A Sociological Analysis of NCAA Division 1 Women’s Wrestling: As a Social Movement

Abstract

The present study focuses on the social movement to institutionalize more NCAA Division 1 Women’s Wrestling varsity programs. This qualitative study utilizes 14 in-depth semi-structured interviews among movement actors from Princeton University, Columbia University, Sacred Heart University, and outside organizations as well as a thematic analysis of the University of Iowa to gather interpretive understandings and connect the movement with current literature on: gender ideology, gender inequality, and social movements. The findings of the current research yield that gender ideology, in this domain, is shifting towards more egalitarianism through successive generations. The study supports the “stalled gender revolution” debate as women wrestlers striving to compete at this level are subject to inequalities in media representation, resources and administrative support, as well as higher educational attainment. These inequalities do not affect a small minority of the athletes that are on a varsity NCAA Division 1 program. The movement is found to have arisen from a sense of community, identity, and value-added experience from the sport coupled with the feeling among this social group that institutional inequalities disproportionately affect their lives. The actors are: athletes, grassroots bureaucratic organizations, male wrestling counterparts, and the FloWrestling media outlet. It is framed through visibility, however at Ivy League Universities the framework is more focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and exposing the inequalities experienced by these athletes. The movement can be framed through Title IX, however many actors feel that this is not the best option. The outcome of the movement is widely successful, but less so at Ivy League Universities due to rigorous admissions processes that can lead to difficulty in growing the local visibility needed.