Women's Wrestling Will Start at BSC in the Fall of 2025

Riley Cline signs to the BSC women's wrestling team

Bismarck State College has added another sport to offer prospective students; women’s wrestling. While men’s wrestling has recently returned after a long hiatus, women’s wrestling is brand new to BSC.

So far, eight women have signed to BSC’s wrestling team. These include Adrian Steidler, Cadence Cook, Kassidi Monroe, Taya Laidlaw, Victoria Sanchez, Riley Cline, Hailyann Turner, and Alexis Schneider. Shane Tisdale of the Capital City Wrestling Club in Lansing, Michigan, is the head coach.

Director of Athletics Myron Schulz shed light on this landmark moment in BSC sports history. 

“Both men and women will be wrestling in the Heart of America Conference,” he said. The Heart of America Conference is associated with BSC’s new conference, the NAIA, and will offer wrestling scholarships. BSC’s current conference, the NJCAA, does not offer scholarships for wrestling.

Title IX is a factor in the availability of wrestling programs in schools. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in programs that receive federal funding. This encompasses areas such as athletics or admissions. In simpler terms, this law holds that there are as many opportunities for women as there are for men.

This impacts wrestling to an extent. Many schools drop wrestling as they cannot meet the standards of Title IX with the sport. Having a women’s team available means the Title IX requirements are met.

“Women’s wrestling helps men’s wrestling,” Schulz said.

Other schools in North Dakota that have wrestling include Dickinson State University, Minot State University, and the University of Jamestown. Now, BSC is another option for women who want to compete in wrestling.

Women’s wrestling will begin next year in the Fall of 2025.