A post-secondary athletic association built to help the promotion of collegiate wrestling, the NCWA was founded in 1997 as a 501c3 non-profit by the current executive director, Jim Giunta, after resigning as executive director of the Texas Interscholastic Wrestling Association (TIWA). At its founding the association had 13 member teams, but today the NCWA is composed of over 150 wrestling teams and clubs from across the United States and Canada. Many of these programs were formerly NCAA scholarship programs which were affected by Title IX legislation, which has resulted in many colleges being forced to give up their wrestling programs in the name of gender equality. The variety of institutions competing in the NCWA is wide and unrestricted as junior colleges, trade schools and post-secondary prep institutions compete in the same national championship as four-year colleges and universities.
While the NCWA currently has over 100 schools in competition, it has also been home to many programs that transitioned from one association to another or that originated as an NCWA program and later changed associations.
The organization and its members encourage wrestlers to compete no matter what the experience level.
A good format for the average wrestlers who still have the passion to compete in the sport they love.
Several NCWA members have gone on to become scholarship athletes at NCAA and NAIA institutions.
Several NCWA All-Americans have gone on to be NCAA All-Americans.
Several NCWA coaches have gone on to be NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA coaches.
Gives smaller colleges and universities the opportunity to begin a collegiate-level program.
Programs can be established and developed quickly without the traditional limitations of an NCAA team.
Funding of teams is open to many sources not allowable under NCAA rule.
Programs currently transitioning from one association to another (NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, USCAA, NCCAA) have a place to compete in the post-season during their transitional period.
The NCWA is always looking to implement new rules and functions of collegiate, such as instant replay for officials and the Collegiate Cup.
The student-athletes are and have to be extremely hands-on in all of the team's operations and decision-making; this type of leadership training can prepare the student-athlete for their future careers whether in wrestling or not.
The NCWA is a governing body of wrestling and can make their own decisions as far as rules, procedures, and competition. This is evident with advances such as the GoGreco Program, instant replay and challenges in matches, and the Collegiate Cup championship format.
Talented high school student-athletes who were passed over by NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA schools have a chance to compete at an NCWA program.
Talented high school student-athletes who transferred out of an NCAA/NAIA/NJCAA school have a second chance to wrestle in college.
Some U.S. states do not have NCAA, NAIA, and/or NJCAA teams with wrestling, but do have at least one NCWA wrestling program, which can make it easier for high school athletes to decide where they want to wrestle in college in terms of financial costs.
The NCWA allows student-athletes four total seasons of eligibility with no time frame to complete them unlike the NCAA, who requires student-athletes to complete four seasons of eligibility in five years of enrollment starting from the student's first year at the school, and the NJCAA, requires student-athletes to complete two seasons of eligibility in three years of enrollment starting from the student's first year at the school.
Similarities with NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, CCCAA, and WCWA
Collegiate weight classes are used (125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197, 285lbs).
All meets and tournaments use NCAA rules and procedures.
All conferences host a Conference championships tournament with a specific allotment of automatic qualifiers based on placement finish in the Conference championships.
Like the NAIA, a school can enter two wrestlers in the same weight class at the Conference and National Championships (if they both qualify for the latter); one is deemed the scorer and the other the non-scorer (no advancement, match, or placement points are awarded to this wrestler).
Like the NAIA, the NCWA allows a student-athlete four total seasons of eligibility regardless of time frame. The NCAA require students to complete their four seasons of eligibility in five years starting from the student's first year of competition (barring a sixth-year grant for hardship). Athletes previously competing for an NCAA, NJCAA, or CCCAA program that transfer to the NCWA will still have the remaining number of eligible seasons without the previous time frame.
Like the WCWA, schools traditionally competing in the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, or CCCAA can all compete against one another.
Differences with NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, CCCAA, and WCWA
As mentioned before, the NCWA allows many types of funding to its wrestling programs that might not be allowed by the NCAA. This can allow the wrestling team to grow at its own rate.
235 lb weight class
The NCWA is the only association with collegiate wrestling to offer an 11th weight class: 235lbs. There are a number of benefits from this:
This weight class bridges the weight gap between the 197lb and 285lb weight classes, the biggest weight disparity among any two weight classes.
