Which teams have the best wrestling schedule graphics for the upcoming season? Now that almost every D1 schedule has dropped, I decided to rank the top 25 designs.
Considering I am in the digital marketing field, I typically critique every team’s poster at a glance. Unfortunately, college wrestling graphics haven’t quite caught up to other sports graphics yet, such as college football.
However, these programs found a way to make their wrestling posters creative and catchy. The graphic designers who created them should be applauded.
Remember, my rankings have nothing to do with the actual schedule itself, just the design. Without further ado, below are the 25 most eye-catching wrestling schedule graphics.
Honorable Mention: Michigan
Michigan enters their 100th season this year, and because of that, I’m giving them an honorable mention. Overall, their poster looks good. My one critique is that I’d like to have seen a collage of photos from the past 100 years. Now that would have been cool!
#25 North Carolina
North Carolina was one of the first teams to release their 2021-2022 wrestling schedules, so clearly there was excitement for it. Technically this is just an “opponents schedule” and not a full schedule with dates and times, but it still works. I’d have liked to see NCAA Champion Austin O’Connor directly in the front, but maybe the design team will add him onto the official season poster.
#24 Wyoming
Uh oh, Stephen Buchanan is coming for you this season! Excellent work from Wyoming on this schedule. Even with the ugly brown and gold colors, the graphic design team find a way to make it look good.
#23 Appalachian State
There’s nothing crazy about App State’s wrestling schedule poster, but simpler can often mean better. Of course, NCAA All-American John Millner is at the head of the poster to excite the Mountaineer fans. Additionally, the schedule is laid out in an easy-to-read way.
#22 Lock Haven
While most programs have in-house teams to take care of their wrestling schedule graphics, Lock Haven took a different approach and hired an outside source in Never Settle Designs. Smart thinking from a small program.
The background photos make the poster look historic, and the outline of a wrestler is striking. But if I have to nitpick, this poster includes my biggest pet peeve in wrestling design: a wrestler’s raised hand with the ref’s hand still attached.
#21 Northern Colorado
Head Coach Garett Kiley likes to raise the bar every year with his team’s graphic. And to be honest, Northern Colorado does a stand-up job of creating unique content. Instead of posting a schedule graphic like every other team, they posted a video. Cool idea!
#20 Little Rock
Although Little Rock is a newer team in D1 NCAA Wrestling, their graphics are on point! I say that in the best way possible because there are teams that have been around for years with awful graphics. Marketing helps to build up these small programs, trust me. Keep it up, Little Rock!
#19 Princeton
Princeton is finally returning to the mat this year after not being allowed to wrestling in 2021. And they have a loaded slate in the Ivy League. The team photo on top, mixed with the orange & black, and the emoji-sticker graphics adds flair to the graphic.
#18 American
Maybe the graphic isn’t over-the-top, but there is something beautiful about the red, white, and blue on American University’s wrestling schedule graphic.
#17 NC State
Some of my personal favorite designs in the NCAA come out of NC State. Director of Athletics Digital Communications Brian Reinhardt does a great job with Coach Popolizio to increase the visibility of the wrestling team.
I like the fact that they have super seniors Hayden Hidlay and Tariq Wilson on the poster, too. As per usual, NC State has one of the top wrestling schedule graphics in the NCAA again.
#16 West Virginia
West Virginia raised the bar with this graphic. Bonus points for putting NCAA All-American Killian Cardinale in the front of the pack.
#15 Rutgers
Although Rutgers released just a home schedule (for now), the font explodes off of the page. The Scarlett Knights have a fantastic design team for wrestling, football, and their other sports. Plus, showing off their nine home dates is a nice touch.
#14 Iowa State
Technically, Iowa State hasn’t released a full dual poster yet. But, they seem to have started a trend of releasing a home graphic and an away graphic. Many other teams followed suit, and it is a neat concept. Iowa State ranks at #14 because of the well-designed poster with textures and patterns.
#13 Duke
This wrestling schedule graphic is distinct from most other teams, and the belt at the top is a neat detail to add. Good work, Duke!
