TicketsHead coach Tony Ersland watches on at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue wrestling head coach Tony Ersland announced the Boilermakers’ 2026-27 schedule on Wednesday.
The 2026-27 slate marks the 107th season of Purdue wrestling and the 13th of the Coach Ersland era.
While Purdue’s opponents and non-conference dates have been finalized, start times and Big Ten Conference dual dates will be unveiled at a later date.
For the first time since Dec. 3, 1960, the Purdue wrestling team will open its season at home. In a week traditionally reserved for road duals and invitationals, the Boilermakers are set to host Kent State in a dual on Sunday, Nov. 1 in Holloway Gymnasium.
Coach Ersland finished last season with 99 career dual wins as head coach, and the Boilermakers will have the chance to secure his 100th in front of their home crowd. The team’s next win will move Coach Ersland into a tie with Claude Reeck (1938-69) for second all-time in Purdue wrestling history. Jessie Reyes (1993-07) holds the record of 178 wins.
The Boilers will then travel to Mount Pleasant, S.C., for a unique opportunity to compete aboard the USS Yorktown CV-10 aircraft carrier. In the event dubbed as “Throwdown on the Yorktown”, Purdue will face The Citadel and Air Force in a tri-meet on either Saturday, Nov. 7 or Sunday, Nov. 8 pending weather. Read more about the historic event here.
On Saturday, Nov. 14, Purdue will return to the Tiger Style Invite for the third straight year. Hosted by Missouri in Columbia, Mo., the Boilers placed fourth last year and produced two champions.
Purdue heads back to the East Coast for a doubleheader at American and George Mason on Saturday, Nov. 21. The Boilers will face the Eagles at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C., and the Patriots at Recreation Athletic Complex in Fairfax, Va., on the same day; the venues are separated by about a 40-minute drive.
To open the month of December, the matmen will fly west to compete in the 2026 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Purdue’s 29th appearance in the annual event considered to be the premier in-season college wrestling tournament. Joey Blaze won Purdue’s eighth Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite championship last year and will look to repeat. Since Matt Ramos won the title in 2024, Purdue has produced CKLV champions in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2002-03.
On Saturday, Dec. 12, the Boilers return home to host Chattanooga and Central Michigan in the Boilermaker Duals, which is a tri-meet this year. Purdue resumed the annual Boilermaker Duals tradition last November with a quad against Buffalo, Northern Illinois and American, sweeping all three.
To close the non-conference slate, Purdue will travel to Lewisburg, Pa., to battle Bucknell and Hofstra in Bucknell’s Davis Gym on Sunday, Dec. 20.
Purdue’s Big Ten opponents have been set, but the dates and order of the schedule have not yet been announced.
The Boilermakers will host Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota and Nebraska this season with road duals scheduled at Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern and Ohio State.
A short-handed Purdue squad dropped a hard-fought matchup to the Hoosiers in Bloomington last season, and the Boilers will aim to turn the tide back home this year.
Purdue will look to defend bragging rights after winning their most recent duals over Maryland (28-11, Jan. 16, 2026), Michigan State (27-9, Jan. 23, 2026) and Northwestern (31-13, Jan. 11, 2025). The team will also look to rebound from its most recent losses to Minnesota (35-6, Feb. 9, 2025), Nebraska (36-3, Jan. 9, 2026) and Ohio State (34-10, Jan. 19, 2025).
In what’s become a rare occurrence, the Boilermakers will face Michigan for the first time since Jan. 20, 2019. Purdue will be seeking its first win in Ann Arbor since Feb. 7, 1998.
