SCHOLASTIC WRESTLING (DATA PROVIDED BY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL FEDERATION OF ASSOCIATIONS)
- Scholastic wrestling ranks 6th of all boys' sports in terms of participation at the high school level with over 272,000 nation-wide. (see high school Participation Numbers from the NFHS)
- Wrestling has its high participation rates since 1980 (Total Male Participation - Total Male Participation Graph)
- Since 2002-03, the number of high school wrestlers has grown by over 30,000.
- Over 10,400 schools sponsors wrestling which is the highest ever
- In 2008/09, 42 new wrestling programs were established in Arkansas and the Arkansas High School Athletic Association became the 49th state to sanction a high school state wrestling championship currently, Mississippi is the only state that does not.
- The Cadet/Junior National Championships is the largest wrestling tournament in the world (over 3600 entries).
COLLEGIATE WRESTLING (INFORMATION PROVIDED BY NCAA AND GAO REPORT)
- Intercollegiate wrestling has over 100 years of competition.
- Collegiate wrestling typically ranks in the top 5 in revenue production of all NCAA Championships (2009 NCAA Championships set a NCAA attendance record).
- 81 new intercollegiate wrestling teams (all divisions) have been established since 2002
- Wrestling has one of the lowest per cost student-athlete of any male sport with a large squad size which makes it an ideal sport to help increase male enrollment.
- Wrestling has very modest start-up costs and needs
- Wrestlers have performed exceptionally well in the classroom as evidenced by the number of All-American and NCAA Champions earning National and Conference Academic accolades.
WOMEN'S WRESTLING
- Since 1994, the number of women who wrestle in high school has grown from 804 to over 8000. (Total Female Participation - Total Female Participation Graph)
- 22 colleges now sponsor a varsity wrestling program
- Women's wrestling is now a recognized Olympic sport
- Texas, Hawaii and Washington sponsor a state high school championship
INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING
- Wrestling was included in the ancient Olympic Games, and was one of the select sports included in the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896
- Over 135 nations sponsor a wrestling federation.
- Wrestling is one of the top three medal winning sports for the United States