Fall Sports Preview

Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy celebrates after being named 2020 Fiesta Bowl Offensive Player of the Game.

Andrew Harrington
August 12, 2021

Cross country

The women’s cross country team has dominated the Big 12 for a decade, earning eight Big 12 Championships in the last 10 years. To go along with the team’s success in conference play, the team has also gone to the NCAA Championships in 10 of the last 11 seasons. The men’s team has had success of their own after losing a tiebreaker for the Big 12 Championship. The team has qualified for the NCAA Championships in five consecutive seasons.

Schedule

Sept. 3 – Hawkeye Invitational (Iowa City, Iowa)

Sept. 24 – Roy Griak Invitational (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Oct. 15 – Nuttycombe Invitational (Madison, Wis.)

Oct. 29 – Big 12 Championship (Stillwater, Okla.)

Nov. 12 – NCAA Midwest Regional (Iowa City, Iowa)

Nov. 20 – NCAA Championship (Tallahassee, Fla.)

Football

The Iowa State football team heads into a season in which they have some of the highest fan expectations of a team from the school in any sport throughout history. The team is coming off of a season in which they finished 9-3, including a win in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl and an appearance at the Big 12 Championship.

Schedule

Sept. 4 vs. Northern Iowa

Sept. 11 vs. Iowa

Sept. 18 at Nevada-Las Vegas

Sept. 25 at Baylor

Oct. 2 vs. Kansas

Oct. 16 at Kansas State

Oct. 23 vs. Oklahoma State

Oct. 30 at West Virginia

Nov. 6 vs. Texas

Nov. 13 at Texas Tech

Nov. 20 at Oklahoma

Nov. 26 vs. TCU

Golf

The men’s golf team lost one of the best players in team history in Tripp Kinney, but there is still much to look forward to. One golfer to watch out for is Lachlan Barker, who was selected to compete as an individual at the NCAA Regionals last season. On the women’s side, the team is coming off of a season in which they reached their 11th-straight NCAA Regional.

Men’s Golf Schedule

Sept. 12-13 – Gopher Invitational

Sept. 26-28 – Badger Invitational

Oct. 4-5 – Fighting Irish Classic

Oct. 11-13 – Big 12 Match Play

Jan. 24-25 – Arizona Intercollegiate

Feb. 21-23 – The Prestige

March 7-8 – Colleton River Collegiate

April 4-5 – Wyoming Cowboy Classic

April 16-17 – Hawkeye Invitational

April 25-27 – Big 12 Championship

May 16-18 – NCAA Regionals

May 27- June 1 – NCAA Championship

Women’s Golf Schedule

Sept. 13-14 – Wolverine Invitational

Sept. 26-27 – Schooner Fall Classic

Oct. 4-5 – Windy City Collegiate

Oct. 15-17 – Stanford Intercollegiate

Feb. 6-8 – UCF Challenge

Feb. 13-14 – Moon Golf Columbia Classic

Feb. 28 – March 1 – Gun Rock

March 18-20 – Mountain View Collegiate

April 4-6 – Silverado Showdown

April 11-12 – The Bruzzy

April 22-24 – Big 12 Championship

May 9-11 – NCAA Regionals

May 20-25 – NCAA Championships

Soccer

Iowa State wrapped up a season in which the team battled despite relying heavily on its starters. The highlight of the Cyclones’ season was a string of five consecutive matches without a loss. The team finished the season with three wins, six losses and four draws.

Schedule

Aug. 7 at Omaha (Exhibition)

Aug. 19 at UC-Santa Barbara

Aug. 22 at CSUN

Aug. 26 at Iowa

Aug. 29 vs. Drake

Sept. 5 vs. SIU-Edwardsville

Sept. 9 vs. Memphis

Sept. 16 vs. Creighton

Sept. 19 at South Dakota

Sept. 24 at West Virginia

Sept. 30 vs. Oklahoma State

Oct. 3 vs. Kansas

Oct. 8 at Texas

Oct. 14 vs. Texas Tech

Oct. 17 vs. TCU

Oct. 21 at Baylor

Oct. 24 vs. Oklahoma

Oct. 28 at Kansas State

Tennis

Last season was a historic one for Iowa State tennis as the team made its first NCAA Tournament. The team even took down 24th-ranked South Carolina in the first round of the tournament. Finishing the season with a record of 14-8, the Cyclones ended up at 34 in the rankings.

Schedule

Sept. 20-26 – Fort Worth $25k

Sept. 24-26 – Gopher Invitational

Sept. 24-26 – Kitty Harrison Invite

Oct. 4-10 – ITA All-American Championship

Oct. 8-10 – June Stewart Invitational

Oct. 21-25 – ITA Regionals

Nov. 4-7 – ITA National Fall Championships

Nov. 5-7 – Fall Series Championships

Volleyball

The Cyclones finished the 2020 volleyball season with an 8-12 record (5-9 in conference play). This record landed the team in sixth place out of nine teams in the Big 12. Players Eleanor Holthaus and Candelaria Herrera were named to the 2021 Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

Schedule

Cyclone Challenge (Aug. 27-28; Ames, Iowa)

Aug. 27 vs. Omaha

Aug. 28 vs. Drake

Aug. 28 vs. Fresno State

Penn State Challenge (Sept. 3-4; State College, Pa.)

Sept. 3 vs. LSU

Sept. 3 at Penn State

Sept. 4 vs. Oregon State

Iowa Invitational (Sept. 10-11; Iowa City, Iowa)

Sept. 10 vs. Ball State

Sept. 10 vs. Syracuse