Wrestling Added to SLIAC Championships

The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference President's Council has approved the addition of men's and women's wrestling to its list of sponsored championships. The additions bring the SLIAC championship list to 17 total sports, with men's and women's tennis competing as affiliate members in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. 

"The addition of men's and women's wrestling to the portfolio of conference-sponsored sports is a huge step forward for the current SLIAC institutions that sponsor wrestling," said SLIAC Commissioner Dick Kaiser. "A conference championship tournament provides an outstanding format for our student-athletes to showcase their talents."

Wrestling will hit the mats as a SLIAC sport beginning in the 2023-24 academic year with the championship being held in early February. Five initial core member schools will compete at the championships: Blackburn College, Eureka College, Fontbonne University, Lyon University, and Westminster College. 

"Men's wrestling at the collegiate level has rebounded and continued to grow in numbers and stature during the past five years while the sport of women's wrestling has absolutely exploded onto the intercollegiate scene with more schools adding the sport each year."

There are currently over 100 men's wrestling programs and over 30 women's wrestling programs in Division III. Men's wrestling has been competing as an NCAA Division III championship sport since 1974 while women's wrestling was officially named an emerging sport by the NCAA in 2020. 

"This is a great day for the sport of intercollegiate wrestling in the SLIAC. I congratulate all the coaches and student-athletes that have made this happen with their perseverance," said Kaiser. 

The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division III athletic conference founded in 1989. There are currently eight member institutions: Blackburn College, Eureka College, Fontbonne University, Greenville University, Principia College, Spalding University, Webster University, and Westminster College with two more schools (Lyon College and Mississippi University for Women) joining the league in the fall of 2023. The SLIAC also partners with the UMAC as an affiliate in men's and women's tennis and serves as the affiliate host with the Midwest Conference in men's and women's golf. 

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