College wrestlers who wrestled in the 195 or 220lb weight classes in high school might find this easier to compete in than having to wrestle at 197lbs or 285lbs.
Schools who have two or more prominent athletes in the 197 and/or 285lb weight classes can now give their athletes another chance to succeed individually and earn team points.
Another weight class leads to higher team scores at tournaments.
The 11th weight class can often be used as a tiebreaker as the first criterion of "Number of Matches Won" in dual meet settings.
Collegiate Cup championship Series
Starting in the 2013–2014 season, the National Championships in March and the Collegiate Cup Duals (previously known as the National Dual Meet Championship) directly related to each other in a team's point total. A team's finish at the Collegiate Cup Duals transferred to additional points being awarded at the National Championships.
The National Wrestling Coaches Association (or "NWCA") have a National Duals tournament for NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, NJCAA, and NCWA teams, but all do not tie into their respective National Championships point totals. Penn State University (NCAA D-I) won four straight National Championships from 2011 to 2014 – without ever competing in the NCAA D-I entry of the National Duals. The NCWA's National Championship Series is the first of any of the college divisions to have a true champion that is indicative of both its team's as well as its individuals' success.
GoGreco Program
Starting in 2016, the NCWA launched the GoGreco Program with USA Wrestling.[22] While USA Wrestling's Freestyle and Greco-Roman season and procedures are separate from the wrestling teams and individuals that participate in them, the NCWA owns and operates the GoGreco Program within their domain and directly controls and promotes another wrestling opportunity. This is the first collegiate-level Greco-Roman wrestling national championship. The inaugural championships will take place on June 3, 2017, in Dallas, Texas on the campus of Richland College.
The first tournament, the Texas GoGreco Championships, took place on Saturday, May 6, 2017, at Richland College. The University of North Texas won the tournament with six of seven wrestlers winning in the finals. Richland College and University of Houston–Downtown finished second and third, respectively.[23]
Women's Folkstyle Wrestling
Whereas the WCWA has athletes compete in freestyle, the NCWA has its women's division compete in collegiate folkstyle wrestling. There are a number of teams that compete in both the WCWA and NCWA to give their athletes more competitive opportunity.
From 2010 to 2011, the Champions Challenge was formed by the NAIA and NCWA to bring more highlight matches to the wrestling community by pitting NAIA All-Stars against NCWA All-Stars at each weight class in a dual meet (except for 235lbs since the NAIA does not recognize that weight class in competition). The All-Stars were usually the highest returning All-American at each weight class barring injury; the coaching staffs were one or two coaches for each school represented in the dual. The NCAA Division II is slated to join in the next event.
In 2008, the NCWA approved the National Dual Meet Championship where the top teams in the country would compete against one another to crown a true team champion starting in 2009. No other association had an official dual-based team champion at the time and that is still the case except in the NCWA. The current structure has 24 teams competing in a bracketed format down to 24 places.
In its thirteenth season, the NCWA hosted its first National Dual Meet Championship. Whereas the National Championships focuses more on individual success and teams can depend on one or a few exceptional wrestlers, the National Duals highlights teams with solid line-ups and good wrestlers at each weight class. It is common for teams that win or place highly in the National Duals to do so at the National Championships later. The National Duals usually take place in late January before the National Championships.
Starting in the 2013–2014 season, two changes took place: 1) the National Dual Meet Championship was now renamed as the Collegiate Cup Duals and 2) a team's finish at the Collegiate Cup Duals would earn it a certain number of team points at the National Championships and aid them in winning it. Two major reasons for this change were to 1) encourage more teams to want to wrestle in the Collegiate Cup Duals and, 2) while still recognizing up to two different champions at the two different tournaments, one team could be determined as the best true overall team and individual wrestling champion that year.
During the 2017 Vision Forum, the NCWA ruled that the National Dual Meet Championship will be held on the eastern side of the United States during even-numbered years and on the western side of the United States during odd-numbered years.
Starting with the 2019-2020 season, the NCWA would have a women's division of the National Dual Meet Championship. Previously, the National Dual Meet Championship would host some individual matches, dual meets, and/or an "All Star" event for women's wrestlers and teams invited, but this would be the first formal women's division to take place.
