Northern Illinois Joins Pac-12 as Affiliate Member in 2026-27

DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team will begin competition in the Pac-12 Conference beginning with the 2026-27 school year. NIU will join Oregon State and fellow affiliate members Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield and Little Rock as members of Pac-12 Wrestling.

"We are happy to have our NIU wrestling program joining the Pac-12 Conference," said NIU President Dr. Lisa Freeman. "This new home for wrestling will provide positive opportunities for our student-athletes to compete at a high level in a league that also values high academic standards."

"We continue to find our place in this new landscape and are pleased to have our wrestling program join the Pac-12 Conference," said NIU Vice-President/Director of Athletics and Recreation Sean T. Fraizer. "It has been a thorough process to ensure that we found the right fit for our program and we believe we have found that with the Pac-12. I look forward to a bright future for Huskie wrestling."

With today's announcement, the Pac-12 currently has five future members in the sport of wrestling for the 2026-27 season. As an NCAA sport with an automatic qualifier, the Pac-12 will need to add at least one more wrestling program to meet minimum requirements of six members for the sport in order to retain NCAA automatic qualification for its annual league champion. 

"We are thrilled to be joining such a competitive conference filled with prestigious wrestlers, coaches and administrators committed to the sport," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "This will provide outstanding opportunities for our student-athletes to accomplish their goals, while expanding the national footprint of the NIU Wrestling program."

The NIU wrestling program posted a 7-3 dual match record a season ago and had a pair of NCAA Championship qualifiers, Blake West and Landen Johnson, extending its streak of sending at least one student-athlete to the NCAA Championships to 54 consecutive years. 

In 93 seasons of Huskie wrestling, NIU has won more than 600 dual matches. Current NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig is one of three coaches in program history to record more than 100 dual match wins. The Huskie wrestling team has compiled a 20-5 record in dual matches over the last two seasons, which includes a 12-1 mark at home. NIU claimed the MAC West Division dual title in 2023-24 after going 10-0 at home, the program's first undefeated dual match home season in 43 years.