The Emerging Sports for Women program was created in 1994 based on a recommendation from the NCAA Gender Equity Task Force. An NCAA survey conducted in the early 1990s showed that 20 years after Title IX was passed, female students had about 30 percent of the athletics participation opportunities offered by NCAA institutions. In 2019-20, female students had approximately 44% of athletics participation opportunities but made up 55% of the complete undergraduate population on NCAA campuses. The purpose of the program continues to be to grow meaningful intercollegiate sport participation opportunities for female student-athletes in sports that have the potential to reach the required number of varsity teams to be considered for NCAA championship status. 

The Emerging Sports for Women program is managed by the Committee on Women’s Athletics. The committee oversees the application process for potential emerging sports and recommends to each division through the NCAA governance structure to add or remove sports from the NCAA’s Emerging Sports for Women program. Each division determines and votes for which sports are Emerging Sports for Women in their division.

NCAA legislation allows a National Collegiate Championship to be established in an emerging sport if at least 40 NCAA institutions sponsor the sport at the varsity level. The Committee on Women’s Athletics can recommend to the divisions that an emerging sport become a National Collegiate Championship. Each division would then vote on whether to add the sport through their governance structures.

A sport is no longer considered an emerging sport once the sport has been established as a championship sport. An emerging sport is limited to a 10-year period to become a championship sport unless it can demonstrate that steady growth has occurred during that time. NCAA institutions may use emerging sports to satisfy minimum sports-sponsorship requirements for all divisions and minimum financial aid awards for Divisions I and II. If an institution lists an emerging sport on its NCAA sports sponsorship and demographics form, that sport must follow all applicable NCAA rules. 

Since the Emerging Sports for Women program was established in 1994, five sports have earned NCAA championship status: rowing (1996); women’s ice hockey (2000); women’s water polo (2000); bowling (2003); and women’s beach volleyball (2015).

Application Requirements

Applicants pursuing membership in the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program shall submit a complete and accurate application to the Committee on Women’s Athletics. The application for the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women Program can be found here. Completion of the application process does not guarantee acceptance into the Emerging Sports for Women program by the Committee on Women’s Athletics or each division’s governance structure. If an application is incomplete, inaccurate or late, the application will not be considered. If an applicant sport is not accepted into the Emerging Sports for Women program, the applicant sport is eligible to apply in a subsequent application cycle. 

The application shall be a maximum of 30 pages (excluding the letters of commitment).

The application shall be received not later than Aug. 1 each calendar year.

An application must satisfy the following requirements:

1. Demonstrate the applicant sport meets the definition of a sport as detailed in this guide (see “Definitions” section).
2. Demonstrate at least 20 NCAA institutions, at the time of application, sponsor the applicant sport at the varsity or club level and offer female student-athletes comprehensive and robust participation opportunities. An NCAA institution is considered to sponsor a sport if the institution’s varsity or club team can demonstrate it has engaged or will engage in at least five intercollegiate contests against the varsity or club programs of four-year, degree-granting collegiate institutions during the academic year in which the application is reviewed. In individual sports, the institution’s team shall include a minimum number of participants in each contest, as required per the sport’s standardized rules. The NCAA institutions can demonstrate proper sponsorship of the applicant sport in two ways:    
   1. An NCAA institution must provide official contest and participant results. Results other than official contest and participant results from the institution OR conflicting results will not be considered; or
   2. If official contest and participant results are not available at the time of submitting an application, an NCAA institution must provide either a set schedule of competition or official contest and participant results for the academic year in which the application is reviewed not later than Feb. 1. The schedule must be signed by the director of athletics (or the director’s designee) AND the senior woman administrator.
3. At least 10 letters of commitment from 10 NCAA institutions that either sponsor the applicant sport at the varsity level at the time of application or intend to sponsor the applicant sport at the varsity level during the academic year in which the application is reviewed. Each letter must be signed by the respective institution’s chancellor or president AND director of athletics AND senior woman administrator and include the following supporting materials:
   1. Actual or proposed budget with specific line items.
   2. Roster size and number of full-time and part-time coaches.
   3. Description of practice and competition facilities.
   4. Local and regional competition opportunities.
   5. Implementation timeline to varsity status.
   6. Relationship with sport governing body/organization. 
4. Suggested NCAA regulations (for example, playing and practice seasons; financial aid limits; coaching limits; and sport sponsorship).
5. Additional documentation: Applicants are encouraged (but not required) to supplement the application with additional documentation that demonstrates the sport’s viability to grow meaningful intercollegiate sport participation opportunities for female student-athletes. Examples of additional documentation include, but are not limited to, the following:
   1. Data of injuries and information about health and safety protocols.
   2. Data of participants at the high school, collegiate and post-collegiate levels.
   3. Data of race and ethnicity participants.
   4. Data of nonscholastic, high school, collegiate teams/program (for example, varsity, club, recreation and/or intramural).
   5. Data of regional geography of sport.
   6. Letters from state high school associations that recognize the sport.
   7. Letter from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee if supporting the sport (for example, classify the sport as an Olympic/Paralympic sport; national governing body for the sport; grants for sport participation).
   8. Confirmation of established national collegiate club/varsity championship or future championship plans, including identification of host association and/or organization.
   9. Letters of support from coaches associations.
   10. Letters of support from professional sports organizations.
   11. Letters of support from other associations or organizations.
   12. Letters of support from NCAA conferences interested in sponsoring the sport.   