NCWA National Dual Meet Championships series history
The 6:12 Project is a community outreach program created by the NCWA for its wrestlers, coaches, officials, volunteers, and staff to help the city hosting the NCWA National Duals. NCWA wrestling programs serve food to those in need and hold canned and non-perishable food drives. They later donate those goods, as well as clothes (especially jackets), to one of the city's organizations.
The name "6:12 Project" comes from the Biblical quote Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12 from the New Testament:
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against power, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
The first 6:12 Project took place at the 2012 National Duals in Dalton, Georgia and repeated for the 2013 and 2014 events which were also held in Dalton. It is scheduled to continue at the 2015 Collegiate Cup Duals in Dalton again.
NCWA Regional Duals Championship
Initially created as the Western Regional Duals, this event was created in order to give teams in the western and central part of North America the opportunity to compete in a national dual meet event like the National Dual Meet Championship.
Historically, the National Dual Meet Championship has been hosted on the eastern side of the United States in Georgia, Tennessee, or Virginia. When the Collegiate Cup was passed in 2013, questions and concerns were raised as to whether teams closer to the physical location of the National Dual Meet Championship would have an unfair competitive advantage in terms of championship points calculated for the Collegiate Cup series.
At the 2017 Vision Forum, the NCWA passed a resolution stating that in even-numbered years the National Duals would take place on the eastern side and the Regional Duals on the western side; in odd-numbered years, the National Duals would take place at a western location and the Regional Duals an eastern location.
Starting in the 2022-2023 season with the NCWA accepting the NWCA's offer to compete in the NCWA division of the NWCA Duals, the NCWA would host up to two Regional Duals Championship events - one designated in the East and/or one in the West.
Western Regional Duals. Round-robin format was used.
Conference championships
Following the inaugural season, the NCWA approved a five-conference format where wrestlers would compete for advancement into the National Championships as well as seeding if they qualified. The number of conferences has fluctuated throughout the years including reaching a record high of 9 and currently set at 8. Additionally, some conferences have been renamed over the years. These conferences are geographically-based and are similar to the National Championships tournament where Division I and II programs wrestle in one bracket, but differ in that team scores are kept as one tournament (unlike the National Championships having a Division I team score and Division II team score).
The day before competition starts at the National Championships, the NCWA hosts a wrestling combine for athletes to showcase their talents to observing college coaches. Most athletes are high school student-athletes which is the primary focus, however students at a post-secondary institution without a wrestling program may also attend. The event also allows students to ask questions about collegiate competition to college coaches.
Men's Collegiate Wrestling Championships
The first major event the NCWA hosted took place in 1998 was the inaugural National Championships with 26 teams in one division in the 10 then-standard weight classes. Since then, the event has grown to include approximately 340 qualifiers among 150+ teams within the 11 NCWA weight classes where two champions are crowned (Division I and Division II).
Here, individuals are recognized for their outstanding individual achievement. They can earn team points (unless they are the non-scorer on their team) by advancing through the tournament, scoring bonus points in matches, and placing in the top 8. Teams accumulate points from all of their scoring wrestlers. The National Championships have traditionally been held in the middle of March. Division I and Division II teams compete in one bracketed tournament where the overall team points are separated at the end between the two.
In 1998, the NCWA approved an eleventh weight class, the 235lb weight class.
In 2007, the NCWA approved All-American status for wrestlers placing in top 8. Previously, only the top 6 wrestlers in each weight class were named All-Americans.
In 2010, the NCWA approved a two-division classification system - the Division I level composed of established teams meeting specific criteria and the Division II tier where up-start teams as well as teams aiming to join Division I would compete.
Since the 2013–2014 season when the Collegiate Cup championship series was passed, teams' National Championships points are added with their National Dual Meet Championship finish points to determine the overall team champion.
