Andrew Alirez Announces He's Staying At Northern Colorado

After announcing on May 1 that he would be looking for a new home, 2023 NCAA Champion Andrew Alirez announced via his Instagram he’s staying at Northern Colorado.

Alirez added this statement on his Instagram story:

 
This past season Alirez took an Olympic redshirt in preparation for the Olympic Trials, but ultimately came up short in his quest to claim the spot at 65kg when he lost to Nick Lee, who was recently named Assistant Coach at Penn State, 11-9 in the semifinals. Now, the Greeley, Colorado native will return to UNC to complete his college career after exploring his options in the transfer portal.
 
The last time Alirez was in the lineup for the Bears he went undefeated (28-0) winning a Big 12 title before becoming the University of Northern Colorado’s first NCAA Champion since 1969.
 
Watch Alirez’s 2023 Championship Win over Iowa’s Real Woods
 

Although we now know that he will be putting his home state’s singlet back on for another year, we do not know if he will be returning to the 141-pound weight class or moving up to 149 for the 2024-25 season.