Top 8 Wrestling Colleges in Florida

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Wrestling has been around since the dawn of civilization and is enjoyed by people all over the world. It is a physical and mental challenge that requires strength, stamina, and strategy.

Wrestling in college provides an opportunity for student-athletes to get exercise, make friends, build self-confidence and self-discipline, and possibly even earn a scholarship. College wrestling programs can help you find your “tribe” on campus and build structure into your routine.

This guide breaks down the top 8 wrestling colleges in Florida.

Two collegiate wrestlers competing in a match.
Two collegiate wrestlers competing in a match.

Table of Contents

Florida Colleges With Varsity Wrestling Teams

Currently, only three schools in Florida have varsity wrestling programs: Southeastern University, St. Thomas University, and Keiser University.

All three programs compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), which is generally composed of smaller schools and less-competitive programs than NCAA Division I or II. It is often compared to Division III in the NCAA, though one big difference is that NAIA programs are allowed to offer athletic scholarships.

Here are the three Florida universities that offer varsity wrestling.

Southeastern University

Southeastern University in Florida is a small, private institution that offers a wrestling program at the NAIA level. The school is located in Lakeland, a medium-sized town of about 115,000 between Tampa and Orlando (but closer to Tampa).

Southeastern has an enrollment of about 3,000 students, making it the largest university in the country affiliated with the Assemblies of God.

The Southeastern University wrestling program is arguably the most successful in the state of Florida. The team competes in the Sun Conference of the NAIA and is regularly ranked in the top 10 nationally. The team finishes most seasons ranked within the top three of its conference.

Southeastern is a great choice for student-athletes who are looking for a top-notch wrestling program while also receiving a quality education. At present, the school doesn’t offer wrestling scholarships, but it has the ability to as an NAIA program, and it’s something that could become a possibility in the near future as the program continues to grow and achieve success.

St. Thomas University

St. Thomas University's campus in Miami.
St. Thomas University’s campus in Miami.

St. Thomas University is a small, private Catholic University located in Miami Gardens, Florida, just a few miles northwest of downtown Miami. The university enrolls about 1,800 undergraduates and another 1,500 graduate students. It also features a law school.

The St. Thomas varsity wrestling team is a new program, established in 2020, but it is growing fast, currently boasting a roster of nearly 40 athletes. The program trains in the school’s Field House. Built in 1953, the facility underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2010 and is now one of the most lavish and upscale college athletic training facilities of any small school in Florida, featuring multiple weight rooms and a 200-meter indoor track.

The wrestling team competes in the Sun Conference of the NAIA and is a program clearly on the rise.

Keiser University

Keiser University in Florida is a private university in South Florida. It was founded in 1977, making it one of the newest colleges in the state. Its main campus is in Fort Lauderdale, but its flagship residential campus is in West Palm Beach, and that’s where the wrestling team is located. The school has other locations across the state and also enrolls thousands of online students.

Like Southeastern and St. Thomas, Keiser competes in the Sun Conference of the NAIA. Its wrestling team was established in 2019 and already has close to 20 athletes on its roster.

Keiser also has expansive academic offerings. You can pursue an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree in a variety of fields such as business, nursing, education, criminal justice, and more.

Florida Colleges With Active Club Wrestling Programs

If you don’t have an overwhelming desire to be a varsity collegiate wrestler and are happy competing at the club or intramural level, your options in Florida expand a great deal.

Many Florida colleges and universities offer wrestling as a club or intramural sport. However, the programs vary in how active they are. Some boast dozens of members, practice multiple times a week, and travel around the state and region to various competitions. Others are basically clubs in name only, with little to know actual student involvement.

The five schools profiled below have the most active club wrestling programs in Florida. All compete in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA), a nonprofit organization that hosts tournaments and competitions among college club wrestling teams.

University of Central Florida

  • Location: Orlando, FL
  • Enrollment: 69,320
  • Association: NCWA
  • Scholarships available: No
  • Program website: UCF Wrestling Club

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is located in Orlando. It is one of the largest universities in the entire country, with an enrollment of over 70,000 students. Throughout the 21st century, it has grown in both size and stature, rocketing up the U.S. News rankings and becoming highly selective as more and more students discover what a great school it is.

If you want to compete in club wrestling but do it at the highest possible level, UCF is where you want to be. Its team dominates the NCWA and has for many years. The school actually used to have a fairly competitive Division II program before jettisoning it back in the 1980s. But it still attracts dozens of quality wrestlers every year to its top-ranked club team.