In 2020, multiple teams and individual wrestlers withdrew from the tournament before or during the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Division I: Bellarmine(2/2)[178] Division II: West Chester(1/1)<
245.5 57.5
Division I: Liberty Division II: Ohio State (NCWA)
182.0 56.0
Women's Collegiate Wrestling Championships
The first NCWA-sponsored Women's Collegiate Wrestling Championships took place at the 2008 National Championships. The NCWA sponsored this event under their new banner organization, the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Association (NCWWA). The weight classes have been designed to closely resemble most female athletes' natural weight ranges as well as let programs that also compete in women's collegiate freestyle to acclimate to folkstyle competition. Whereas before matches were done using freestyle rules, as was the norm with associations like the WCWA, the NCWWA uses collegiate/folkstyle rules like in the NCWA, NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA.
Team scores were unofficial at the inaugural 2008 tournament, and Simon Fraser University finished with the most team points.[179] Bo Icalia and Josh White are tied for head coaches to have won the most titles; Icalia won the 2010 and 2011 titles as head coach of Yakima Valley Community College and the 2012 and 2013 titles as head coach of Southwestern Oregon Community College. White has won the 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 titles all with Southwestern Oregon Community College.
The top 3 wrestlers in each weight class are recognized as All-Americans. University of South Florida's Jasmine Grant is the NCWWA's first and only 4x All-American (2011–2014) so far. University of Maine's Samantha Frank has won 3 national titles going into the 2017–2018 season.
The Women's College Wrestling Championships has traditionally been dominated by northern and northwestern teams.
In 2020, multiple teams and individual wrestlers withdrew from the tournament before or after it had started in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Women's Collegiate National Championships series history
Approved in 2016, the GoGreco Program was launched with USA Wrestling in order to improve the U.S.A.'s performance in Junior- and Senior-level Greco-Roman competition. The GoGreco season starts on the last weekend of March and concludes with the GoGreco Collegiate National Championships on the first weekend of June.[22]
GoGreco Nationals is an open-entry event to any NCWA Member institution. NCAA, NAIA & NJCAA institutions that are not currently a member of the NCWA are encouraged to join the NCWA for the GoGreco Season and to send athletes to the Nationals. Student-athletes must maintain the same academic standards that are required of the NCWA and their member institutions in order to compete.
The inaugural championships took place on June 3, 2017, in Dallas, Texas on the campus of Richland College.
No 2021 season took place due to the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
Vision Forum
Every year since 1997, the NCWA's Vision Forum convenes during the wrestling off-season in the summer and is held at about the same location as and set a few days before the National Wrestling Coaches Association Convention. The Vision Forum focuses on the NCWA rule changes, policies, and procedures from the previous season and if any modifications need to be made or new topics need to be discussed. The 2017 Vision Forum will be held from Wednesday, August 2 to Sunday, August 6 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Some important changes and events that have come from the Vision Forum:
Introduction of Puerto Rico programs, Puerto Rico Conference, and first national championships held in Puerto Rico; passed in 2022[190]
NWCA National Dual Meet Championship to feature NCWA Division, NCWA to host both Eastern and Western Regional Dual Meet Championships; passed in 2022
Women's division for the National Dual Meet Championship; passed in 2019
National Duals and Regional Duals to switch between eastern- and western-based locations every year; passed in 2017
Western Regional Duals; passed in 2016
"Recruit Me" High School Wrestling Combine; passed in 2015
W: Denotes Women's Championship. D1: Denotes Men's Division I Championship. D2: Denotes Men's Division II Championship. GG: Denotes GoGreco Championship. The following championships did not take place due to the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States:
2020 GoGreco Championship.
2021 Men's Division I Championship.
2021 Men's Division II Championship.
2021 Women's Championship.
2021 GoGreco Championship.
Collegiate Cup championship
At the 2013 Vision Forum, the NCWA approved a new National Championships Series to crown a true National Team Champion. With the National Dual Meet Championship, the team that wins the Collegiate Cup will earn 24 team points. The runner-up will receive 23, third-place 22, and so forth until the 23rd-place team receives 2 points. All other teams that participated, but did not place in the top 23 will receive 1 point. Those points will be carried over to the individual-based National Championships where teams will continue to score points based on their individual athletes' performances.
The winner of the Collegiate Cup will have accrued the most total points between both events and be presented with the College Cup as the overall NCWA National Champions. Grand Canyon University was the first champion of the new format in 2014.
