OSU Wrestling To Open Against Iowa In Football Stadium

Oklahoma State wrestling's 2015-16 schedule includes a marquee opener against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium on Nov. 14, the Cowboys announced on Thursday. The dual, tabbed as the “Grudge Match on the Gridiron,” marks the first time in NCAA history that two NCAA wrestling teams will compete in a Division I football stadium.

“Oklahoma State and Iowa is a historical match. It’s got a lot of excitement to it,” Smith said. “We usually wrestle it in January, and Coach (Tom) Brands called and said he wanted to change the date and put it on the football field. I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ It’s a rarity to open up our season with one of the better teams in the country. I think it’s something that will be fun.”

The dual kicks off one of the Cowboys’ toughest schedules within the last decade.

The program celebrates its 100th year of wrestling on the OSU campus and brings in some big-time home matchups, including an early-season test against Minnesota on Nov. 29. The Pokes will also face North Carolina State (Dec. 6), Missouri (Jan. 22), Iowa State (Jan. 24), OU (Feb. 5), Army (Feb. 12), Stanford (Feb. 14) and North Carolina (Feb. 19) inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. 

The dual against Stanford marks the first time in program history that the two teams will meet.

The away schedule also features several exciting matchups as OSU travels to Cornell for the first time since 1965. The Pokes also pay visits to South Dakota State, OU, Wyoming, West Virginia and Pittsburgh.

Rounding out the season will be a newly introduced Bowl Dual Series, hosted by Penn State in late February.

Postseason action will kick off in Kansas City, Mo., as the four original Big 12 wrestling squads will welcome six new teams to compete for the Big 12 Championships on March 5-6.

New York City’s Madison Square Garden will host this year’s NCAA Championships March 17-19.

“We’re positioned to have a great season this year,” Smith said. “A few things will have to come together. We’ll have to grow at a few weights. I think we have the potential to be competing for a championship in the end.”