Sep 16, 2013 03:09 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Life University will soon introduce the state's first women's intercollegiate wrestling program to its athletics program. The new Running Eagles women's program will begin competing during the 2014‐2015 season. On the other hand, the men's wrestling program is into its second season of competition.

 "We are excited to start Georgia's first women's wrestling program here at Life University. Coach Ron Gorman and I look forward to helping female wrestlers realize their dreams by creating an opportunity for them to wrestle in college," Mike Miller, Life's head wrestling coach, said.

According to Examiner, women's interest in wrestling has grown in the past two decades; more than 7,000 women wrestle in high school now while just 800 women took up the sport in 1994.

"Life University is paving the way. The Team Georgia Girls' Committee has worked hard the past few years to get more opportunities for females to wrestle females in this state," Robert Horton, the Women's Liaison for Team Georgia Wrestling said.

Life University, established in Marietta, Ga. in 1974, is a private health sciences institution located in the Atlanta suburb. It offers several undergraduate programs, along with its doctoral degree program in chiropractic medicine, which is considered to be the largest in the world.

The University teams known as the Running Eagles are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I level. They mainly participate in TranSouth Athletic Conference (TSAC). Men's intercollegiate sports include basketball, rugby, and wrestling; while women's intercollegiate sports include cross country.

Among the men's collegiate sports, the university is well-known for rugby, which originally began in 1980. The team won the USA Rugby national championship in 2013, beating St. Mary's in the final.

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