LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- The New Mexico Highlands athletic department is excited to announce that it will add women's wrestling as a club sport starting the 2022-23 season.
The Cowboys, the only college in New Mexico with a men's program, are hoping to have women's wrestling transition to an NCAA program in two to three years.
"This is an exciting first step in making women's wrestling a NCAA sport at New Mexico Highlands," NMHU Director of Athletics
Andrew Ehling said. "Since entertaining the idea of women's wrestling, it became clear there's a huge need for college women's wrestling in the state of New Mexico. We already have one women's wrestler in
Nancy Rodriguez who will lead the way for other at Highlands."
New Mexico is already proving as a state to support the sport at the high school level with 66 programs that feature 466 student-athletes participating.
"The addition of women's wrestling at New Mexico Highlands is huge for girls in the state of New Mexico," NMHU wrestling coach
Cody Cole said. "New Mexico has been on the forefront of women's wrestling since it began to develop and grow. We are excited as a staff to help girls in New Mexico achieve their dreams of wrestling in college and compete in the sport they love."
Add that to the surrounding states Texas (380 programs, 3,554 student-athletes), Colorado (253 programs, 552 student-athletes) and Arizona (211 programs, 891 student-athletes) and there being only one NCAA program in Colorado (no club programs) and only four club programs in Arizona (no NCAA programs) and NMHU can benefit from getting in on the growing sport at the ground level.
NMHU is already drawing interest from prep student-athletes within the state - including several that applied to the university in hopes NMHU will start the program.
