Division III delegates approve establishment of DIII Women’s Wrestling Championships

Division III delegates approved multiple proposals at their business session Friday at the NCAA Convention.

Key legislative proposals included establishing a Division III championship for women's wrestling, redefining how a season of eligibility is used, permitting multiple automatic qualifiers for conferences, and requiring mandatory use of the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Delegates additionally approved National Collegiate Championships in both stunt and acrobatics and tumbling. Both inaugural championships will be held in spring 2027. Delegates also approved women's flag football as an emerging sport with an immediate effective date.

A list of the proposals is available here.

Division III Women's Wrestling Championships

The division established the Division III Women's Wrestling Championships starting in the 2027-28 academic year.

Currently, 55 Division III schools sponsor women's wrestling, accounting for more than half of the schools sponsoring the sport. A separate championship will provide an avenue for Division III student-athletes to compete against similarly situated programs.

Season of eligibility

Delegates defeated a proposal that would have changed how a season of eligibility is used.

Multiple conference automatic qualifiers

Delegates also defeated a formula to provide multiple automatic qualifiers to multisport conferences that have 12 or more core members that sponsor a sport.

Transfer Portal

Delegates approved a proposal to require the mandatory use of the NCAA Transfer Portal for Division III for NCAA four-year college transfer student-athletes. Specifically, they approved the following:

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