UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Big Ten released the first half of the league's men's lacrosse schedule on Thursday. No. 6 Penn State, which is scheduled for two home games and three on the road, opens the season at No. 18 Rutgers on Saturday, Feb. 20.
"We appreciate the effort and complexities that went into creating the 2021 Big Ten lacrosse schedule," Penn State head coach Jeff Tambroni said. "Our program would like to recognize the Big Ten and the Penn State Athletics Leadership Team for being so persistent on behalf of the student-athletes."
The second half of the schedule will be announced at a later date. The plan is for each team to play 10 games, competing against each Big Ten opponent twice, once at home and once on the road.
"A 10-game Big Ten schedule will present tremendous challenges and incredible opportunities week in and week out. We are excited and grateful to begin the journey after such a long layoff," Tambroni said.
Penn State's home opener is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27, against preseason No. 2 Maryland. The Lions follow that with a home game against No. 10 Ohio State on Saturday, March 6.
The first half of Penn State's schedule wraps up with a pair of road contests. The Lions travel to play No. 20 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, March 13, and will play at Michigan on Saturday, March 20.
Under current Big Ten guidance, public tickets will not be sold for 2021 Penn State men's lacrosse home games.
The 2021 Big Ten Tournament will include all six conference teams, with the top two teams in the standings at the end of the regular season receiving a first-round bye. The quarterfinal rounds will be hosted at the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds on Saturday, May 1. The semifinals (May 6) and final (May 8) will be hosted at Penn State's Panzer Stadium.
Penn State won the most recently competed Big Ten Tournament in 2019.