Championship Year
Champion School
National Dual Meet Championship finish
National Championships finish
Notes
2014
Grand Canyon
1st
1st - Division I
Inaugural Collegiate Cup champions
1st team to sweep National Dual Meet Championship and National Championships in same season under the Collegiate Cup format
2015
Liberty
1st
1st - Division I
2016
Central Florida
1st
2nd - Division I
1st team to win Collegiate Cup without winning both the National Dual Meet Championship and National Championships in same season
2017
Emmanuel
1st
1st - Division I
2018
Liberty
1st
1st - Division I
1st team to win multiple Collegiate Cup championships
2019
Liberty
1st
1st - Division I
1st team to win back-to-back Collegiate Cup championships
2020
Liberty
1st
1st - Division I
National Championships tournament continued during the COVID-19 pandemic
The NCWA is divided into eight regional conferences and four divisions. Men's Division I programs are athletic department funded or have met the NCWA's D-I criteria. Many of the Division I programs also offer athletic scholarships. Men's Division II teams are broken into categories; Emerging Programs, that are developing into Division I teams, and Clubs that operate on campuses where there are established NCAA/NCAA/NJCAA Teams; few Division II schools are of the latter circumstance. Schools whose wrestling teams are competing in the NCWA during their school's transitional period are placed into Division I. Women's programs are any collegiate/post-secondary scholastic programs who also compete in the collegiate folkstyle ruleset. GoGreco programs have most of the same set-up as the men's and women's divisions with the exception that it is under a Greco-Roman ruleset.
In August 2010, the current two-division system was passed at that year's Vision Forum and implemented for the 2011 National Championships.
Conferences
Conference
Year Founded
States/region
Automatic Qualifiers per weight class
Allocated Wild Cards
Notable teams
Great Lakes
2012
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin
Teams dispersed into Great Lakes, Northwest, Southwest, and West Coast conferences
North Central Conference
2002-2012
Mid-west, northern, central, northwestern
Split into Great Lake and Great Plains conferences due to large size
Northeastern Conference
1998-2001
Northeast, northern, Atlantic
Renamed "Northeast Conference"
Northern Conference
1998-2002
Mid-west, northern
Renamed "North Central Conference"
Northwestern Conference
2001-2002
Mountain, northwest, Pacific
Renamed "Northwest Conference"
Southeastern Conference
1998-2002
Atlantic, southern, southeastern
Renamed "Southeast Conference"
Southwestern Conference
1998-2002
Central, Mid-west, southern
Renamed "Southwest Conference"
West Conference
2003-2005
Pacific, northwest, southwest, west
Renamed "West Coast Conference"
Western Conference
1998-2001
Pacific, northwest, southwest, west
Renamed "West Conference"
Wrestling clubs in the NCWA: Bloomsburg University, Edinboro University, Ferrum College, Fresno State University, Iowa State University, Lehigh University, Michigan State University, Northern Illinois University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, Sacred Heart University, State University of New York - Cortland, University of Buffalo, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Northern Colorado, University of Pittsburgh, University of Wisconsin, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech University.
Notable people
The NCWA has had thousands of alumni since it began in 1997. Notable alumni include:
Jeff Allen: First 4x National Champion in NCWA history (2019–2020, 2022–2023).[177][199]
Kevin Andres: Head coach of Ottawa - Arizona's men's and women's wrestling teams and current Sports Clubs Coordinator.[200] Head coach of Belmont Abbey (1998–2006), Mercer (2006–2014) men's, and Ottawa (2015–2018) men's wrestling teams.
Justin Bellman: First 2x National Champion (1998–1999) for Valley Forge Military, 1999 NCWA Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Jadaen Bernstein: 4x NCAA Division I National Qualifier wrestler for United States Naval Academy. 2014 174lb National Champion for Navy Prep.
Asnage Castelly: 2016 Olympic freestyle wrestler for Haiti. Coaches at Springfield Tech.
Jesse Castro: 4x NCCAA champion wrestler for Liberty and National Wrestling Hall of Fame - Virginia Chapter member. Current head coach of Liberty wrestling team.[201]
Ryan Diehl: 2x NCAA Division I National Qualifier wrestler for Maryland. 2x NCWA National Champion for Liberty.
