Ranked by participation
Top colleges for Wrestling scholarships
The 50 U.S. colleges with the largest wrestling programs by athlete participation — each shown with its school-level athletic-aid context.
Quick answer
Among schools that sponsor wrestling, Stanford University in California tops our list — a NCAA Division I-FBS program with one of the largest athletic-aid budgets and 26 wrestling athletes. We rank scholarship-awarding schools (NCAA Division I/II & NAIA — Division III awards no athletic aid) by division tier, then by the school’s overall athletic-aid scale, then by wrestling roster size — because EADA reports athletic aid only school-wide (men’s/women’s totals), never per sport.
About these aid figures
The athletic-aid columns below are school-level totals (all sports combined, split men’s/women’s) straight from EADA. They are not the amount awarded to wrestling athletes specifically — EADA does not publish per-sport aid. Use them only as a signal of how much a school invests in athletics overall.
| # | School | Division | Wrestling athletes | Men’s aid school-wide, all sports | Women’s aid school-wide, all sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Stanford, CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26 | $19,645,560 | $20,055,491 |
| 2 |  Ann Arbor, MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 35 | $17,359,163 | $13,811,731 |
| 3 |  Durham, NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 27 | $15,690,493 | $14,408,801 |
| 4 |  Columbus, OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 34 | $15,234,454 | $13,816,950 |
| 5 |  Evanston, IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26 | $14,880,630 | $13,049,548 |
| 6 |  Charlottesville, VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 37 | $14,175,770 | $11,154,557 |
| 7 |  New Brunswick, NJ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 37 | $13,653,780 | $11,643,557 |
| 8 |  University Park, PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 38 | $14,065,058 | $10,299,943 |
| 9 |  Blacksburg, VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 38 | $12,472,888 | $8,380,411 |
| 10 |  Pittsburgh, PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 32 | $11,887,217 | $8,225,423 |
| 11 |  Norman, OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 35 | $10,356,127 | $9,262,904 |
| 12 | NCAA Division I-FBS | 32 | $10,976,181 | $8,596,399 | |
| 13 |  East Lansing, MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 38 | $11,243,351 | $8,241,631 |
| 14 |  Bloomington, IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 28 | $10,607,303 | $8,778,138 |
| 15 |  Minneapolis, MN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 29 | $9,757,332 | $9,264,581 |
| 16 |  Madison, WI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 29 | $10,704,429 | $7,924,356 |
| 17 |  College Park, MD | NCAA Division I-FBS | 31 | $10,293,805 | $8,222,557 |
| 18 |  Iowa City, IA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 71 | $7,802,248 | $9,371,272 |
| 19 |  Chapel Hill, NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 37 | $9,121,336 | $8,028,006 |
| 20 |  Champaign, IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 36 | $8,613,622 | $6,396,796 |
| 21 |  West Lafayette, IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 34 | $7,893,890 | $4,937,179 |
| 22 |  Lincoln, NE | NCAA Division I-FBS | 31 | $7,103,791 | $5,591,586 |
| 23 |  Raleigh, NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 36 | $7,539,922 | $4,667,024 |
| 24 |  Columbia, MO | NCAA Division I-FBS | 40 | $6,232,907 | $5,163,687 |
| 25 |  Corvallis, OR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 37 | $6,379,566 | $4,862,536 |
| 26 |  Morgantown, WV | NCAA Division I-FBS | 38 | $6,613,087 | $4,372,259 |
| 27 |  Buffalo, NY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 34 | $6,415,306 | $4,105,386 |
| 28 |  Laramie, WY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 34 | $6,445,313 | $3,734,237 |
| 29 |  Ames, IA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 44 | $5,121,176 | $4,735,216 |
| 30 |  Athens, OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 44 | $5,678,401 | $3,931,508 |
| 31 |  Kent, OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 39 | $4,526,697 | $3,747,084 |
| 32 |  Dekalb, IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 38 | $4,742,119 | $3,181,597 |
| 33 |  Stillwater, OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 35 | $4,500,279 | $2,937,455 |
| 34 |  Boone, NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 32 | $4,536,703 | $2,726,957 |
| 35 |  Mount Pleasant, MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 30 | $3,868,501 | $2,835,760 |
| 36 |  Lewisburg, PA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 31 | $9,667,603 | $9,358,235 |
| 37 |  Brookville, NY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 35 | $10,169,698 | $8,044,977 |
| 38 |  Bethlehem, PA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 40 | $9,205,275 | $7,140,976 |
| 39 |  Fairfield, CT | NCAA Division I-FCS | 88 | $7,791,350 | $7,887,879 |
| 40 |  Erie, PA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 22 | $6,299,277 | $4,573,510 |
| 41 |  Buies Creek, NC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 46 | $6,091,198 | $4,616,317 |
| 42 |  Boiling Springs, NC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 38 | $5,865,091 | $3,649,368 |
| 43 |  San Luis Obispo, CA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 35 | $4,744,871 | $3,385,892 |
| 44 |  Saint Charles, MO | NCAA Division I-FCS | 23 | $4,361,510 | $3,350,197 |
| 45 |  Greeley, CO | NCAA Division I-FCS | 37 | $4,124,541 | $2,975,560 |
| 46 |  Baltimore, MD | NCAA Division I-FCS | 31 | $4,230,944 | $2,867,828 |
| 47 |  Lexington, VA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 29 | $5,795,798 | $993,776 |
| 48 |  Charleston, SC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 39 | $5,102,831 | $1,453,381 |
| 49 |  Davidson, NC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 29 | $3,235,591 | $2,711,726 |
| 50 |  Chattanooga, TN | NCAA Division I-FCS | 31 | $3,263,661 | $2,389,306 |
How we ranked this
Schools are ranked by NCAA/NAIA division tier (Division I-FBS and I-FCS first), then by the school’s overall athletic-aid scale, then by wrestling roster size (men + women), all reported to the U.S. Department of Education under the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA). Division III schools are excluded because they do not award athletic scholarships. The athletic-aid columns are the school’s men’s and women’s aid totals across all sports, shown for context; they are not allocated to wrestling — EADA reports aid only school-wide, never per sport. Only schools that can be matched to a named institution and report at least one wrestling participant are listed (minimum 5schools to publish a page). Empty cells (“—”) mean the school reported no value; we never estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Does EADA data show wrestling scholarship amounts per sport?+
No. The federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) reports athletic student aid only as a school-level total, split into men’s and women’s totals — it does not break aid down by individual sport. This page therefore ranks schools by their participation in wrestling and shows the school’s overall athletic-aid totals as context only. We never present a per-sport aid figure.
Which colleges rank highest for wrestling scholarships?+
Stanford University (California), a NCAA Division I-FBS program, leads our ranking of scholarship-awarding wrestling schools. We rank by division tier and the school's overall athletic-aid scale (athletic aid is reported school-wide, not per sport), then by wrestling roster size.
Do all wrestling programs offer athletic scholarships?+
No. NCAA Division III and some other associations do not award athletic scholarships at all, while Division I, Division II and NAIA schools may. A school showing $0 in athletic aid in our table typically does not offer athletic scholarships. Always confirm with the program directly.
How are these wrestling colleges ranked?+
By the number of student-athletes participating in the sport (men plus women) as reported to EADA — the only per-sport signal the dataset provides. A larger program generally means more roster spots and recruiting activity, but it does not guarantee a larger scholarship.
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education EADA (Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act) · IPEDS · College Scorecard. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.