How to expand NCAA wrestling? The business of higher ed is not NIL but tuition.

[Former158]

Now that the season is over---lets talk beyond the portal to what does it take to add a college wrestling program?

There is often talk here about premier expansion D-1 opportunities in power 4 conferences and other high revenue athletic departments. However, the future of the sport is not D-1, especially with NIL and the need for inflated football and basketball budgets. Without a major donor (10mil+), adding a competitive D-1 program with adequate scholarship, coaching and club level support, does not seem possible. While we need to strengthen existing D-1 programs with donations/camps, and other revenue, expansion is somewhere else

If wrestling is going to expand at the college level it needs to be at the DIII level and help with struggling enrollment. In the past 15 years, enrollment has declined more than 8% across the U.S. and more than 2,000 colleges have lost enrollment and are struggling to attract students. With empty dorm rooms and empty seats in classes, the costs of adding an extra student to campus right now is minimal so schools are willing to invest in new programs to recruit.

Targeting smaller, tuition dependent schools is a way to grow the sport. For instance if you could convince a small private institution that a new men’s and women’s program (yes combined is the way to go), could attract 10-15 more students to the school per year, even with a 50% need based scholarship as an average, many institutions would jump on this. Not all of these students would need to be wrestlers, but fans and friends of the student athletes----more students= more word of mouth/marketing. An extra 10-15 students a year at many schools can make a major difference in there financial situation. 

For instance, the revenue generated from a school which cost $50,000 per year in tuition room and board would far outweigh the costs of the team.

15 students per year @50% tuition, room and board scholarship x4 years (60 students total)---at many private schools, the average student pays less than 50% so this is not out of the norm.

·       60 students total x 25,000=                                       1,500,000 (tuition, room and board)

·       Coaches x3=                                                               -300,000 (total salary & benefits)         

·       Operating Budget                                                       -300,000 (capital, travel, etc)

·       Marginal costs for 60 more students on-campus    -180,000 (3,000 per student in real costs for classes, faculty, food, etc)

·       School revenue                                                                      +720,000 (For the bottom line)

Even with 250,000-500,000 in initial start up costs for a Wrestling room and mats, +720,000 a year in proven revenue after 4 years is well worth the investment.

So lets make business plans and target these tuition dependent schools with declining enrollment. If alumni and/or wrestling supporters can raise even 50,000-100,000 in start up costs, with a good plan, many universities are ready to listen and desperate for new ideas.

The time to strike is now as schools rarely add sports when they are flush with cash and students----why would they if the business model is behind it all?

Edited April 2 by Former158

[kschlosser]

This is why I believe the University of the Cumberlands women's program was the most profitable team in wrestling for years.

See wrestlingknownothing discussion on participation numbers

https://intermatwrestle.com/forums/topic/7459-college-wrestling-participation-stats/#comment-374749

[CHROMEBIRD]

Great analysis, agree 100%. What does your shortlist of target D3 schools look like?

The problem with D1/P4 expansion, which you allude to, is that if wrestling is added it immediately gets pressed financially as a non-revenue sport because football, basketball, and revenue sharing has become such an arms race.

I do like the idea of growing the sport in D1 from the outside in, though: develop at the youth level, grow the pool of talent and lifelong fans; at the same time, develop a post-college ecosystem so there are financial incentives after graduation, like pro competition (MMA, RAF, etc.), sponsorships, international prize tournaments, and other opportunities. There are also steps to push wrestling more towards profitability, for example, by increasing viewership (so, a chunk of media deals) and attendance.

Tbf, the powers that be have been doing this. It's just really difficult and takes a lot of time. Your approach I think produces more immediate results, and could become a pipeline into D1 and post-collegiate wrestling.

 

[bnwtwg]

 

[bnwtwg]

Death to the NCAA.

[LoserJucoMan]

Well one of the biggest issues is that D2 and D3 doesn't get any coverage. No disrespect but Flo covers women's college wrestling and high school states like Iowa and Illinois but would barely think about D2 or D3. There's less enrollment because the consensus among a lot of wrestlers is that if you wrestle D2,D3 or NAIA then you're trash, clearly not good enough for D1 and not worth the coverage. The elitism is what's ruining a lot of enrollment.

[CoachB]

Great post. Division III sports are enrollment drivers and more than justify themselves with the tuition revenue and higher retention rates. Potentially 40 tuition paying students that are more likely to stay and graduate is an administrator's dream, and that's what wrestling offers.

[kschlosser]

FBS, Division 2 and division 3 athletic departments don't carry the spending weight of division 1 football and basketball or revenue sharing. It is said that only 20-30 schools are profitable and the rest are using student fees, donations, and creative accounting to keep their budgets afloat. It has long been said the revenue from those sports subsidize the losses of women's and non revenue sports

Focusing on enrollment and tuition gives non division one schools the opportunity to expand. With enrollment dropping in recent years, athletics and unique degree tracts allow them to market themselves and cover the entire universities bills.

