The five-year return of Liberty’s Division I wrestling program ended on Tuesday, as the school announced it has reclassified wrestling from an NCAA Division I sport to a club sport.
Liberty reinstated wrestling prior to the 2006-07 school year, a surprising move considering the nationwide trend of colleges and universities dropping the sport to comply with Title IX gender equity law.
The university has added three women’s sports since wrestling returned — lacrosse in 2009, swimming in 2010 and field hockey in fall 2011. Still, those additions weren’t enough for Liberty to meet Title IX’s proportionality requirements.
Liberty was left with two options: either to continue to add NCAA Division I women’s programs, or adjust the university’s Division I men’s participation opportunities.
Liberty first sponsored wrestling from 1974 to 1994 before disbanding the program. Castro was hired in August 2005 to resurrect the program, and in the Flames’ first year back in competition, they sent four wrestlers to the NCAA championships.
via News & Advance