ANGOLA, Ind. – Today, Friday, Jan. 17, as girls from across the state travel to the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling (IHSGW) 2020 Finals, Trine University has announced it will start a women's wrestling program of its own. The program will begin competition in the 2020-21 season.

"We are excited to announce another opportunity for women athletes to compete at the collegiate level at Trine University," said Assistant Vice President for Athletics Matt Land. "Women's wrestling is a growing sport and we are proud that women across the region will have a new opportunity to compete here at Trine."

Women's wrestling is a sport on the rise across the country, with 20 states officially offering a scholastic state championship, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). 

At the college level, more than 70 institutions offer women's wrestling; 24 within the NCAA. Six NCAA Division III institutions currently sponsor women's wrestling in the region. Trine becomes the first NCAA institution to sponsor the sport in Indiana.

The biggest news for the growth of women's wrestling came this past June when the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics "recommended that all three divisions of the NCAA governance structure add women's wrestling as an NCAA emerging sport, effective August 1, 2020."

The Thunder will begin a national search for the program's first coach immediately.

*Correction* - The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) does not conduct a state championship for girl's wrestling. The Michigan Wrestling Association conducts the Michigan High School Girls Wrestling Championships. Girls who participate on MHSAA boys wrestling teams are allowed to enter the tournament under MHSAA rules.