The United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association (USIBA) is a nonprofit amateur collegiate boxing league founded in 2012 and formed, in part, to address perceived safety and fairness issues present in the National Collegiate Boxing Association (such as matching up boxers with significant skill or experience disparities), and to generally organize the sport at a collegiate level more adequately.[1][2] The USIBA was also the first organization to hold national collegiate-level women's boxing championships in the United States (the subject of which had been another point of contention with the NCBA), beginning with their inaugural national tournament in 2013.[1][3]
The USIBA closely follows the weight classes prescribed by USA Boxing, though does not name the classes, instead referring to them only by the weight itself. Not all weight classes are necessarily contested at each national tournament.
In the national tournament, boxers are divided into three classes: Beginner (0-2 sanctioned bouts), Novice (0-9 bouts), and Elite (5+ bouts), as per USA Boxing rules. The experience division plays into the final team scoring system, in which more experienced boxers earn more points for their team. This structure also allows for the possibility of, for example, a boxer winning a Beginner championship and then competing for a Novice title later in the tournament, usually on the final day.
