How to Watch the Big Ten Wrestling Championships: Schedule, TV, Streaming

Penn State is the overwhelming favorite to win the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which the Nittany Lions have the added advantage of hosting. The two-day tournament at the Bryce Jordan Center serves as both a Big Ten showcase and qualifier for the NCAA Championships.

For Penn State, the conference tournament largely is a litmus test en route to nationals, the event that is coach Cael Sanderson's favorite in wrestling. Which is why Sanderson called the Big Ten Tournament "good practice" for nationals.

"You've got to show up and be ready to wrestle, and that's what we'll do," the Penn State coach said.

Here's what you need to know to get ready for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships.

How to watch, stream the Big Ten Wrestling Championships

Big Ten Network will provide coverage of all four sessions from the Bryce Jordan Center, including streaming mat-side cameras on the B1G+ subscription service. B1G+ is offering new subscribers a discount code ahead of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships.

Here's the daily broadcast schedule. All times are ET:

Saturday, March 7

10 a.m: Session 1 (first round, quarterfinals, consolations), BTN and B1G+

5 p.m.: Session 2 (consolation round), B1G+

7 p.m.: Session 2 (semifinals), BTN

Sunday, March 8

Noon: Session 3 (consolations, 7th-place matches), B1G+

4:30 p.m.: Session 4 (3rd- and 5th-place matches), B1G+

4:30 p.m.: Session 4 (championship matches) BTN

About the Big Ten Wrestling Championships

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Levi Haines takes on Ohio State's T.J. Schierl at 174 pounds during a Big Ten match. — Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Levi Haines, right, takes on Ohio State's T.J. Schierl at 174 pounds during a Big Ten wrestling dual inside the Bryce Jordan Center. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The two-day tournament determines not only Big Ten champions but also the conference's qualifiers for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, scheduled for March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The Big Ten Tournament consists of 10 weight classes with 14 wrestlers in each class representing the conference programs that sponsor wrestling.

The Big Ten received 87 pre-allocated spots to the NCAA Championships. That does not include at-large invitations to nationals. At least eight Big Ten wrestlers from each weight class will qualify for nationals. The Big Ten will send 10 wrestlers to nationals at 174 and 197 pounds.

Penn State is the three-time defending Big Ten Tournament champion. The Nittany Lions crowned five individual champions last year and placed all 10 starters in the top 6 of their weight classes. Penn State totaled 181.5 team points, nearly 45 more than runner-up Nebraska.

Tickets are still available for the tournament, which Penn State will host at the Bryce Jordan Center. Doors open for Session 1 at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

About the Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Cael Sanderson watches his team wrestle the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

After winning four straight NCAA team titles, Penn State put together its most dominant dual-meet season of this five-year run. The Nittany Lions (15-0) shut out eight opponents and outscored their schedule by an average margin of 39.4 points.

Penn State's individual winning percentage in duals was 92.7 percent (139-11). Seven Nittany Lions enter the postseason undefeated, and six are ranked No. 1 in the InterMat Wrestling rankings.

Penn State's four top-ranked wrestlers from 165-197 went a combined 70-0, scoring bonus points in 60 of those bouts. According to Wrestlestat, three of those wrestlers (Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165, Levi Haines at 174 and Josh Barr at 197) are in the top four of the Hodge Trophy rankings. Rocco Welsh (17-0 at 184) is 11th.

Mesenbrink, Haines and Luke Lilledahl (125) are Penn State's returning Big Ten champions. Braeden Davis (141) won the 125-pound title as a freshman in 2024. Haines seeks to become just the third Penn State wrestler to win four Big Ten titles.

Nine of Penn State's wrestlers initially were seeded in the top 4 at their weight classes, though Sanderson questioned the seeding process. The official brackets are scheduled to be released Friday.

Sanderson, who recently relaunched his sports nutrition cookie business, can become just the second coach to win 10 Big Ten tournament titles. Sanderson currently is tied with Michigan's Cliff Keen with nine championships. The career-leader is Iowa's Dan Gable, whose teams won 21 Big Ten titles during his coaching career.

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