By: Pat Donghia
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the direction of veteran head coach Cael Sanderson, has announced its 2023-24 schedule. The Nittany Lions will host seven home duals this season, one in the Bryce Jordan Center, and will also serve as the hosts of the 2023 NWCA All-Star event, an exhibition event in Rec Hall. Times for the Big Ten portion of the schedule will be announced soon when the Big Ten Network announces its full wrestling broadcast slate.
Penn State’s official season begins on Sunday, Nov. 12, when the team takes part in the individual round-robin portion of the Journeymen Collegiate Classic in Bethlehem, Pa. The event takes place at Freedom High School and begins at 9 a.m. The next weekend, Penn State travels to West Point, N.Y., for the Army Black Knight Invite, a bracketed individual tournament hosted by Army West Point on Sunday, Nov. 19.
On Tuesday, Nov. 21, Penn State’s Rec Hall will be the site of the 2023 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic, an exhibition event that does not count towards any wrestler’s official NCAA record. The matchups for the event will soon be announced in full by the exhibition’s organizer, FloWrestling. While Penn State is serving as the host of the 2023 NWCA All-Star Classic, the event is not part of Penn State’s season ticket package. A number of Nittany Lions are under consideration for the event and information on ticketing will be forthcoming. The event will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern.
The Nittany Lions compete in their first official dual meet on Sunday, Dec. 3, when they welcome Lehigh to Rec Hall at 2 p.m. Penn State then hosts Hofstra in Rec Hall on Sunday, Dec. 10, also at 1 p.m. Following the Hofstra dual, Penn State will not compete in an official NCAA event until January, but many Nittany Lions will look to take part in the 2023 U.S. Senior National Championships on Dec. 15-17 in Fort Worth, Texas. This year’s Senior Nationals replace the U.S. Open in the 2024 Olympic qualification cycle and the tournament is an opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Trials, also hosted by Penn State in the Bryce Jordan Center in April of 2024.
Penn State returns to dual meet action with a trip to the West Coast when the Lions visit Oregon State on Friday, Jan. 5, for a dual meet with the Beavers (time to be announced). The Big Ten schedule begins on Sunday, Jan. 14, when the Indiana Hoosiers invade Rec Hall for a dual meet. The Nittany Lions then hit the road the next week, visiting Michigan on Friday, Jan. 19, and Michigan State on Sunday, Jan. 21. Penn State is on the road again the following weekend, taking on the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday, Jan. 28, in College Park, Md.
February will see Penn State host three dual meets. The Nittany Lions will host Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 2, in Rec Hall. The next weekend, Penn State visits Iowa for a dual meet on Friday, Feb. 9, for its final road dual of the campaign.
Penn State then returns home for a special Monday night wrestling event in the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions will host Rutgers on Monday, Feb. 12, in the 2023-24 BJC Dual. Penn State closes out the Big Ten schedule by hosting Nebraska on Sunday, Feb. 18, in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions end the dual meet slate by hosting Edinboro on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall.
The 2024 Big Ten Championship is hosted by Maryland on Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, in College Park, Md., at the XFINITY Center. The event serves as the national qualifier for the conference’s 14 teams and once again will crown the Big Ten team champion for the year. Two weeks later, Penn State’s qualifiers will head to Kansas City, Mo., for the 2024 NCAA Championships on Thursday through Saturday, March 21-23. The three-day event will take place in Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center.
All dates and times are subject to change and, again, times and television broadcast information for the Big Ten portion of the schedule will be announced soon. Penn State is coming off a season that saw it win its 10th NCAA National Championship under head coach Cael Sanderson (and the 11th in school history). The Nittany Lions also won the Big Ten Championship, the Big Ten Regular Season Championship and finished the year with a 16-0 dual meet record, 8-0 in the Big Ten.
The 2023-24 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
PENN STATE WRESTLING // 2023-24 SCHEDULE
NOVEMBER
Sun., Nov. 12 Journeymen Collegiate Classic, Bethlehem, Pa. 9 a.m.
Individual round-robin at Freedom High School
Sun., Nov. 19 Army Black Knight Invite, West Point, N.Y. All Day
Bracketed individual tournament at Army West Point
Tue., Nov. 21 NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC, Rec Hall 7 p.m.
Exhibition // does not count as NCAA event
Not part of Penn State Regular Season Ticket package
DECEMBER
Sun. Dec. 3 LEHIGH, Rec Hall 2 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 10 HOFSTRA, Rec Hall 1 p.m.
JANAUARY
Fri., Jan. 5 at Oregon State TBA
Sun., Jan. 14 INDIANA, Rec Hall TBA
Fri. Jan. 19 at Michigan TBA
Sun., Jan. 21 at Michigan State* TBA
Sun., Jan. 28 at Maryland* TBA
FEBRUARY
Fri., Feb. 2 OHIO STATE, Rec Hall TBA
Fri., Feb. 9 at Iowa TBA
Mon., Feb. 12 RUTGERS, BJC TBA
Sun., Feb. 18 NEBRASKA, Rec Hall TBA
Sun., Feb. 25 EDINBORO, Rec Hall 1 p.m.
MARCH
Sat.-Sun., 9-10 2024 Big Ten Championships, College Park, Md., XFINITY Center
Sat. 9 Session 1 (B1G+/B1G Network)
Sat. 9 Session 2 (B1G+/B1G Network)
Sun. 10 Sessions 3/4 (B1G+/B1G Network)
Thur.-Sat. 21-23 2024 NCAA Championships, Kansas City, Mo., T-Mobile Center
Thr. 21 Session 1 (ESPN/2/U)
Thr. 21 Session 2 (ESPN/2/U)
Fri. 22 Session 3 (ESPN/2/U)
Fri. 22 Session 4 (ESPN/2/U)
Sat. 23 Session 5 (ESPN/2/U)
Sat. 23 Session 6 (ESPN/2/U)
- Big Ten dual – Home duals in CAPS
All times are Eastern (NOT local to site) – Subject to change for television
