There has been much discussion recently about the future of D1 athletics and what it will look like. While I can't say what the future will look like, I can show you what the past 50 years have been like. While there have been 45 new Div I wrestling teams added since 1975, either moving up from a lower division or as a new program, programs have been dropped or lowered to D2/D3 120 times. There were 155 programs 50 years ago and 79 in 2025.
A big thank you to Jason Bryant and his almanac that helped with the research for this project. You can find that HERE. A shoutout goes to the National Wrestling Hall Of Fame as well and their old NCAA guides which can be found HERE.
A look at all the added and lost D1 wrestling programs over the past 50 years pic.twitter.com/4t11opdjWy
— JD Rader (@rader_jd) October 29, 2024
Schools are listed below in their last year competing in the D1 national tournament or the first year they competed.