, five sports are working to reach championship status: acrobatics and tumbling, equestrian, rugby, stunt and triathlon. Additionally, the NCAA received an application this summer requesting that women’s flag football join the emerging sports program.

“This milestone for women’s wrestling is a declaration that women deserve equitable opportunities to compete, to lead and to thrive,” Hill continues. “It’s a step toward gender parity in sports and a powerful reminder that when women are given the platform to rise, they inspire generations to come. Women’s wrestling is not just a sport; it’s a movement that empowers women to see their strength, their value and their limitless potential.”

Commentary on women’s Wrestling and the NCAA

“I think women’s wrestling being elevated to an NCAA championship is a good representation of our hard work — all the blood, sweat and tears that we’ve put into this sport. We have put countless hours into this sport, and we are working just as hard as the men, so it will be really awesome, for women’s sports in general, to see women’s wrestling at the NCAA championship level.”
Madison Avila, All-American women’s wrestler at North Central (IL)

“Competing for an NCAA championship is a dream for every student-athlete. We are thrilled women’s wrestling athletes will have that reality next year. Women’s wrestling continues to see record growth at the high school and youth levels. Providing a championship experience will only enhance the excitement surrounding this sport.”
Beth Goetz, Henry B. and
Patricia B. Tippie director of athletics chair, Iowa, Division I
“I am excited that women’s wrestling will become an NCAA championship sport in 2026. It’s been rewarding for our conference to be a part of the growth of the sport at the collegiate level. The CCIW was the first conference in all three divisions to host a conference championship in 2023 and we are thrilled that our student-athletes will now get to compete for an NCAA national title.”
David Hicks, VP–athletics/triathlon coach, King (Tennessee), Division II

“As one of the original NCAA institutions to sponsor women’s wrestling back in 2009, we are extremely excited at the incredible growth of women’s wrestling at the NCAA level over the past several years. It’s amazing to look back on those early years of championships hosted in small institutional gyms and know that our student-athletes will now be competing in an NCAA championship. I am excited not only for our young women at King, but for the female student-athletes at all member institutions, as well as the young girls coming through the high school ranks in one of the nation’s fastest-growing sports — they are the future of this sport.
Sarah Hildebrandt, former King (Tennessee) women’s wrestling athlete, 2024 Olympic gold medalist and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist

“It is incredible to see the growth of women’s wrestling, specifically seeing collegiate women wrestlers finally getting the stage and recognition they deserve. I’m so excited to see what this event can do for the continued growth of the sport moving forward.”
Sarah Hirshland, CEO, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee

“Many people across our broad sport community came together to make this championship in women’s wrestling a reality — and it’s a testimony to the dedication of all who believe in the power of sport and the necessity of opportunity.”
Lee Roy Smith, executive director, National Wrestling Hall of Fame

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