Marymount University is moving forward on plans to add both Men’s and Women’s Wrestling as varsity sports, expanding the institution’s athletic offerings to 22 different varsity-level teams.
Men’s competition will begin in the 2022-23 academic year, as Marymount currently searches for a head coach who will begin recruiting for the program immediately. Women’s competition will debut during the 2023-24 academic year.
“We are thrilled to start our immediate implementation of a varsity Wrestling program here at Marymount,” said Jill McCabe, Director of Athletics and Assistant Vice President at Marymount University. “It’s a sport that both aligns with our core values and will help us meet the enrollment goals within our institution’s Strategic Plan.”
High school wrestling is a growing sport both in Virginia and across the country – however, opportunities to compete at the collegiate level have not kept pace. While approximately five percent of high school male athletes across all sports go on to compete in college, the percentage is just 2.4 percent for wrestling. For women, participation in high school wrestling has grown nationally for over 30 straight years – and Marymount becomes just the second Division III varsity program in the state.
Wrestling also ranks in the top five of all NCAA sports for diversity, and is the second-most popular NCAA sport for first-generation college students. This makes the sport a valued addition to a university that is ranked first in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and among Regional Universities of the South for campus ethnic diversity.
The first Men’s Wrestling match is anticipated for November 2022, with home matches held in the Rose Benté Lee Center on Marymount’s Main Campus.
