Here’s the unfiltered truth about full-ride wrestling scholarships: they’re rare. The main reason being that men’s wrestling is an equivalency sport. In other words, NCAA Division 1 and 2 coaches are given a pool of scholarship money and can divide it up among recruits and current wrestlers however they like. So instead of offering full rides to a few wrestlers, it’s more common for them to divide their funds into partial scholarships across multiple athletes. Even though NCAA Division 3 coaches can’t offer athletic aid, they tend to create scholarship packages with other sources of money. In this section, we uncover all the facts when it comes to scholarships for wrestling.
Men’s wrestling is an equivalency sport, which means there isn’t a strict number of athletes who need to be on scholarship. Instead, each division is given an allocated number of scholarships and the coach decides how to divide the money up. For example, if there are 32 people on a team, instead of offering 9 full rides, the coach can choose to award partial scholarships to several athletes. For this reason, most men’s wrestlers are on partial athletic scholarships. Keep in mind, though, that these scholarship limits are the maximum amount coaches can offer. Some programs aren’t fully funded and may have fewer wrestling scholarships than listed above.
In short: It isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible either. There are roughly 10,500 men’s wrestling athletes across 536 programs from NCAA Division 1 to the NCWA. If we break it down to the two NCAA divisions with athletic scholarships, it comes out to 4,390 athletes competing for 1,310 wrestling scholarships. spots. From an NAIA perspective, we’re talking 1,806 athletes competing for 488 wrestling scholarships. Any way you look at it, the competition is fierce.
Plus, the number of high school men’s wrestlers has grown in the past two years, while the number of roster spots in NCAA Division 1 has historically declined from 2,754 athletes in 2000 to 2,461 today. Recruits looking to secure an athletic scholarship need to do their research, stand out academically, stay proactive in their recruiting and extend their search. For example, student-athletes may find that a Division 3 financial package made up of other forms of aid, such as academic scholarships and grants, cuts college costs the most.
Student-athletes can improve their chances of being awarded an athletic scholarship by targeting schools that are a good fit for them, keeping their grades up and anticipating which weight classes coaches will recruit. Keep these tips in mind:
The thing about colleges in the US is that training sessions fit around the student-athlete’s schedule. This creates the perfect environment for students to excel in their sport with world-class facilities and equipment. In addition, it encourages and pushes them to excel academically. These programs are designed so that students can succeed in both, providing they have the right mentality and drive to do so.
While full-ride wrestling scholarships are possible, they aren’t the norm. Wrestling is an equivalency sport, so instead of having a specific number of athletes on scholarship, coaches are given a pool of money and they’re allowed to divvy it up among as many recruits and current roster athletes as they want. Therefore, they typically award partial scholarships, which means athletes still need to pay for part of their education.
At the NCAA Division 1 level, coaches have a maximum of 9.9 scholarships per team, Division 2 has 9 scholarships, and NAIA coaches have 8 scholarships. The most opportunity is at the NJCAA level, where coaches have 20 scholarships per team.
Athletic scholarships from NCAA Division 1 wrestling programs are difficult to come by. Only one percent of high school athletes go on to compete at this level. Coaches can give out a maximum of 9.9 scholarships per year, and they usually divide this up into partial scholarships. Keep in mind that some wrestling programs aren’t fully funded, so coaches may have fewer than the maximum allowed.
We’ve compiled a list of the best colleges for wrestling scholarships across all three NCAA division levels. Recruits interested in these programs should visit the team’s roster to determine if they’re an athletic fit and learn more about the coach’s recruiting method, such as which areas they recruit in.
In short: It isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible either. There are roughly 10,500 men’s wrestling athletes across 536 programs from NCAA Division 1 to the NCWA. If we break it down to the two NCAA divisions with athletic scholarships, it comes out to 4,390 athletes competing for 1,310 wrestling scholarships. spots. From an NAIA perspective, we’re talking 1,806 athletes competing for 488 wrestling scholarships. Any way you look at it, the competition is fierce.
Plus, the number of high school men’s wrestlers has grown in the past two years, while the number of roster spots in NCAA Division 1 has historically declined from 2,754 athletes in 2000 to 2,461 today. Recruits looking to secure an athletic scholarship need to do their research, stand out academically, stay proactive in their recruiting and extend their search. For example, student-athletes may find that a Division 3 financial package made up of other forms of aid, such as academic scholarships and grants, cuts college costs the most.
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