 

[jchapman]

21 minutes ago, kschlosser said:

FBS, Division 2 and division 3 athletic departments don't carry the spending weight of division 1 football and basketball or revenue sharing. It is said that only 20-30 schools are profitable and the rest are using student fees, donations, and creative accounting to keep their budgets afloat. It has long been said the revenue from those sports subsidize the losses of women's and non revenue sports

Focusing on enrollment and tuition gives non division one schools the opportunity to expand. With enrollment dropping in recent years, athletics and unique degree tracts allow them to market themselves and cover the entire universities bills.

 

Did you mean to say FCS?

[kschlosser]

12 minutes ago, jchapman said:

Did you mean to say FCS?

Yes I did. I still want to call them 1AA schools. 

Edited April 2 by kschlosser

[jchapman]

3 minutes ago, kschlosser said:

Yes I did. I still want to call the 1aa. 

I know, I keep catching myself too!

[Former158]

17 hours ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

Great analysis, agree 100%. What does your shortlist of target D3 schools look like?

The problem with D1/P4 expansion, which you allude to, is that if wrestling is added it immediately gets pressed financially as a non-revenue sport because football, basketball, and revenue sharing has become such an arms race.

I do like the idea of growing the sport in D1 from the outside in, though: develop at the youth level, grow the pool of talent and lifelong fans; at the same time, develop a post-college ecosystem so there are financial incentives after graduation, like pro competition (MMA, RAF, etc.), sponsorships, international prize tournaments, and other opportunities. There are also steps to push wrestling more towards profitability, for example, by increasing viewership (so, a chunk of media deals) and attendance.

Tbf, the powers that be have been doing this. It's just really difficult and takes a lot of time. Your approach I think produces more immediate results, and could become a pipeline into D1 and post-collegiate wrestling.

 

For D3---I would look to smaller private schools in the North East and Mid-West were demographic shifts are impacting traditional recruiting. Schools like St. Lawrence (former D3 national champ) who need to now diversify beyond traditional applicant pools might be well placed to revive a program. Look to the success of schools like Albion and Alma in Michigan as other small liberal arts colleges will happily replicate their enrollment success---or perhaps strong club sport teams can now make the jump https://ncwa.net/teams

[GimJustafan]

should lower level D1 schools look to drop to D2 , I know on the surface it sounds outlandish 

but how many are ever going to attract higher level recruits and even if they do land them,   most will leave if they have a minimal amount of success looking for a payday 

[TexRef]

Could the problem with D3 be that they are really expensive? Why would a kid who can't make a D2 or D1 roster want to pay $50K a year to wrestle? They could go to their local state school and save a lot of money. 

[ionel]

2 minutes ago, TexRef said:

Could the problem with D3 be that they are really expensive? Why would a kid who can't make a D2 or D1 roster want to pay $50K a year to wrestle? They could go to their local state school and save a lot of money. 

D3s with their scholarship $s usually net out to the same cost as the state school(s).  

[Caveira]

5 hours ago, ionel said:

D3s with their scholarship $s usually net out to the same cost as the state school(s).  

Does d3 do athletic scholarships ?   When I went they didn’t.  I got an academic one and work study though 

[Hammerlock3]

higher education is a corrupt orwellian nightmare.

Edited September 17 by Hammerlock3

[ionel]

7 minutes ago, Caveira said:

Does d3 do athletic scholarships ?   When I went they didn’t.  I got an academic one and work study though 

Academic scholarships. 

[Caveira]

Just now, ionel said:

Academic scholarships. 

Ya.  Somehow I snagged one ha.   Good times.  Good times 

[TexRef]

On 9/17/2026 at 9:48 AM, ionel said:

D3s with their scholarship $s usually net out to the same cost as the state school(s).  

The average price for a State in Texas is about $8900 a year. After scholarship and aid, most D3 schools are closer to $25K a year. There are some that have really good need-based programs (North Central is great at this), but most are not. 

[ionel]

36 minutes ago, TexRef said:

The average price for a State in Texas is about $8900 a year. After scholarship and aid, most D3 schools are closer to $25K a year. There are some that have really good need-based programs (North Central is great at this), but most are not. 

Well TX might be an exception ... $8.9k is pretty cheap.  

[bnwtwg]

On 9/18/2026 at 5:39 PM, ionel said:

Well TX might be an exception ... $8.9k is pretty cheap.  

To drag this one down to the NWT or not, that is the 32nd ranked question

[MPhillips]

6 minutes ago, bnwtwg said:

To drag this one down to the NWT or not

Too late...

On 9/17/2026 at 4:25 PM, Hammerlock3 said:

higher education is a corrupt orwellian nightmare.