Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota Wrestling Unveils 2021-22 Schedule

The Golden Gophers will host six home duals in Maturi Pavilion this upcoming season

MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota wrestling program released this season’s full schedule on Wednesday morning, as the Gopher campaign begins Nov. 13 and will feature six home duals at Maturi Pavilion in Minnesota’s sixth year under head coach Brandon Eggum.

Start times, TV and streaming coverage, single-game and season tickets will all be announced at a later date. The 2021-22 wrestling schedule is subject to change.

The Gophers will see its first action at the year at the Bison Open in Fargo, N.D., on Nov. 13, while the first dual of the season will see another rendition of a storied college wrestling rivalry, as the Maroon & Gold will square off against Oklahoma State in a home showdown on Nov. 20.

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2021-22 Big Ten Wrestling Schedule Announced

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference office announced the dates and opponents for the 2021-22 wrestling season Wednesday. The schedule features eight conference duals for each of the 14 Big Ten programs and concludes with the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, to be held over the first weekend in March at Nebraska.

All 14 teams will open Big Ten action Jan. 7-17. On opening night, Jan. 7, reigning Big Ten Champion Iowa will play host to Minnesota, while Big Ten Dual Meet Co-Champion Penn State will travel to Maryland. Indiana will open its conference slate against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., Northwestern will visit Wisconsin, and Purdue will travel to Nebraska. The following weekend (Jan. 14-17), Illinois and Michigan will make their conference season debuts by traveling to Rutgers and Ohio State, respectively.

The final regular-season dual will take place Feb. 20, with Nebraska hosting the defending Big Ten Dual Meet Co-Champion Iowa.

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5 storylines to watch in the 2021-22 NCAA wrestling season

All roads lead to Detroit. The 2021-22 college wrestling season will culminate on March 19, 2022, in Little Caesar’s Arena at the NCAA championships, but the events leading up to that finale under the bright lights on Saturday night are the moments that will generate the stories to remember.

After a shortened season in 2021 void of open tournaments and winter classics like the Cliff Keen Invitational, Midlands, and the Southern Scuffle, the 2021-22 season is expected to be more traditional, with one unusual twist. All wrestlers were given an extra year of eligibility last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that some athletes like Iowa’s Jaydin Eierman and Michael Kemerer will be returning for a seventh season while other athletes like Oklahoma State’s AJ Ferrari are essentially earning a second freshman year.

The weights are stacked, the field is deep, and the battle for each individual national title will be intense, dramatic, and full of surprises. Here are the major storylines you need to know in advance of what will undoubtedly be an exciting season ahead. Continue reading at ncaa.com →

Pat Smith earns World Team Spot as Competition Wraps in Lincoln

LINCOLN, Neb. – A full weekend of wrestling wrapped up Sunday evening at the Senior World Team Trials in Pinnacle Bank Arena, as former Gopher Pat Smith highlighted the weekend by earning his third career World Team spot in the 72-kilogram Greco-Roman weight division.

Smith, who represented Minnesota Storm RTC as the top seed in his bracket, pinned Griffin Parriott in the quarterfinals and defeated Michael Hooker 4-0 in the semifinals en route to the Best-of-3 finals against Benji Peak (New York Athletic Club). In the finals, Smith continued his winning ways, sweeping the series with 3-3 and 6-4 victories to make his third World Team.

Another former Gopher, Alec Ortiz, competed in Greco-Roman at 77-kilograms as well but fell out of the tournament in the consolation semifinals.

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Gable Steveson signs with World Wrestling Entertainment, but he will also return to Gophers in trailblazing deal

Steveson is expected to finish his senior season and graduate with a business degree. At that point, he’ll become a full-time performer for World Wrestling Entertainment.

Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson will be taking the ring as a professional wrestler in the near future, but not before he defends his NCAA heavyweight title with the Gophers this season.

Steveson, who gained worldwide fame with his dominance in the Tokyo Olympics this summer and last-second win in the final, announced Thursday that he signed a deal with WWE, the popular pro wrestling circuit. Continue reading at startribune.com →

Gable Steveson Returns to Minnesota for Senior Season

MINNEAPOLIS – Olympic Gold Medalist and Golden Gopher heavyweight Gable Steveson will be returning to Minnesota for his senior season to defend his NCAA national title as announced on Thursday morning. The news comes off the heels of a separate news release by the WWE that Steveson has signed an unprecedented NIL deal with the organization to be a part of the WWE roster while also finishing his collegiate career.

The announcement is only the latest installment to the list of accolades that Steveson has accrued in 2021. The decorated year for Steveson began at the conclusion of the collegiate season in which he collected his second Big Ten title, his first NCAA title, a Dan Hodge Trophy, and an Olympic Games berth in less than a month’s span, capping off one of the most impressive and most dominant runs the sport has ever seen.

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