Most matches in network history; New B1G Story featuring Iowa’s Alex Marinelli

CHICAGO, Ill. – With the Big Ten seeking its 14th consecutive wrestling national championship, BTN will bring fans along for the ride with the most wrestling coverage in network history – a 40% increase from last season.

BTN’s schedule begins with a non-conference matchup as No. 17 Virginia Tech heads to Columbus on Nov. 17 at noon ET to face the No. 4 Buckeyes and includes the Big Ten Championships, a Super Saturday dual between Rutgers and No. 7 Michigan from Madison Square Garden, a battle of last year’s top-two team finishers at the NCAA tournament in No. 1 Penn State and Ohio State and a primetime matchup between the top-ranked Nittany Lions and No. 2 Iowa on Friday, Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. ET. Jim Gibbons, Tim Johnson and Shane Sparks will once again anchor BTN’s coverage.

“The Big Ten is home to the most dominant wrestling programs in the country and that distinction has made wrestling the fourth most-watched sport on BTN,” said BTN President François McGillicuddy. “Our goal is to continue to showcase and amplify Big Ten Wrestling, including an increase in our live event broadcasts, a commitment to original storytelling and an investment in on-campus digital content.”

BTN will debut a new wrestling-centric episode of The B1G Story, a documentary-style program produced by the Emmy-nominated BTN Originals team. At 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 1, The B1G Story: Alex & Eli will explore the friendship and bond of Iowa wrestler Alex Marinelli and former Wisconsin wrestler, Eli Stickley.

According to FloWrestling’s rankings, the Big Ten has nine teams ranked in the top 25. Four-time defending national champion and No. 1 Penn State is looking for its ninth title in the past 10 seasons, but will face stiff competition from No. 2 Iowa, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 7 Michigan, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 11 Minnesota, No. 16 Northwestern and No. 24 Illinois.

Additionally, BTN+ will carry nearly 100 matches, also a new record-high. A portion of those streamed events will be televised on delay on BTN as part of the Student U initiative.

All televised matches and The B1G Story can be streamed exclusively on the FOX Sports app.

BTN’s wrestling schedule is below and is also subject to change.

2019 BTN/FOX Sports App Wrestling Schedule

Day	Date	Visiting Team		Home Team	Time (ET)
Sunday	November 17, 2019	Virginia Tech	at	Ohio State	12:00 PM
Sunday	December 1, 2019	Wisconsin	at	Iowa	8:00 PM
Sunday	January 5, 2020	Oregon State	at	Michigan	4:00 PM
Friday	January 10, 2020	Wisconsin	at	Minnesota	9:00 PM
Friday	January 17, 2020	Ohio State	at	Wisconsin	9:00 PM
Saturday	January 18, 2020	Indiana	at	Northwestern	2:30 PM
Saturday	January 18, 2020	Nebraska	at	Iowa	9:00 PM
Sunday	January 19, 2020	Maryland	at	Michigan State	3:00 PM
Friday	January 24, 2020	Penn State	at	Nebraska	7:00 PM
Friday	January 24, 2020	Ohio State	at	Iowa	9:00 PM
Sunday	January 26, 2020	Ohio State	at	Minnesota	8:30 PM
Friday	January 31, 2020	Penn State	at	Iowa	9:00 PM
Saturday	February 1, 2020	Rutgers*	vs.	Michigan*	1:00 PM
Friday	February 7, 2020	Penn State	at	Wisconsin	9:00 PM
Saturday	February 8, 2020	Iowa	at	Michigan	8:00 PM
Sunday	February 9, 2020	Penn State	at	Minnesota	2:00 PM
Friday	February 14, 2020	Michigan	at	Nebraska	9:00 PM
Saturday	February 15, 2020	Ohio State	at	Penn State	7:30 PM
Saturday	February 15, 2020	Minnesota	at	Iowa	9:30 PM
Sunday	February 16, 2020	Purdue	at	Illinois	2:00 PM
Sunday	February 16, 2020	Michigan	at	Wisconsin	4:00 PM
Thursday	February 20, 2020	Northern Iowa	at	Wisconsin	9:00 PM
Sunday	February 23, 2020	Oklahoma State	at	Iowa	8:00 PM
Sunday	March 8, 2020	B1G Championships	at	Rutgers	3:30 PM

*Match at Madison Square Garden

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