The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association will resume sponsoring men’s wrestling in the 2018-19 academic year, the conference announced Friday.
The MIAA Presidents Council voted in favor of adding men’s wrestling, which was last sponsored by the league in 1983-84.
"The MIAA is excited to reinstate wrestling as a sponsored sport," MIAA commissioner Penny Allen-Cook said in a press release. "This opportunity allows our member institutions to provide a championship experience for student-athletes currently competing at the intercollegiate level.
“It is a priority for the MIAA to foster the (NCAA) Division III experience on our member campuses, and adding wrestling will allow us to do so.”
Four MIAA schools sponsor men’s wrestling: Adrian, Alma, Olivet and Trine.
Adrian’s first season was in 1959, with the program halting in 1984. The Bulldogs resumed their program in 2015-16.
"This is awesome for our conference and the sport of wresting,” Adrian coach Bill Schindel said in a press release. “Michigan has a rich tradition of high school wrestling, and this will provide these young men more opportunities to compete at a higher level. This is also very exciting for the athletes to be able to win academic and athletic awards making the student-athlete experience much greater."
Olivet has sponsored wrestling since the program’s origin in 1964-65.
“This announcement verifies the health and growth of wrestling we have seen over the last decade in the youth, high school and college ranks,” Olivet coach Brandon Brissette said in a press release. “We are proud to stand with the fellow programs of the MIAA and declare wrestling is back.”
During the sport’s 16-year span in the MIAA, the league crowned 17 champions — Kalamazoo and Olivet tied in 1980 — and honored 18 MVPs.
The league’s best finish on the national level was Olivet taking ninth in Division III at the 1984 championships. Olivet’s Dan Pantaleo was an individual national champion that season.
The MIAA reinstating wrestling follows an increase in participation across Division III.
In the 2011-12 season, 87 programs and 2,432 individuals participated in the sport, according to the NCAA. The numbers in 2016-17 jumped to 101 programs and 2,759 individuals.
The addition of wrestling gives the MIAA 23 sponsored sports (12 men, 11 women).