Iowa Women's Wrestlers Set Sights on Inaugural NCAA Tourney on Home Turf
PHOTOS: HAWKEYESPORTS.COM
The Iowa women's wrestling team seeks its third straight national title this season but has fewer opportunities to flex its depth under the NCAA championship format.
The path to a national title will only get tougher. Iowa women’s wrestling coach Clarissa Chun embraces that reality as a natural byproduct of the sport’s rapid growth.
The Hawkeyes will be at the center of another milestone on the mat, March 6–7, 2026, when they host the inaugural women’s wrestling NCAA championships at Coralville’s Xtream Arena. “These are the things we work toward to not only grow as a sport, but to provide these young women opportunities to compete on a big stage,” says Chun. “This recognizes that they’re there, and there is enough competitiveness in the sport. It also fuels the opportunity for other programs to add women's wrestling.”
Division I Expansion
Chun says Division I has ground to cover to keep pace with the rapid increase of Division II and Division III institutions offering the sport. Since the NCAA approved women’s wrestling for championship status last January, she has received calls from several Big Ten and Big 12 universities seeking advice on establishing programs of their own. Lehigh University became the sport’s sixth Division I varsity program in May, following historically Black college and university Delaware State. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State fields one of several prominent club teams hoping to make the jump.
NCAA Format Changes
Iowa seeks a third straight national title this season but has fewer opportunities to flex its depth at the championship level. The maximum number of national qualifiers per school drops from 15 to 10 this season, with just one competitor per weight class, while the NCAA championship field decreases from 320 to 180 student-athletes. Iowa had 15 All-Americans at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships last season, including a pair at five different weight classes.
Chun says the format change has minimal impact on how her team approaches the season, and she’ll continue to build depth by filling her roster with 30 student-athletes, the maximum allowed for a Division I revenue-sharing team. The change has led, however, to having candid conversations earlier in the season. “No one’s guaranteed a spot, but that’s the beauty of wrestling—you’re fighting for a spot,” says Chun. “Even though now it’s a third of the team that, if qualified, would get to represent Iowa and compete for a national title, it’s never losing the fact that it takes the entire team to earn that team title, whether they step on the mat at nationals or not.”
Big Ten Championship Dreams
Two-time defending national champion Kylie Welker never imagined competing for an NCAA championship as a possibility when she first began wrestling. As that reality approaches, she hopes the increased visibility will garner more respect for the sport and create greater opportunities, like a Big Ten championship, for those following in her footsteps. “It’s inspiring and a testament to the sport,” says Welker. “We have moved really far in a short period of time, but we still have places to be in where we want to go.”
