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 273,000 nation-wide. (see high school  from the NFHS)
  • Wrestling has its high participation rates since 1980 ( - )
  • 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).
  • 68 new intercollegiate wrestling teams (all divisions) have been established since 1999 (29 have been eliminated in the same period). 
  • 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 7000. ( - )
  • Eight 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

 

Wrestling Facts