#12 Iowa
Don’t expect to see the #1 Iowa Hawkeyes this low on any other ranking this year. The poster may be simple, but displaying 3X NCAA Champion Spencer Lee front and center will catch anyone’s attention. And oftentimes, simpler is better.
#11 Mizzou
Welcome to the Big 12, Mizzou! The black and gold schedule looks good. But the gold medal around Rocky Elam’s neck looks even better. Way to not only showcase the schedule, but also the hardware.
#10 Minnesota
Olympic Champion Gable Steveson front and center in a beautiful schedule graphic. Enough said.
#9 Pitt
Yikes, if you know me then this is a surprise! I may be from Pittsburgh, but I am not a Pitt fan in the slightest. However, their graphics and colors really do POP! They decided to follow the trend of releasing a separate graphic for the home and away matches, which worked well for social media.
On a final note, including NCAA finalists Jake Wentzel and Nino Bonaccorsi was a good idea.
#8 Nebraska
Fascinating concept, Nebraska. The Corn Huskers typically have some of the most polished graphics in the Big Ten. I like the singlet with the schedule on top, but I would rather have seen the face of an actual wrestler or All-American like Chad Red or Mikey Labriola.
#7 Penn State
If you know me, then you know I’m a Penn State alum and major Nittany Lion fan (We Are!). Though I love the football graphics, I’m typically not a huge fan of Penn State wrestling’s social media presence because it has been mostly nonexistent until recently. But, they knocked it out of the park with this poster, and I like seeing NCAA Champion Nick Lee front and center.
What would I do differently? I’d absolutely have liked to see a poster with all four champions.
#6 Oklahoma State
Of course when you bring back an NCAA Champion in AJ Ferrari and an NCAA finalist in Daton Fix, you have to put them front and center on the season poster. For Oklahoma State fans, this is one to hang on the wall, so hopefully they hand them out at this year’s home dual meets.
#5 Purdue
Typically Purdue puts out attractive graphics, and this one is no different. The motion effect on NCAA qualifier Devin Schroder is eye-catching, and the gold font is alluring. Purdue earns the title of best wrestling schedule graphic in the Big Ten!
#4 Air Force
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting Air Force to be so high on this list, but their poster looks great. It’s sleek. The simple “AF” logo fits in nicely, and the planes with the slight motion blur adds a neat effect.
#3 Campbell
Before you jump on me, yes I did personally design this poster. However look at how nicely the graphics come together. The design pops off the page in such a way that it looks like a poster that you want to hang on your wall. Showcasing Josh Heil works well, but I also like that Campbell, “Big Man U,” showed off upper weights Austin Murphy and Chris Kober
Campbell Wrestling is always pushing to be the best wrestling social media in the game, and this poster shows off their efforts.
#2 George Mason
Similar to Lock Haven, George Mason went with an outside source for poster design. Strandberg Design blew this poster out of the water! I’m a big fan of these realistic posters with actual depth to them. Showing off the Little Caesar’s Arena in the background and paying homage to Michigan’s racing with the car was smart. The only critique leaving this poster from being #1 ranked is that the text is too small to read. Other than that, fantastic work, George Mason!
#1 Virginia Tech
Not only does Virginia Tech have a top wrestling team in the ACC, but the Hokies also have the number one graphic design team in college wrestling. I’m not sure if they have the same designer doing all of the graphics at the school or if he or she is wrestling specific, but this poster is another great one.
Two of my favorite posters from them are the Latona Cold as Ice and the Alpha Wolves after the NC State dual meet win in February 2021. Congrats on being the #1 wrestling schedule graphic in the country, Virginia Tech!
Your Favorite Wrestling Schedule Graphics?
While I’m impartial to certain graphics because I’m a modern graphic designer, you may have liked other teams’ schedules better. Out of these 25 wrestling schedule graphics, which one did you like best?
By the way, if you’re looking for all 78 D1 schedules you may enjoy this article.