Nicholas Gil: 2x NCAA Division I National Qualifier wrestler for United States Naval Academy. 2015 149lb National Champion for Navy Prep.
David Hazewinkel: Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler for the United States of America in 1968 and 1972, brother of Jim Hazewinkel, uncle of Sam Hazewinkel. Coached at Pensacola Christian (1998–2006) and Marion Military (2006–2016).
Jim Hazewinkel: Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler for the United States of America in 1968 and 1972, brother of Dave Hazewinkel, father of Sam Hazewinkel. Coached at Pensacola Christian (1998–2006) and Marion Military (2006–2016).
Shay Horton: 3x NAIA National Championships qualifier for Thomas More. 2024 All-American for Thomas More.
Kailan Keith: 2023 NAIA National Championships qualifier wrestler for Thomas More. 2024 All-American wrestler for Thomas More.
Josh Kenny: 2024 NCAA Division II National Champion wrestler for Grand Valley State. 2023 National Runner-up for Grand Valley State.
Seth Konyenbelt: 2024 NCAA Division II National Qualifier for Grand Valley State. 3x All-American and 2x National Runner-up for Grand Valley State.
Tom Lawlor: MMA fighter signed with UFC. 3x national champion and 4x All-American for Central Florida.
Henry A. Marsh: 2017 NCWA Hall of Honor Inductee,[202] NCWA Northeast Conference Chairman, NCWA Head of Officials Committee, 3x NCWA Northeast Conference Coach of the Year, 3x NCWA Northeast Conference Team Titles, 10 years University of New Hampshire Head Wrestling Coach, coached 3 NCWA National Champions, a member of the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame, and a 1968 Olympic Trial Finalist.[203]
Antonio Martinez: 3x Copa Sparta freestyle tournament champion, most recently at 70kg in 2016. 2016 All-American for Texas - Austin.
Santiago Martinez: 2015 NCAA Division I National Qualifier wrestler for Lehigh, 2x Pan-American freestyle medalist[204] and World Championships 79 kg freestyle wrestler for Columbia at 79kg. 2x 157lb National Champion for Central Florida.
Daulton Mayer: 2023 NAIA 285 lb All-American for Thomas More. 2023 285 lb All-American for Thomas More.
Anthony McLaughlin: 2019 NCAA Division I National Qualifier wrestler for Air Force. 2015 184lb National Champion for Air Force Prep.
Frank Mensah: Canadian Olympic Trials runner-up and current Development Coach for the Women's Provincial Team and Head Coach/Program Director of Coast Wrestling Academy in the Lower Mainland. 2005 125lb national champion and 2x All-American for Douglas.
Andre Metzger: 2x NCAA Division I national champion for Oklahoma and 3x World Championship freestyle wrestling medalist for United States of America and National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee c/o 2017.[206] Head coach of North Texas.
Pat Milkovich: 2x NCAA Division I national champion and 4x NCAA Division I finalist for Michigan State and National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee c/o 2000.[207] Former head coach of Florida Gulf Coast University.
Ryan Moore: 2023 NAIA 149 lb National Runner-up for Thomas More. 2024 149 lb National Champion for Thomas More.
Bill Neal: Former Greco-Roman wrestling coach for United States Olympic Training Center. Head wrestling coach at Richland.
Ike Okoli: 2014 World Championships +90kg bronze medalist in Beach Wrestling for United States of America, 2019 Turkmen Goresh bronze medalist at the World Nomad Games, and 2019 US Open 130kg Greco-Roman place winner.[208] 2x NCWA All-American for South Carolina.
Cole VonOhlen: 4x NCAA Division I National Qualifier wrestler for United States Air Force Academy. 2009 141lb National Champion for Air Force Prep.
Bryant Wood: Model and actor. 2014 NCWA National runner-up for Grand Canyon.
Josh "The Goods" Woods: Amateur professional wrestler signed with Ring of Honor. 4x NCWA All-American and 2011 National Champion for Central Florida.
NCWA Gear
NCWA Gear is the official apparel of the National Collegiate Wrestling Association.[218] Based out of Orlando, Florida, the business sells sublimated athletic apparel designed for wrestling and mixed martial arts practice and competition for both men and women of all ages. NCWA Gear also offers full customization on its products.
