Wrestling | October 7

DeKALB, Ill.—Northern Illinois University wrestling head coach Ryan Ludwig has announced the schedule for the 2025-26 Huskies wrestling program.
 
The Huskies will open their schedule with the annual Red-Black dual on October 30 before officially starting the season at the MSU Open on November 8.
 
NIU wrestling will spend all of November on the road as they compete at the Purdue Duals on November 15, taking on Purdue, Buffalo, and American University. The Huskies will travel to Louisville, Kentucky on November 22 to face Bellarmine.
 
The Huskies will take on Oregon State for the first time since the 2013 season when the Beavers visit DeKalb on December 19. NIU will make appearances at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas (December 5-6) and NWCA National Duals (January 9-10).
 
The annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships will be the final calendar event for 2025, taking place December 29-30 in Evanston, Illinois.
 
"We are excited about the challenges ahead," said Ludwig. "We want to seek out the best competition opportunities in the country."
 
After starting January at the NWCA National Duals, the Huskies will open Mid-American Conference competition as they host Central Michigan on January 16. NIU wrestling welcomes Ohio and Kent State on January 23 to DeKalb before ending the month at Lock Haven on January 30.
 
The Huskies will travel to Buffalo on February 6 for the final conference road dual before visiting in-state rival Northwestern on February 13. The annual "Beauty and the Beast" dual will take place on February 20 as SIUE visits DeKalb.
 
The 2026 MAC Championships are set for March 6-7 in Buffalo, New York. The 2026 NCAA Championships will take place March 19-21 in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
The NIU wrestling program posted a 7-3 dual match record during the 2024-25 season and had a pair of NCAA Championship qualifiers in Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) and Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna). West and Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) went undefeated last season in MAC competition.
 
West was the 2025 MAC Champion at 125 pounds as the duos appearance at the NCAA Championships extended to 54 straight years. Six Huskies earned Academic All-MAC honors while four Huskies were honored with NWCA Scholar All-America and CSC Academic All-District honors. 
 
Stay up-to-date on all NIU Wrestling news by following the team on Facebook (NIU Wrestling), X/Twitter (@NIUWrestling), and on Instagram (@NIU_Wrestling).