Big Ten Conference Releases Full 2026 League Schedule

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Big Ten Conference formally released details of the 2026 Big Ten Volleyball schedule on Thursday morning.

As part of its 2026 league schedule, Iowa will host eight conference foes at Xtream Arena, while traveling for nine Big Ten matches. With the implementation of an end-of-season conference tournament, the league schedule was shaved down to 17 matches. The conference slate will feature a single-play round robin format.

Conference play begins on the final weekend of September. The Hawkeyes will welcome Ohio State on Sept. 25 before entertaining Rutgers on Sept. 26. As the calendar flips to October, Iowa will travel for four matches on the road. An east-coast swing begins at Maryland on Oct. 1. Iowa wraps up the weekend at Penn State on Oct. 3. For consecutive seasons, the Hawkeyes will visit the state of Michigan to play the Wolverines on Oct. 9 and Spartans on Oct. 11.

Iowa returns to Coralville for a four-match homestand, beginning with Purdue on Oct. 15. The Hawkeyes will also host Wisconsin (Oct. 18), USC (Oct. 22) and UCLA (Oct. 24) as part of their homestand.

The Hawkeyes will return to the Pacific Northwest with a trip to Washington (Oct. 30) and Oregon (Nov. 1) before a match at Indiana on Nov. 6. The schedule concludes with four matches in the Midwest. Iowa hosts Minnesota on Nov. 8, travels to Northwestern on Nov. 12 and Nebraska on Nov. 14, before welcoming Illinois on Nov. 17 for its regular season finale.

Thirteen of Iowa’s conference matches are at the same locations as 2025. Compared to last season, Iowa will once again host Minnesota, Ohio State, Rutgers, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin, while traveling to Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oregon and Washington for consecutive seasons.

The top 15 teams in the Big Ten standings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the postseason conference tournament. The tournament spans from Nov. 20-25 and will be held at Fishers Event Center in Fishers, Indiana.

Additionally, the Big Ten has announced the continuation of the Big Ten | Discover Volleyball Challenge in 2026. Iowa’s October weekday matches against Maryland, Michigan, Purdue, USC and Washington will count towards the challenge. A trophy is awarded to the winning team. Last season, Iowa was 1-4 in challenge matches with its win coming over Michigan State.

The Big Ten Conference will host the 2026 Big Ten Volleyball Media Day on Aug. 3 at the Big Ten Network Studios in Chicago. Interested media can apply for a credential here.

Iowa Volleyball B1G Schedule
Sept. 25 – vs. Ohio State
Sept. 26 – vs. Rutgers
Oct. 1 – at Maryland
Oct. 3 – at Penn State
Oct. 9 – at Michigan
Oct. 11 – at Michigan State
Oct. 15 – vs. Purdue
Oct. 18 – vs. Wisconsin
Oct. 22 – vs. USC
Oct. 24 – vs. UCLA
Oct. 30 – at Washington
Nov. 1 – at Oregon
Nov. 6 – at Indiana
Nov. 8 – vs. Minnesota
Nov. 12 – at Northwestern
Nov. 14 – at Nebraska
Nov. 17 – vs. Illinois