Oklahoma State Wrestling Announces 2021-22 Season Schedule
STILLWATER – Coach John Smith and the Oklahoma State wrestling program released the schedule for the 2021-22 season, consisting of 18 duals and a trip back to the Southern Scuffle.
After a shortened 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OSU returns to a normal schedule that includes nine matchups with teams ranked in Intermat’s preseason poll.
“We’re very excited to be back wrestling a full schedule this season,” Smith said. “We put together a competitive slate that will challenge us. This schedule might be the toughest we’ve had over the past 15 years.”
Oklahoma State will open the season on Nov. 13 with a trip to face off with Stanford. The dual will take place in Stanford Stadium, home of the Cardinal football program. It will be the second time OSU has wrestled in a football stadium after doing so against Iowa in 2015. The Cowboys will hit the road again the following weekend for a dual with No. 15 Minnesota.
The Pokes will round out the opening month of the season with their first dual inside Gallagher-Iba Arena of the season, facing Drexel on Nov. 28. The Cowboys will take a brief break to close out the fall semester before returning to action on Dec. 12 in Norman for the first Bedlam matchup of the season. Later that week, OSU will travel west for a doubleheader with Air Force and Wyoming on Dec. 17 and square off against Utah Valley for the first time on Dec. 20.
To ring in the new year, the Cowboys will return to the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after the event was canceled in 2021. The last time OSU competed in the Scuffle, Nick Piccininni and the Cowboys collected first-place finishes.
Two more weekends on the road will follow the Scuffle, as trips to Little Rock and West Virginia await the Pokes. OSU will wrestle the Mountaineers and Columbia University during its trip to Morgantown on Jan. 16.
The Cowboys will transition into February with a three-week homestand consisting of four duals. A bout with No. 19 Lehigh on Jan. 23 will open the home stretch, followed by duals against No. 25 Iowa State and Northern Iowa on Jan. 29-30. A Feb. 4 match with the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State could present an opportunity for the 1,000th dual win for Oklahoma State inside Gallagher-Iba Arena should the Cowboys win each of the four prior home duals.
A pair of tough matchups loom next, beginning with a trip to Columbia to face No. 2 Missouri. The bout on Feb. 6 between two of the top-three ranked teams in Intermat’s preseason poll will be the first time the teams have wrestled in a conference match since 2012.
It doesn’t get any easier after the trip to Columbia as the Pokes will wrestle the defending NCAA team champion Iowa Hawkeyes in an exciting, neutral-site event that is yet to be announced. The greatest rivalry in college wrestling was paused last season due to the Big Ten only wrestling conference duals, but it resumes in 2021 for the 55th meeting between the programs.
Two home duals close out the regular season schedule for the Cowboys. The Pokes will take on Bucknell on Feb. 18 before hosting No. 12 Oklahoma in the second round of Bedlam, which will take place on Senior Day on Feb. 20.
Oklahoma State will begin postseason action March 5-6 in Tulsa at the Big 12 Championships. The Cowboys have won a program record nine-consecutive conference tournament championships dating back to 2013. The NCAA Championships will be held in Detroit, Michigan, and are scheduled for March 17-19 at Little Caesars Arena.
Times and network schedules for the duals will be announced at a later date. Fans can purchase season tickets at tickets.okstate.com/wrestling.
Oklahoma State Wrestling 2021-22 Schedule
Nov. 13 - at Stanford
Nov. 20 – at Minnesota
Nov. 28 – Drexel
Dec. 12 – at OU
Dec. 17 – at Air Force, at Wyoming
Dec. 20 – at Utah Valley
Jan. 1-2 – Southern Scuffle @Chattanooga
Jan. 8 – at Little Rock
Jan. 16 – at WVU, vs. Columbia @WVU
Jan. 23 – Lehigh
Jan. 29 – Iowa State
Jan. 30 – Northern Iowa
Feb. 4 – SDSU
Feb. 6 – at Missouri
Feb. 12 – vs. Iowa
Feb. 18 - Bucknell
Feb. 20 – OU
March 5-6 – Big 12 Championships
March 17-19 – NCAA Championships