NCAA to Host First National Women’s Wrestling Championship in 2026
In a significant development for women’s sports, the NCAA announced that it will hold a national postseason tournament and championship for women’s wrestling for the first time in 2026.
This rising sport was designated as the NCAA’s 91st Championship earlier this year, and just recently, the governing body for university athletics unveiled the structure for this inaugural championship.
The event is set to take place at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa, conveniently located near Iowa City. This arena not only hosts the University of Iowa’s volleyball teams but also accommodates minor league hockey and indoor soccer teams. Both the University of Iowa and the Iowa City Area Sports Committee will co-host the tournament.
Iowa is among just six universities that currently have women’s wrestling programs. The tournament will include all varsity competitors from the I, II, and III divisions.
According to notes from a recent NCAA meeting, the championship is scheduled for the first weekend of March, specifically from March 5th to March 7th, 2026. Regional competitions will happen two weeks prior to the main event.
The championship will feature 180 participants across 10 weight classes, with a limit of 18 wrestlers per weight category. Each team can send a maximum of 10 wrestlers from each region, with six regions total, and three qualifiers coming from each region.
Before moving forward, the NCAA Women’s Wrestling Committee had suggested an expansion to 210 qualifying rounds and seven regions. However, the NCAA settled on 180 qualifying rounds and six regions, which it argued is more consistent with the principles of Championship Access.
Looking ahead, there may be adjustments to the number of qualifying rounds, or competition could be split by divisions in the future. This could be beneficial as the sport matures at the Division I and II levels, especially since those teams often offer scholarships. Presently, Division III has a significant presence, with 70 competing programs compared to only 42 from Divisions I and II combined.
Iowa stands out as the only Power 4 program currently featuring a varsity women’s wrestling team, alongside other Division I institutions such as Presbyterian, Lehigh, Delaware, Lindenwood, and Sacred Heart.
