Penn State Wrestling Returns to Allentown's PPL Center to Face Lehigh

The Nittany Lions will wrestle their annual match against Lehigh at the home of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

The Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate after winning the NCAA wrestling title at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. / Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The Penn State wrestling team returns to Allentown's PPL Center in December for its annual non-conference match against Lehigh. Penn State, the three-time defending NCAA champion, and Lehigh will bring their historic wrestling rivalry to the PPL Center for the first time since 2017.

The 112th Penn State-Lehigh match is scheduled for Dec. 8 at Allentown's PPL Center, home of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Philadelphia Flyers' AHL affiliate. Penn State and Lehigh last wrestled at PPL Center in 2017 in a match that drew 9,896 fans and set Lehigh's home dual-meet attendance record. Then-No. 1 Penn State won that match 23-19 on its way to the seventh of coach Cael Sanderson's 11 NCAA titles with the Nittany Lions.

"We're excited about the opportunity to return to PPL Center to wrestle Penn State," Lehigh wrestling coach Pat Santoro said in a statement. "Our match in 2017 was an amazing event and working with the team at PPL Center was an incredible experience for everyone involved."

Penn State returns a loaded lineup in Sanderson's 16th season as head coach. The Nittany Lions bring back three NCAA champs, two other finalists and a total of six All-Americans. NCAA champs Carter Starocci, Greg Kerkvliet and Levi Haines return, and Starocci seeks to become the first five-time national champ in college wrestling history.

The Nittany Lions have won three straight NCAA wrestling titles and 11 under Sanderson since 2010. Last season, Penn State set NCAA tournament records for scoring and margin of victory, became the first college wrestling program with two four-time national champions and put eight All-Americans on the podium.

Lehigh finished 15th at last year's NCAA Wrestling Championships and returns three All-Americans in Michael Beard (a former Penn State wrestler), Ryan Crookham and Luke Stanich. Penn State has won 13 consecutive dual meets over Lehigh and holds a 74-34-3 lead in the series, which dates to 1911.

Tickets for the Penn State-Lehigh match go on sale to the general public Sept. 23. Tickets will be available online at the PPL Center website.

Penn State has announced a few other details of its 2024-25 wrestling schedule. The Nittany Lions will host this year's NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 16 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State also has announced its Big Ten opponents for this season. The Nittany Lions will host Iowa, Michigan State, Michgan and Maryland and will visit Nebraska, Illinois, Rutgers and Ohio State.

Allentown's PPL Center, which celebrated its 10th anniversary on Sept. 12, will host its second major college wrestling event with the December Penn State-Lehigh match. The first match generated one of the largest crowds in the venue's history. PPL Center has hosted more than 4.5 million people at events over the past 10 years.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.