Application Timeline

The application timeline is the same each year:

Aug. 1 or earlier: Applicant submits an application and supplemental materials to the NCAA office of inclusion. The completed application must be sent in electronic format to: Gretchen Miron (gmiron@ncaa.org).

September/October: Committee on Women’s Athletics is informed of applications and establishes review subcommittee during fall committee meeting.

February: Subcommittee completes review of application and provides an update to the full committee.  

March: Staff liaisons provide a summary of preliminary findings to the applicant. The summary of findings may include an invitation for the applicant to attend the committee’s spring meeting. 

April/May: Committee makes final decision on application during spring committee meeting. If invited, an applicant may attend the committee meeting to discuss in detail the application and the applicant sport’s viability as an emerging sport for women.    

June 15: Applicant receives final decision, including whether the committee will recommend legislation to propose the applicant sport be added as an emerging sport for women through the appropriate governance and legislative processes for Divisions I, II and III.

Application Review

The Committee on Women’s Athletics will evaluate an applicant sport’s potential to be sponsored by at least 40 NCAA institutions at the varsity level within the 10-year period. As part of its evaluation, the committee may consider an applicant sport’s application within the following contexts:

1. Health and safety.
2. Growth potential at the high school and post-collegiate levels.
3. Economic viability.
4. NCAA governance and legislative priorities.
5. Other applicant sports pursuing membership in the Emerging Sports for Women program.
6. Level of support from the sport’s national governing body or national association or organization.

The Committee on Women’s Athletics and NCAA staff will provide feedback on all submitted application materials and may request additional information. 

Application Reconsideration

Applicants may request reconsideration of a committee decision only if new information is presented that was not reasonably available at the time of the original decision. Reconsideration may be requested by emailing or mailing a letter to the Committee on Women’s Athletics via NCAA staff within 30 calendar days from the time a written decision is sent to applicants. An explanation must be submitted to clarify the reasons the new information was not originally available. Any additional or repetitive information that was originally available to the committee may not be submitted for reconsideration. The chair of the Committee on Women’s Athletics shall determine if the new information standard is met for all reconsideration submissions. If the reconsideration request is met, the Committee on Women’s Athletics will reconsider the new information and render a decision based on all of the information, including the new information submitted.  

Emerging Sports Governance and Legislative Process

If the Committee on Women’s Athletics supports an applicant sport to be added to the Emerging Sports for Women program, the committee will make a recommendation to Divisions I, II and III. Pursuant to governance and legislative processes, each division will determine whether an applicant sport will be added to the division’s Emerging Sports for Women list and legislation.  

Committee Monitoring and Support of Emerging Sports

The Committee on Women’s Athletics manages the Emerging Sports for Women program, and the NCAA staff provides day-to-day support and guidance for emerging sports. The committee regularly reviews the status and progress of emerging sports for women and engages in dialogue with emerging sport representatives.

The committee uses the NCAA Sports Sponsorship Database to accurately identify the number of NCAA institutions that sponsor each emerging sport at the varsity level and meet contest and participant requirements.

The committee may request specific information when conducting a review of an emerging sport for women. Typically, the committee requests the following information:

1. Number of NCAA institutions (by division) that sponsor the emerging sport at the varsity level.
2. Number of varsity student-athletes at NCAA institutions participating in the emerging sport (including data on race and ethnicity).
3. Number of club teams.
4. Number of NCAA conferences that have added the emerging sport.
5. Description of national or conference championship opportunities.
6. Summary of efforts by the emerging sport’s representatives to grow the sport. 