Off the wrestling mat, UCF has a great location in Orlando, a highly underrated city for college students, with plenty of things to do both on and off campus. The weather is warm all year round, some of the best beaches in the state (and the country) are an hour away, and the entertainment options are practically limitless.

Florida State University

  • Location: Tallahassee, FL
  • Enrollment: 32,936
  • Association: NCWA
  • Scholarships available: No
  • Program website: FSU Wrestling Club

Florida State University is one of two state flagship universities in Florida, the other being UF. Its campus is set along the gently rolling hills of Tallahassee, and the students have spirit that is rare to find at most colleges in America.

Football is the big sport at FSU, and if you spend a Saturday in the fall at Doak Campbell Stadium, you’ll see why. The energy is unreal.

While the wrestling team doesn’t have quite the cachet or the fanbase of the football program, it is growing in stature and features dozens of both male and female athletes who compete at NCWA-sanctioned tournaments and events around the region throughout the year.

FSU is also a rising star in the academic world and is now on the bubble of the top 50 in U.S. News. It used to be thought of as a safety school for UF hopefuls — the classic joke was, “What do a Florida grad and a Florida State grad have in common? They both got into Florida State.” — but not anymore. The school has become highly selective, with an acceptance rate of under 30 percent.

University of South Florida

  • Location: Tampa, FL
  • Enrollment: 38,046
  • Association: NCWA
  • Scholarships available: No
  • Program website: Wrestling Club at USF

The University of South Florida (USF) is located in Tampa and, like its archrival UCF, has grown massively this century and also made strides in ranking and prestige.

USF’s club wrestling program competes in the NCWA and usually carries a roster of at least 25 athletes. It is a laid-back, no-pressure program. You can be as involved or as uninvolved as you like. If you want to train and get exercise but have no desire to compete in a sanctioned NCWA event, that is totally fine. If you want to push hard with the goal of going to regionals or nationals, the club will be fully behind you.

USF’s campus is situated on nearly 500 acres in the heart of Tampa. With nearly 40,000 undergraduates on campus, USF offers a diverse range of academic programs. The school’s beautiful campus features state-of-the-art facilities, including a new recreation center that opened in 2019. There’s also a stunning satellite campus right by the beach in St. Petersburg.

University of Miami

  • Location: Coral Gables, FL
  • Enrollment: 12,504
  • Association: NCWA
  • Scholarships available: No
  • Program website: Miami Wrestling Club
The University of Miami's gorgeous campus.
The University of Miami’s gorgeous campus.

The University of Miami is a mid-sized (but growing), private university with a lush campus tucked into one of the most upscale enclaves in the Miami metro area. It is commonly associated with big-time football, and as a result, many people not familiar with the school think it’s much larger than it is. It is also commonly mistaken to be a state school. In fact, Miami is a highly selective private university, and many consider it one of Florida’s ivy equivalents.

UM’s club wrestling program is very active but also laid back. There are no mandatory workouts or practices. The team hasn’t made a lot of noise at NCWA tournaments in recent years, but that can easily change from one year to the next with the addition of a few top competitors (perhaps you!).

Miami is an expensive school — in addition to the high tuition, living costs in South Florida have skyrocketed in the last few years — but it also throws money at the students it wants in the form of scholarships and financial aid. So if you’re both a wrestling and an academic star and you want to continue excelling in both areas in college, the University of Miami should be on your list.

University of Florida

  • Location: Gainesville, FL
  • Enrollment: 34,552
  • Association: NCWA
  • Scholarships available: No
  • Program website: UF Wrestling Club

The University of Florida is the state’s most selective and prestigious university. It is located in Gainesville, a college town in northeastern Florida, a little over an hour from Jacksonville and two hours from Orlando. The campus is spread out over more than 2,000 acres and is adjacent to a college-oriented nightlife district teeming with bars, restaurants, and shops.

The University of Florida has an active and competitive club wrestling program that competes in the NCWA, but you don’t have to be an accomplished or even an experienced wrestler to join. They welcome all, and on such a huge campus, it can be an ideal way to find your niche if Greek life and other academic clubs aren’t for you.

Best Wrestling Colleges in Florida: The Bottom Line

Wrestling in college provides opportunities to develop skills and compete in athletics at a high level. While the benefits of wrestling in college are clear, the decision to wrestle in college is a personal one.

If you decide that college wrestling is for you, the next decision is whether to go varsity or club. Varsity lets you compete at the highest level, but it requires more of a time commitment that could interfere with your academic and social life. Club wrestling is less competitive and more laid-back.

No matter what you choose, there’s a wrestling college in Florida for you!