The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) is a post secondary athletic association built to help the promotion of collegiate wrestling. The organization is composed of wrestling teams and clubs from across the United States and Canada; many of these were formerly NCAA scholarship programs which were affected by Title IX legislation, which has resulted in many colleges being forced to give up their wrestling programs in the name of gender equity. The variety of institutions competing in the NCWA is wide and unrestricted as junior colleges, trade schools and post secondary prep institutions which compete in the same national championship as four year colleges and universities.

The NCWA is divided into seven regional conferences and two divisions. Division I teams are funded by the university and many give athletic scholarships, Division II teams are clubs and may operate on campuses where there are established NCAA DI Teams. In 2007 the NCWA become the only collegiate association in the U.S. to officially recognize women's collegiate wrestling (matches were done using collegiate/folkstyle rules unlike freestyle, which was the norm for previous competitions). The NCWA sponsored the first women's collegiate national championship in Lakeland, Florida in March 2008, where nine women's teams were represented. The NCWA continues to sponsor women's collegiate wrestling.^[1]

Contents 1 Conferences 2 Advantages of the NCWA 3 See also 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] Conferences

• Westcoast
• Southwest
• North Central
• Southeast
• Mid-Atlantic
• Northeast
• Mid-East

[edit] Advantages of the NCWA

• The organization and its members encourage wrestlers to compete no matter what the experience level.
• Several NCWA members have gone on to become scholarship athletes at NCAA DI and DII institutions.
• Several NCWA All Americans have gone on to be NCAA All Americans
• Its a good format for the average wrestlers who still have the passion to compete in the sport they love.
• Gives smaller colleges and universities the opportunity to begin a collegiate-level program.

[edit] See also

• NCWA women's wrestling champions

[edit] Notes

1. ^ National Collegiate Wrestling Association (2008-09-01). "2008-09 NCWA Wrestling Plan" (PDF). NCWA. http://www.ncwa.net/files/Wrestling_Plan.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-20. 

[edit] External links

• Mens Division-NCWA website
• Women's Division - NCWA website