New Jersey college wrestler mysteriously stripped of national title by NCAA

The College of New Jersey lost an individual national championship in wrestling.After winning the 174-pound Division III championship, Hunter Mays had his championship revoked by the NCAA for reasons that remain unclear.TCNJ released a statement on the NCAA’s decision to revoke Mays of his national championship.“TCNJ Athletics has been informed by the NCAA that Hunter Mays, the 174-pound champion at the 2026 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, has been declared ineligible due to a violation of NCAA policy,” the statement released Wednesday morning read.“As a result, his individual championship will be vacated in accordance with NCAA procedures.”TCNJ is a storied wrestling program, becoming just the sixth Division III school to reach 800 all-time dual wins.In 2026, they finished fifth nationally with 58.5 team points.Mays went undefeated 26-0 this season en route to the title, while teammate Garrett Totten also won the 133-pound national championship.Division III athletes are eligible for Name, Image, and Likeness payments just as Division I athletes, and no one knows at this time what rules Mays broke to have his championship taken away.Violations could range from illegal sports wagering (which we’ve seen recently with Brendan Sorsby of Texas Tech), to eligibility issues from transferring and banned substance violations, among others.Hays, of Farmingdale, N.J., went to Howell High School and transferred to TCNJ from Lehigh University.TCNJ went from 25 national wrestling champions in the schools illustrious history to 24 with the revoking of Mays’ crown.Mays has not commented on his title being stripped, but wrestling has had a bit of a come up in the sports world of late both collegiatelly and professionally.RAF (Real American Freestyle) wrestling has made some head waves in the combat sports game, while even getting a broadcast deal with the Fox Nation....