3-point takedown approved for NCAA wrestling

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Thursday approved making all takedowns in wrestling worth 3 points, effective with the 2023-24 season.

Members of the Wrestling Rules Committee, which proposed the change, agreed that increasing the scoring for takedowns by an additional point will enhance the sport by rewarding offensive actions and risk-taking.

The committee also agreed there was a need to create a more appropriate point differential between takedowns and escapes and incentivize offense when competitors are in the neutral position.

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NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee proposes 3-point takedown

Change is meant to incentivize offensive action

The NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee at its annual meeting in Indianapolis this week recommended making all takedowns worth 3 points, effective with the 2023-24 season.

All rule proposals must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel. The panel is scheduled to discuss wrestling recommendations during a videoconference June 8.

Wrestling Rules Committee members think increasing the scoring for takedowns by an additional point will enhance the sport by rewarding offensive actions and risk-taking.

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NCAA releases latest RPI for 2023 Division I Wrestling Championships

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has announced the fourth coaches ranking and third Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.

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NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee releases qualifying tournament allocations for 2023 championships

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee has announced the pre-allocation spots for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as listed in the chart below.

Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular season performance by conference wrestlers through February 19. The pre-allocations were determined by using a sliding scale of the three standards while never going below the base of .700 winning percentage, top 30 coaches’ ranking, and top 30 RPI ranking until reaching the maximum of 29 wrestlers per weight class.

For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his conference tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each conference was awarded a minimum of one automatic bid per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA championship spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at conference tournaments based solely on place-finish.

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NCAA releases midseason coaches’ rank and RPI for 2023 Division I Wrestling Championships

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has announced the second coaches ranking and first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class, with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered, with at least one within the last 30 days.

The RPI is a calculation that consists of three factors: winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule), and opponent’s opponent winning percentage (opponent’s strength of schedule). Only matches against Division I opponents at the designated weight class count towards the RPI, and a wrestler needs to have wrestled 15 matches to be ranked.

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NCAA releases first coaches’ ranking for 2023 Division I wrestling championships

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has announced the first coaches’ ranking for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.

Of the 10 weight classes, six are led by members of the Big Ten Conference and no school has two individuals in the top spot.

A pair of national champions sit atop the 165-pound and 174-pound weight classes with Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole and Penn State’s Carter Starocci.

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NCAA releases updated 2022 NCAA wrestling awards standings for DII and DIII

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2022 NCAA wrestling awards that will be awarded in March at the Divisions II and III wrestling championships following NCAA regional competitions that took place over the weekend to determine the national championship qualifiers.

The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons.

For results to be counted for the awards they must come against opponents in the same division (i.e. Division II vs. Division II). Ties in the falls and tech falls categories are broken based on the aggregate time. For the Most Dominant Wrestler award, 17 matches and qualifying for the national tournament are required for this award.

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NCAA DI Wrestling Committee releases qualifying tournament allocations for 2022 championships

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee has announced the pre-allocation spots for the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as listed in the chart below.

Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular-season performance by conference wrestlers through February 20. The pre-allocations are determined using a sliding scale of a .700 winning percentage, top 30 coaches’ rank, and top 30 ratings percentage index (RPI) with a maximum of 29 pre-allocations per weight class.

For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his conference tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each conference was awarded a minimum of one automatic bid per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA championship spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at conference tournaments based solely on place-finish.

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