WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue wrestling head coach Tony Ersland announced the Boilermakers' 2021-22 non-conference schedule this week, unveiling seven events for next season's squad. The 2021 Boilermaker Duals in Holloway Gymnasium will be Purdue's lone home event of the fall, returning to both the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Midlands Championships, and traveling to four road contests.
"We're excited about how next year's schedule has come together," said Ersland. "We were able to line up a variety of opponents from different conferences and return to a pair of excellent two-day tournaments in CKLV and Midlands. The goal is always to prepare our guys for the Big Ten schedule and the postseason, and I think we've done that with this schedule."
The Boilermakers will open 2021-22 with road contests at Rider and Drexel, repeating a trip from the 2007-08 campaign. Purdue will compete at both schools on November 6, traveling the 45 minutes between campuses for respective duals. The Boilermakers swept the trip in 2008, earning a 24-18 win over the Broncs in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and following with a 35-6 win over the Dragons in Philadelphia.
Purdue remains on the road for the second weekend of the season, heading to Cleveland for a matchup with the Cleveland State Vikings. Purdue last met the Mid American Conference foe at the 2007 Boilermaker Duals, hosted at Benton Central High School in Oxford, Indiana, and posted a 30-6 victory over the Vikings.
The 2021 Boilermaker Duals will be hosted the weekend November 20-21, as Purdue hosts Duke, Northern Illinois and Bellarmine for a quad in Holloway. Duke is led by a pair of former Boilermaker assistant coaches as head coach Glen Lanham and assistant coach Tom Erikson return to West Lafayette. Northern Illinois returns to the event for the second straight time, coming to quad in 2019, where Purdue earned a 31-8 victory over the Huskies. Bellarmine is a recent addition to NCAA Division I status and the dual will be the first-ever meeting between the programs.
The Boilermakers return to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 3-4, looking to repeat one of their best finishes in program history from 2019. Purdue placed fifth with 92.5 team points, crowning one champion and earning a pair of runner-up finishes, including returning senior Devin Schroder at 125 pounds. The team's five placewinners matched its highest total in program history as two others earned fourth place at their respective weights, including Kendall Coleman at 157 pounds.
Purdue's final dual of 2021 will come on hallowed grounds as Ersland returns to his hometown and high school in Humboldt, Iowa. Both Ersland and Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser competed for the Wildcats, and the Boilermakers and Cyclones will meet on Sunday, Dec. 19, for a dual at Humboldt High School. Purdue and Iowa State have met just twice all-time, matching up on neutral turf in 1966 (Terre Haute, Indiana) and 1993 (Ann Arbor, Michigan), with the Cyclones winning both duals.
The final non-conference event of the season remains the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on December 29-30. The Boilermakers showed out at their last Midlands, crowning a pair of champions and finishing eighth with 75 points, despite the absence of Schroder from the lineup. Coleman took fourth at 157 pounds to round out Purdue's trio of placewinners in the Boilermakers' third-highest point total in event history, and their third top-10 finish in their last three trips to the tournament.
The Boilermakers await a conference schedule, but the Big Ten Championships are set for March 5-6 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, while the NCAA Championships are scheduled for March 17-19 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
"We're excited about how next year's schedule has come together," said Ersland. "We were able to line up a variety of opponents from different conferences and return to a pair of excellent two-day tournaments in CKLV and Midlands. The goal is always to prepare our guys for the Big Ten schedule and the postseason, and I think we've done that with this schedule."
The Boilermakers will open 2021-22 with road contests at Rider and Drexel, repeating a trip from the 2007-08 campaign. Purdue will compete at both schools on November 6, traveling the 45 minutes between campuses for respective duals. The Boilermakers swept the trip in 2008, earning a 24-18 win over the Broncs in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and following with a 35-6 win over the Dragons in Philadelphia.
Purdue remains on the road for the second weekend of the season, heading to Cleveland for a matchup with the Cleveland State Vikings. Purdue last met the Mid American Conference foe at the 2007 Boilermaker Duals, hosted at Benton Central High School in Oxford, Indiana, and posted a 30-6 victory over the Vikings.
The 2021 Boilermaker Duals will be hosted the weekend November 20-21, as Purdue hosts Duke, Northern Illinois and Bellarmine for a quad in Holloway. Duke is led by a pair of former Boilermaker assistant coaches as head coach Glen Lanham and assistant coach Tom Erikson return to West Lafayette. Northern Illinois returns to the event for the second straight time, coming to quad in 2019, where Purdue earned a 31-8 victory over the Huskies. Bellarmine is a recent addition to NCAA Division I status and the dual will be the first-ever meeting between the programs.
The Boilermakers return to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 3-4, looking to repeat one of their best finishes in program history from 2019. Purdue placed fifth with 92.5 team points, crowning one champion and earning a pair of runner-up finishes, including returning senior Devin Schroder at 125 pounds. The team's five placewinners matched its highest total in program history as two others earned fourth place at their respective weights, including Kendall Coleman at 157 pounds.
Purdue's final dual of 2021 will come on hallowed grounds as Ersland returns to his hometown and high school in Humboldt, Iowa. Both Ersland and Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser competed for the Wildcats, and the Boilermakers and Cyclones will meet on Sunday, Dec. 19, for a dual at Humboldt High School. Purdue and Iowa State have met just twice all-time, matching up on neutral turf in 1966 (Terre Haute, Indiana) and 1993 (Ann Arbor, Michigan), with the Cyclones winning both duals.
The final non-conference event of the season remains the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on December 29-30. The Boilermakers showed out at their last Midlands, crowning a pair of champions and finishing eighth with 75 points, despite the absence of Schroder from the lineup. Coleman took fourth at 157 pounds to round out Purdue's trio of placewinners in the Boilermakers' third-highest point total in event history, and their third top-10 finish in their last three trips to the tournament.
The Boilermakers await a conference schedule, but the Big Ten Championships are set for March 5-6 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, while the NCAA Championships are scheduled for March 17-19 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.