In 2015, USA Wrestling named NCWA Gear's Florida National Team Uniforms for Fargo as the "Best Uniform Package." Mixed martial artists Josh "The Goods" Woods and Daniel "The Animal" Martinez both wore NCWA Gear while fighting.
1 2 3 Dashiell, Michael (May 28, 2008). "Steenberg takes third at wrestling nationals". Sequim Gazette. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2009. Pacific University (Forest Grove, Ore.) finished with 50 team points, second only to Simon Fraser University (British Columbia).
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The Central Oklahoma Bronchos, are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing University of Central Oklahoma, located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The five men's and nine women's varsity teams are called the "Bronchos". The school's identification as Bronchos dates back to 1922, when the wife of football coach Charles W. Wantland suggested it for the school's mascot. The official colors of the teams are bronze and blue, which the institution adopted in 1895. The Bronchos compete in the NCAA's Division II and in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association in all sports except women's rowing, which competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Bronchos have won 22 national championships, with the most recent coming in 2024 as the wrestling program won the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. The university's current athletic director is Stan Wagnon, who has served in the position since 2020.
The Cornell Big Red wrestling team represents Cornell University of Ithaca, New York in collegiate wrestling. It is one of the most successful and storied collegiate wrestling programs in the nation with over 20 individual NCAA champions, 43 Ivy League championships, and 28 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships since the program's 1907 founding.
The Limestone Saints are the athletic teams that represent Limestone University, located in Gaffney, South Carolina, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Saints compete as members of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) for most sports, having joined that league in July 2020 after 22 years in Conference Carolinas (CC). Limestone maintains CC membership in two sports, specifically men's wrestling and women's acrobatics & tumbling. Men's wrestling is one of two sports in which the SAC and CC operate as a single league, the other being women's field hockey. The SAC operates the field hockey championship, while CC operates the wrestling championship. The men's volleyball team competes as an independent. The swim team competed in the Bluegrass Mountain Conference before being dropped in 2018; the field hockey and wrestling teams were members of the ECAC–Division II before 2018, when the SAC and CC established their alliance in those two sports. The football team had been independent, but entered into a scheduling agreement with the SAC in 2015. This agreement was replaced in 2017 by formal affiliate membership, which continued until the Saints joined the SAC full-time in 2020.
The SIU Edwardsville Cougars wrestling team represents Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) as an associate member of the Mid-American Conference of NCAA Division I wrestling. The Cougars host their home matches at the Sam M. Vadalabene Center on the university's campus in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. The Cougars current head coach is Jeremy Spates who took over the program in 2013.
The Hoosier College Conference (HCC) was a men's intercollegiate athletics conference founded in 1947 by eight members of the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference. After consisting solely of colleges in Indiana for 24 years, the conference changed its name in 1971 to the Hoosier-Buckeye Collegiate Conference (HBCC) to reflect the admission of schools in Ohio. It existed for another 15 years in its rebranded form.
Kyven Ross Gadson is an American amateur wrestler. Currently a senior competitor in amateur freestyle wrestling, earlier Gadson, while wrestling for the Iowa State Cyclones, was a three-time All-American in NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling and won the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in the 197-lb weight class by pinning future Olympic and World Championship gold medalist Kyle Snyder in his final collegiate match.
Kyle Crutchmer is an American professional mixed martial artist, freestyle wrestler and graduated collegiate wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of Bellator MMA. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a two-time NCAA All-American and two-time Big 12 champion.
Isaiah Alexander Martinez is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 79 kilograms. In freestyle, Martinez is a two-time US Open National champion and was the 2017 US U23 World Team Member. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a two-time NCAA Division I National champion and a four-time Big Ten Conference champion.
David Aaron Carr (born March 28, 1999) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 165 pounds. In freestyle, Carr is a U20 World Champion and U17 World bronze medalist.
Myles Najee Martin is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 86 kilograms. In freestyle, he placed second at the '19 US National Championships and is a two-time US U23 National Champion. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was an NCAA Division I National champion, a four-time All-American and a Big Ten Conference champion out of the Ohio State University.
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