DECATUR, Ill. -- Millikin University announced the addition of a women's wrestling program on Thursday.

The 2026-27 season will mark the first season for the Millikin women's wrestling team.

Big Blue head wrestling coach Ryan Birt will now lead both the men's and women's wrestling programs in a new position as Director of Wrestling.

Birt has led Millikin Men's Wrestling since the program returned in 2015 and has developed it into a CCIW and national powerhouse, as Big Blue wrestlers regularly become All-Americans, including two-time national champion Bradan Birt. The Big Blue finished in second place in the CCIW in 2025 and have won three CCIW championships during Birt's tenure.

Women's wrestling is the newest NCAA championship sport after being named an “NCAA Emerging Sport for Women” in 2020-21. Millikin joins eight other College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) member schools with Women's Wrestling teams, including Augustana College, Aurora University (Associate member), Carthage College, Elmhurst University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Milwaukee School of Engineering (Associate Member), North Central College and Lakeland University. The CCIW was the first Division III conference to sponsor Women's Wrestling, beginning in the 2022-23 academic year.