Cyclone Swim and Dive has revealed the long-awaited 2026-27 season schedule for home and away swim meets.
Iowa State finished last season with a 4-5 overall record, and they are hoping to bounce back and be able to defend Beyer pool, where they were unable to win a single home meet (0-5). The Cyclones were undefeated at road meets and were 1-0 at neutral sites.
Championships, invitational meets and duals are not included in the calculation of the regular season record.
September
The month of September will only host one total meet for the Cyclones: the annual Cardinal and Gold meet. The Cardinal and Gold meet is an intersquad scrimmage in which the roster is split to compete against each other in all events of a typical swim and dive meet.
The Cardinal and Gold meet is a measuring tool to see where the team is at, which relay teams work best together, and to give the other Cyclone swimmers and divers a chance to push each other. It is also a great showcase for the fans early in the season before facing other opponents.
October
The month of October always promises to be the busiest month for swim and dive, and this upcoming October delivers on that promise with a plethora of head-to-head matchups.
The Cyclones will kick off the season in a dual meet against Nebraska in Lincoln. Nebraska has always seemed to have the Cyclones number, having not lost to Iowa State in a dual meet since 2003.
The Cyclones will travel to Tallahassee, Florida, for the Florida State Invite on Oct. 9 and 10. This opportunity allows Iowa State to compete against schools it normally would not face and be pushed by SEC schools.
Iowa State will pack up and face Illinois on the road Oct. 16-17, an opponent Iowa State lost to last year in Ames.
One additional change is the removal of the Cyclones Alumni Meet. For the 2025-26 season, the Alumni Meet took place in October and allowed former Cyclones to come back and compete. As of now, it is not on the schedule, indicating it will not be a part of Iowa State’s schedule for the upcoming season.
November
November will feature one dual meet and an invitational, both of which are routine meets for the Cyclones.
Iowa State will first host South Dakota at Beyer Pool on Nov. 6, a team that the Cyclones found success against last year, winning the meet 168-123.
The Cyclones will then travel to the Hawkeye Invitational to compete in several events from Nov. 18-21.
Iowa State is hoping to improve upon last year’s performance at the invite, where they finished in eighth place, the second-to-last.
December
The month of December only features one meet that is exclusive to the divers.
Iowa State divers will travel up to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the Minnesota invitational, Dec. 3-5, to compete against other Big 10 opponents and more.
January
The first month of 2027 will feature competitive meets, along with a good mix of home and dual meets.
The break in January will open up with a dual meet in Ames, hosting Northern Iowa on
Jan. 9. This dual meet will be a break from the big-time conference competition the Cyclones will face at the Big 12 duals in Houston, Texas, on Jan. 16 and 17.
The Cyclones will then host smaller Division I school St. Thomas on Jan. 29 after a rest break from the Big 12 duals, and will then travel back to Iowa City for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk series on Jan. 30.
February
The Cyclones will get a great first test in February, riding down to Lawrence, Kansas to face an always tough Jayhawks swim and dive team on Feb. 5.
Iowa State will take a few weeks off before the last guaranteed meet of the season, the annual Big 12 Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, running from Feb. 23-27.
Last season, Iowa State finished ninth in the Big 12 Championships, showing improvement from the season prior, and they hope to do the same again this upcoming season.
March
The month of March displays three potential meets for the Cyclones. The eighth through the 10th is the NCAA Zone Diving Qualifications in Austin, Texas.
The next meet would be the National Invitational Championships in Ocala, Florida, March 11-13.
The last potential meet would be the NCAA Women’s Championships back in Austin, Texas, March 17-20.
Iowa State swim and dive will hope to reach all of these meets through strong regular-season performances and in the Big 12 Championships in February.
