Following a slew of schedule announcements to begin the month of June, the Penn State Nittany Lions Field Hockey team is the only Big Ten team yet to confirm their full regular season calendar for the upcoming 2026 season.
But with each of the other eight programs having announced theirs, Penn State's conference slate has effectively been solidified, save for a few game times.
Here's a look at that eight-game schedule for 2026. All locations have been flipped from 2025.
Penn State Field Hockey: 2026 Big Ten schedule
Date | Time (ET) | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, September 17 | 5:00 p.m. | Maryland | HOME |
Friday, October 2 | 3:00 p.m. | Rutgers | ROAD |
Friday, October 9 | TBD | Michigan State | ROAD |
Friday, October 16 | 5:00 p.m. | Ohio State | HOME |
Sunday, October 18 | 12:00 p.m. | Michigan | HOME |
Friday, October 23 | 3:00 p.m. | Indiana | ROAD |
Sunday, October 25 | 1:00 p.m. | Iowa | ROAD |
Friday, October 30 | TBD | Northwestern | HOME |
November 5-8 | TBD | Big Ten Tournament | Ohio State |
After qualifying for 30 consecutive Big Ten Tournaments from 1994 to 2023, Penn State is currently mired in a two-year postseason drought as they enter year number one of the Hannah Prince era.
The 2024 season saw them place eighth of nine teams in the Big Ten, despite winning two games; they missed out on the conference tournament after being on the wrong side of a head-to-head tiebreaker against Iowa.
The 2025 season again saw them win two conference games, including a double-overtime thriller against Iowa, but parity throughout the conference resulted in another eighth-place finish, once again ahead of only Michigan State.
In fact, even a 3-5 conference record may not have been enough, given the Big Ten's complicated tiebreaker parameters and everything that needed to happen heading into the team's regular season finale against Rutgers.
Penn State non-conference schedule
A number of other non-conference games have already been scheduled for Penn State in 2026. The Nittany Lions are set to host the Lock Haven Bald Eagles on Sunday, August 30, and they are set to travel to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens on Sunday, September 6. They are set to host the Princeton Tigers on Sunday, September 13.
They also have road games scheduled against the Bucknell Bison on Monday, September 28 and the Kent State Golden Flashes on Sunday, October 11.
Penn State faced all five of those teams a year ago, and all locations have been flipped from 2025.
They are also set to take on both the Virginia Cavaliers and the Syracuse Orange again, after traveling to both a year ago. Neither one of those two ACC contenders has finalized a 2026 calendar.
Other non-conference teams from Penn State's 2025 schedule include the Saint Joseph's Hawks and the Lafayette Leopards. The Nittany Lions do not appear on Saint Joseph's 2026 schedule, while Lafayette's hasn't yet been revealed.
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