North Manchester – Manchester University will offer women’s wrestling as a collegiate sport beginning in the 2024-25 academic year, making it the 50th NCAA Division III women’s team in the United States.

“The time has come to start a women’s wrestling program at Manchester University. Interest in girls wrestling in high school is exploding and we’re seeing that in Indiana,” said athletics director Rick Espeset, who made the announcement on Monday, March 27.

“We want to be at the forefront of growing the sport, bringing the experience of student athletes to more of our students, and giving women the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level,” he said. “We couldn’t be more excited to add women’s wrestling.”

In addition to noting the DIII milestone, Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association, said that this announcement represents the 154th new women’s intercollegiate wrestling program to be added across all divisions and governing bodies since 2000.

“I wholeheartedly thank the University of Manchester for recognizing the educational value and diversity that a new women’s intercollegiate wrestling program will bring to their campus. The number of women in high school wrestling is exploding across the country and these new programs are critical to providing post-secondary educational opportunities for wrestlers in the region,” said Moyer.

“Needless to say this is a huge win for our sport and for Manchester University,” he added.

Josh Hardman, head coach of Manchester’s men’s program, becomes director of wrestling. Manchester will hire an Associate Head Coach for the women’s program and another for the men’s programme.

“With the growth of women’s wrestling in Indiana and across the country, it’s exciting to add women’s wrestling to the athletic department at Manchester University,” Hardman said.

“To be at the top and to be part of the growth of this burgeoning sport is something that needs to be celebrated. Manchester has always been a place that encourages individual growth and this is just another example of the innovative, bold commitment MU continues to make to provide life-changing opportunities for its students,” he said.

As a member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Manchester features 10 NCAA-sponsored athletic teams for women and 10 for men. Women’s wrestling will be the 11th collegiate sport for women with a full year of recruitment.

Anyone interested in women’s wrestling can apply at https://applyto.manchester.edu/register/MUWWR.