Your Complete List of Men’s Division 2 Wrestling Colleges

The best wrestlers at NCAA Division 2 wrestling colleges could easily compete at the Division 1 level. Wrestlers of this caliber may select a D2 school instead of D1 for either social or academic reasons. Division 2 wrestling colleges simply give a student-athletes more of a sense of balance between the social, academic, and athletic aspects of college. Variables that can impact a student-athlete’s decision to go D2 can be:

• On average, Division 2 wrestling colleges require less training than in D1, which gives student-athletes more time for other pursuits off of the wrestling mat.
• D2 schools have a range of student population sizes, and more than half of the schools have less than 3,000 students. Student-athletes that require a more involved learning process most likely can thrive in these types of institutions, compared to the huge lectures with hundreds of students that are staples of D1 schools.

Keeping a social life that balances with academics and athletics can be easily attained at D2 wrestling colleges. Wrestling will of course take up a lot of time, but D2 student-athletes will have the ability to be involved in activities on campus, unlike many D1 wrestlers.

How many Division 2 wrestling colleges are there?

The latest data shows there are 64 Division 2 wrestling programs. The scholarship limit for D2 colleges is 9.0, so full scholarships are extremely rare, and most received are partial scholarships. A wrestler who would be likely to reach top 10 at the D2 level, though, could potentially earn a full scholarship.

D2 wrestling rankings. Top Division 2 wrestling colleges.

NCSA puts together a Power Rankings list of best D2 wrestling colleges that take other variables impacting the college experience into account beyond just team performance. NCSA’s goal is to inform student-athletes and their families and help guide them to a decision that is best for them.

1. Colorado School of Mines
2. Maryville University
3. University of Indianapolis
4. Gannon University
5. San Francisco State University
6. Mercyhurst University
7. Augustana University – South Dakota
8. Ashland University
9. University of Findlay
10. Seton Hill University

To see the top Division 2 wrestling colleges, based only on the team’s rankings, check out the NCAA rankings.