IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa wrestling team will wrestle nine conference duals beginning with a Jan. 15 home date against Nebraska, the Big Ten Conference announced Thursday.
Iowa’s schedule includes three home dates against Nebraska (Jan. 15), Illinois (Jan. 31), Michigan (Jan. 31) and Northwestern (Feb. 19). The Jan. 31 date is a triangular. The Hawkeyes make road trips to Minnesota (Jan. 22), Purdue (Feb. 7), Penn State (Feb. 12) and Wisconsin (Feb. 21). Iowa’s trip to Purdue also includes a neutral site dual against Ohio State (Feb. 7).
The Big Ten Championships are March 6-7 at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania. The NCAA Wrestling Championships are March 18-20 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
Start times, broadcast information and television selections will be announced at a later time. Tickets to events are Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 2021 are limited to immediate family.
Iowa returns nine 2020 All-Americanas — Spencer Lee, Austin DeSanto, Max Murin, Kaleb Young, Alex Marinelli, Michael Kemerer, Jacob Warner, Abe Assad and Tony Cassioppi — and adds Missouri transfer and three-time All-American Jaydin Eierman to its lineup. The Hawkeyes were the only NCAA Division I school in the country with 10 All-Americans (Pat Lugo) last season, and the only team with nine first-teamers.
Iowa’s nine returning All-Americans combined for a record of 163-28 (.853). They scored bonus points in 83 matches and defeated 67 ranked opponents.
Iowa was ranked at the top of every national poll entering the national tournament and was expected to win the 2020 NCAA Championships by more than 50 points based on point totals calculated from seeds. The Hawkeyes had three top seeds, nine wrestlers seeded eighth or better, and another seeded 11th. A team title would have been the 24th in program history.
Iowa posted a 13-0 dual record and 9-0 Big Ten Conference record. The Hawkeyes won the 2020 Big Ten Championships, crowing three individual champions and scoring 157.5 points, its highest total since 1995. Brands was named NWCA and Big Ten Coach of the Year, and junior Spencer Lee was named winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy, AAU Sullivan Award, NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.