Championship Sport Governance Process

The Committee on Women’s Athletics may recommend an emerging sport become a championship sport to Divisions I, II and III through the respective governance and legislative processes when at least 40 NCAA institutions sponsor the sport at the varsity level and meet minimum contest and participant requirements (as reflected in the NCAA Sports Sponsorship Database).

Requirements To Remain in the Emerging Sports for Women Program

The Emerging Sports for Women program was developed for emerging sports to achieve NCAA championship status within 10 years. A sport can remain in the Emerging Sports for Women program after 10 years if the Committee on Women’s Athletics determines that the sport has demonstrated steady growth during that time.

Examples of growth include (but are not limited to) the following:

1. Annual increase of NCAA institutions that sponsor the emerging sport at the varsity level.
2. Increased student-athlete participation opportunities at NCAA institutions.
3. Engagement with NCAA institutions to grow the emerging sport.   

If the committee determines that the emerging sport is not making steady progress at the end of the 10-year period, it may recommend to each division that the sport be removed from the Emerging Sports for Women program in accordance with the governance and legislative processes for each division. 

A sport that is removed from the Emerging Sports for Women program and the applicable divisional legislation may seek reinstatement. At least 12 months must pass after the effective date of removal from the program and legislation. The criteria for the application remain the same except the application must include 15 letters of commitment from NCAA institutions that either sponsor the applicant sport at the varsity level at the time of application or intend to sponsor the applicant sport at the varsity level during the academic year in which the application is reviewed. Additionally, the application must explain what circumstances have changed since the applicant sport’s removal from the program. For applicant sports that have been removed from a specific division, the 15 letters of commitment must be from NCAA institutions in that division. 

Branding for Emerging Sports

The NCAA has developed licensing and marketing programs that make use of NCAA trademarks and championship marks. Such programs are closely monitored to ensure consistency with the purposes and objectives of the NCAA, its members institutions and conferences and higher education. 

Representatives of emerging sports for women must refrain from any direct or indirect use of the NCAA’s marks and logos unless they have obtained prior consent from the NCAA. Requests for consent must be submitted to the NCAA via the NCAA Content Request Form. All such requests will be conditioned on approval with the NCAA Content License terms and conditions, a copy of which will be provided to the requestor on conditional approval. The NCAA may revoke its consent to the use of NCAA logos or trademarks at any time.  

In limited circumstances, with prior written approval, the NCAA may make available to emerging sport representatives one or more of the following logos identifying the status of Emerging Sports for Women.

On receipt of NCAA written consent, examples of acceptable use of these logos may include placement on letterhead for correspondence to NCAA institutions and conferences about the emerging sport (along with the primary organization’s logo) and on a webpage maintained by the emerging sport’s representatives to provide information to NCAA institutions and conferences. 

Under no circumstances may emerging sport representatives use any NCAA logo or trademark in conjunction with an athletic competition in the emerging sport or in any manner that suggests a relationship between the NCAA and any corporate entity (including but not limited to any corporate sponsor of an emerging sport).

If a sport is removed from the Emerging Sports for Women program, all use of NCAA logos or trademarks in connection with that sport must cease.  

Publicity for Emerging Sports

Publicity is important to the growth and success of an emerging sport. The governing body of an emerging sport is encouraged to create its own national media list and social media platforms to regularly publicize rankings, regular-season competitions and student-athlete achievements. However, an emerging sport may partner with the NCAA public and media relations group and social media team in the following ways:

1. Provide a news release that points to a rise of NCAA institutions that sponsor an emerging sport at the varsity level.
2. Provide information about NCAA student-athletes (or former NCAA student-athletes) who also participate in an emerging sport.
3. Provide information about an emerging sport’s scheduled national championship. 

Compliance With NCAA Rules for Emerging Sports

NCAA institutions that sponsor an emerging sport for women at the varsity level must abide by all NCAA regulations, including playing and practice seasons, financial aid, recruiting, eligibility and amateurism. Violations of NCAA legislation related to an emerging sport for women should be reported and addressed in the same manner as rules violations of NCAA championship sports. The NCAA Divisions I, II and III manuals contain legislation that provides important information about the Emerging Sports for Women program.