UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Big Ten Conference announced the 2021 softball schedule Tuesday morning, which includes 44 conference-only games for each institution. Penn State will play at least two games against every conference team.
"It is with great pleasure and excitement that we finally announce our 2021 schedule," said head coach Clarisa Crowell. "I would like to thank our administration, medical staff, the Big Ten Conference, and everyone who contributed to making this schedule possible. I would also like to thank our incredible student-athletes and all our supporters for their patience and understanding during these challenging times. We are extremely excited about the opportunity to compete, and we look forward to representing Penn State once again. We Are!"
The Nittany Lions will kick off the season down in Leesburg, Florida the weekend of February 26-28. Penn State will face Wisconsin, Purdue and Northwestern at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex, playing doubleheaders against all three teams for a total of six games.
After a weekend off, all the Big Ten teams will return to Leesburg, Florida and the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex, March 11-14, for six more games. Penn State will face Iowa and Illinois in three-game series each.
The rest of conference play features a total of eight weekends with each institution playing four home and four away series. There will be four games played each weekend (Friday through Sunday) series.
Penn State starts on the road against Nebraska, March 26-28.
The Nittany Lions will finally get to play within the friendly confines of Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field for the first time since the 2019 season the weekend of April 2-4 against Ohio State before also hosting Rutgers the following weekend, April 9-11.
Penn State will then hit the road for back-to-back weekends at Michigan State, April 16-18, and at Maryland, April 23-25.
Michigan will come to Happy Valley April 30-May 2.
The Nittany Lions' final road series will be at Indiana, May 7-9, before hosting Minnesota, May 14-16, to end the regular season.
There will not be a 2021 Big Ten Tournament.
All dates are subject to change. Start times and potential broadcast designations will be announced at a later date.
Under current Big Ten guidance, there will be no general public ticket sales for the 2021 Penn State Softball season.
Stay up-to-date on all things Penn State Softball by following the team on Twitter and Instagram, @PennStateSB, and by 'liking' the team on Facebook.
