The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA): Wrestling

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is college athletics' governing body. They oversee many sports such as gridiron football and baseball, plus men's and women's basketball, football (soccer), ice hockey and wrestling.

The NCAA recognizes individual championships in 10 weight classes as well as a team title. Wrestlers compete for these honors during an extensive regular season schedule.

Origins

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the world's largest governing body for college sports. Its members represent more than 1,100 universities and colleges from America, the District of Columbia, and Canada.

NCAA member schools are organized into conferences for competitive play. The most renowned of these is the Big Ten, featuring nine of America's top universities.

In the late 1800s, American intercollegiate sport gained widespread acceptance in popular culture. Football in particular quickly gained notoriety for being a fierce and dangerous form of competition; many students died from injuries sustained during those early matches.

One way to prevent these deaths was by creating rules and regulations that would safeguard athletes. This was the primary motivation behind why the NCAA was formed in the first place - to protect athletes.

In 1921, the NCAA held their first track and field championships. Later on, these sanctioned competitions were expanded to include team sports like baseball, ice hockey, soccer and lacrosse as well.

There are various individual collegiate wrestling tournaments held throughout the year, such as the National Dual Meet Championship. This event brings teams from both Division I and II together in a bracketed tournament to crown a true team champion.

The NCAA's rules are primarily intended to safeguard student-athletes from exploitative practices, yet it also has a keen interest in the business side of college athletics. As such, it has been criticized for its role in exploiting student-athletes.

For instance, the NCAA has rescinded full athletic scholarships to former UCF kicker Donald De La Haye after he made money through his YouTube channel. Although they maintain that student-athletes are entitled to full academic and athletic scholarships, they also must adhere to NCAA regulations which prohibit them from using their likenesses for financial gain.

The NCAA has a powerful governing body composed of presidents and chancellors from each division as well as five independent members. This board oversees association-wide matters and strategic plans, ensures that divisions are fulfilling their missions, and manages the association's budget.

Formats

Collegiate wrestling is a sport played at colleges and universities throughout the United States. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) oversees its regulation.

College wrestlers compete in a range of wrestling styles and may also take part in non-conference competition, though most often within their conference. Dual meets are common events where two teams battle it out at once to determine a victor.

In collegiate wrestling, the goal is to gain control over your opponent. This can be accomplished through takedowns, reversals, escapes, riding time (controlling an opponent's legs or torso for extended periods) and near falls - with falling being the most frequent way a wrestler may win a match.

A fall is when a wrestler puts both of their shoulder blades down on the mat for an extended period. The other way to win a match is by scoring more points than your opponent through takedowns, reversals or escapes; riding time and near falls are usually used as additional scoring methods.

Early methods of scoring in college wrestling relied on recording how long each wrestler spent on the mat, known as "riding time." This was often a major factor when determining who would advance to the next round without suffering a fall.

Recently, however, this emphasis on time has shifted. In 2006, the NCAA decreed that riders must remain on the mat for seven minutes of a match to be awarded any points.

This change was intended to extend matches and reduce the likelihood that one wrestler's team will lose a match before the end of the first period. Furthermore, the NCAA eliminated ties in individual matches.

In 2008, the NCWA created the National Dual Meet Championship to crown a team champion. This championship would take place on opposite sides of America; east to west in even-numbered years and west to east in odd-numbered years.

Rules

College wrestling season typically lasts from October or November until March (depending on when individual wrestlers or teams qualify for conference, regional, and national championships). It is divided into two distinct periods: regular season competition and post-season competition.

Collegiate wrestling emphasizes control and restraining power over the opponent, in contrast to high school or freestyle wrestling which emphasizes explosive action and risks.

Throws are an integral part of collegiate soccer, yet their value in terms of points system is not as high as it could be. This is because collegiate styles prioritize controlling an opponent rather than throwing them through the air and landing on their back or shoulders.

One way to score points is by holding an opponent's shoulders or scapulae (shoulder blades) near the mat for two to five seconds - this is known as a near fall point.

College wrestling uses the concept of "riding time" or "time advantage." This occurs when one wrestler has more time on top of their opponent than they do at the end of a bout, and that wrestler is awarded an extra point for their team.

Wrestlers can also be penalized for illegal holds, such as full nelsons, overscissors, back bows, headlocks (without an arm encircled), forceful trips and holds that restrict breathing or circulation.

Another type of penalty is "flagrant misconduct." This refers to any act considered unsportsmanlike or inappropriate during a bout, such as an excessively vocal spectator who is abusive toward officials, coaches, or opponents.

This type of behavior is also against team rules and can lead to forfeit for the team involved. Furthermore, it could result in expulsion of a coach from the match on their first offense.

Other penalties may be awarded to either the opponent or team, depending on the infraction. The first two infractions result in a one-point deduction, the third one-point deduction, and finally disqualification for any fourth violation.

Scoring

The NCAA, the governing body for all college sports, has devised a system for scoring matches in college wrestling. This involves two components: match points and team scoring. Furthermore, there are special rules applicable to individual championships and tournaments.

A takedown is the most crucial scoring position in a match, earning two points. Other positions include escapes (one point) and reversals (2 points). The most prestigious of these is a fall, which awards three victory points plus an additional bonus point. A technical fall that ends a match when there is fifteen or more points difference also earns two extra points.

Wrestlers can score up to four near fall points for placing an opponent on their back. He or she also receives a maximum of three points for riding time, or when they hold their opponent up on top for more than one minute.

In college wrestling matches, the match is declared over when one wrestler secures any part of both opponents' shoulders in continuous contact with the mat for one second. The wrestler who secures this fall is declared the victor and declared as having secured victory.

Another possible match ending is a sudden victory. In such an outcome, each wrestler has the chance to win by scoring points or riding time during the initial 30 seconds of overtime. If the score remains level after regulation, then a two minute overtime will take place; if still tied, two 30-second sudden victory periods will decide the victor - one where each wrestler gets one chance per position.

Throughout the regular season, teams compete in dual meets. Each dual is divided into ten weight divisions (125 - 285 lbs). A victory in any dual earns you three points.

At both Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, teams with the most points from all ten weights are declared champions. At these events, bonus points may be awarded for major victories, tech falls, or falls of 1.5-2 points.