Northland College Athletics is thrilled to announce the launch of men’s and women’s wrestling programs.
Daniel Schumacher
The sport of wrestling enjoys national popularity. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) currently has 109 Division III institutions that sponsor men’s wrestling and 44 Division III institutions that sponsor women’s wrestling. During the 2021–22 school year, wrestling was the sixth-most popular high school sport for boys with 231,874 participants at 10,797 schools nationwide. In addition, there were 31,654 girls who participated in wrestling at 4,802 schools that same year.
Wisconsin is no exception to the rule. “The state of Wisconsin, and specifically the Ashland area, has a tremendous amount of talent and support for the sport of wrestling,” Schumacher remarked. “Adding these sport offerings is a natural fit for us.”
A national search for a head wrestling coach will begin immediately, with both programs slated to start intercollegiate competition in the fall of 2025. The addition of men’s and women’s wrestling will bring Northland College’s sport offerings to a total of sixteen varsity sports.
Northland College’s Athletics Department currently offers fourteen NCAA Division III teams in the sports of baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and volleyball. In the 2022–23 academic year, 42.3 percent of Northland College students were athletes.
