COLLEGE WRESTLING SCHOLARSHIPS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COLLEGE WRESTLING RECRUITING

Finding the opportunity for a college wrestling scholarship comes down to finding the right college program and division level for you. There are opportunities to wrestle at the NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA and NJCAA levels with a total of 304 college wrestling programs.

Wrestling scholarships go to those who are getting results.

If you think you are good enough to be a scholarship wrestler you need to be able to get quarterfinal, semifinal and championship results at the conference, regional and national championship. If you are good enough to wrestle DI but can win championships at the DII level your best opportunity for a scholarship will be at the DII level.

Use our COLLEGE SEARCH TOOL to find the best wrestling colleges… Make up your own list of wrestling colleges that fit your academic and athletic profile. A list of NCAA wrestling colleges can also be found here.  Division I CollegesDivision II CollegesDivision III Colleges.

Facts about wrestling recruiting:

Most wrestling scholarships are partial scholarships, meaning you will have to pay for some portion of your education.
Per team there are 9.9 scholarships at the DI level, 9 per team for DII programs, 8 for NAIA programs and up to 16 scholarships for NJCAA programs.

It’s all about the numbers, with over 30+ wrestlers on your average college team you could be one of the best in your conference and still not receive much or any scholarship money if your team is stacked.

Wrestling coaches won’t find you unless…

Wrestling programs are chronically underfunded. College coaches don’t have the money to travel the country and find every potential recruit. It is up to you to make up the difference and actively promote yourself to coaches. Getting together your resume with your results, video and future competitions can ensure coaches get the opportunity to learn about you.

Good enough isn’t always good enough.

You need to be willing to look at 25 or more different universities across several division levels to find the right fit. Just because you are a good wrestler at 141lbs doesn’t mean your dream school has a scholarship for you. Unless your talents match up with a wrestling programs needs you won’t always get the offer you think you should from each program.

Hard work is a prerequisite for a wrestling scholarship.

Some wrestlers can get by at the high school and prep level on their natural ability and a little bit of hard work. To find success and ultimately scholarship money at the college level working hard is a must. Coaches don’t have time and will take scholarships away from wrestlers that aren’t working hard and aren’t producing results. Being a scholarship wrestler can be the most demanding and rewarding period in your life.

Most college athletic scholarships are not full ride like football and basketball, these are classed as “head count sports”; most other sports are called “equivalency sports”, like college wrestling. Wrestling coaches get to offer more scholarships to more high school wrestlers albeit at a lower rate.

In some ways this is good news for prospective college wrestlers. In division I a coach can divide the “9.9” wrestling scholarships between a larger number of wrestlers; for example: 25 partial instead of 9 full ride wrestling scholarships. If you are good enough of course then a full ride scholarship is always a chance.

The NCAA allows each division I college wrestling program  9.9 scholarships and  in division II, 9 wrestling scholarships are on offer.

There are 85 division I and 38 division II colleges that offer financial aid to wrestlers.

That’s a total of 1,183.5 wrestling scholarships available in the NCAA .

Prospective college wrestlers should not just concentrate on the top division I schools/colleges, most of these larger universities usually have a  number of potential recruits on their books. The competition for a wrestling scholarship is cut-throat, unless you are a blue chip wrestler you probably wont receive a good scholarship offer. There is nothing wrong with smaller division I, division II or NAIA colleges.At the end of the day it’s all about your education, being awarded a wrestling scholarship is one thing, but your choice of school should be a good fit for you academically as well.

Use the links at the bottom left hand side of this page to make up you list of wrestling colleges. Compile a list of DI wrestling colleges or any other NCAA Division.

Are you ready for the NEXT STEP!