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Wrestling MSU Athletics Communications

Morgan State Set to Host 2028 EIWA Wrestling Championships

BALTIMORE, Md. (June 25, 2026) – Morgan State University will make history in 2028 when it hosts the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Wrestling Championships for the first time in program history. The 2028 event, the 124th running of America's oldest wrestling championship, is scheduled for March 3-5, 2028, at Hill Field House on Morgan's Baltimore campus. Final competition dates and session formats will be announced at a later time.

All 12 EIWA programs are expected to compete at Hill Field House to crown conference champions and determine the league's automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships in each weight class.

The championship represents another major milestone in the resurgence of Morgan State wrestling, which returned to Division I competition in 2023-24 after a 25-year hiatus. Morgan remains the only Historically Black College or University competing at the Division I level in wrestling.

The 2028 EIWA Championships will mark the first time in decades that Morgan has hosted a conference wrestling championship after serving as a frequent championship site throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. It will also be the first postseason wrestling event held on campus since 1993, when the Bears captured their ninth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title.

"We are incredibly honored and excited that Morgan State University has been selected to host the 2028 EIWA Championships," said head coach Kenny Monday. "As we enter only our third season competing in the nation's oldest and most prestigious wrestling conference, this opportunity is a testament to the vision, commitment, and leadership of our athletic department and university administration.

"I want to sincerely thank and congratulate everyone involved in putting together a winning bid that reflected the pride, tradition, and future of Morgan State Athletics. Their enthusiasm and belief in what we are building made this achievement possible.

"This is a landmark moment for our program, our university, and the continued growth of wrestling at Morgan State. We look forward to welcoming the conference's outstanding student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and supporters and delivering a first-class championship experience that all members of this historic conference will be proud of."

Morgan State Vice President and Director of Athletics Dena Freeman-Patton said bringing the championship to Baltimore is a powerful moment for the university, the wrestling program, and the broader HBCU community.

"Hosting the 2028 EIWA Championships at Morgan State is a powerful moment for our university, our wrestling program, and the entire HBCU community," said Freeman-Patton. "This championship reflects the rich legacy of Morgan wrestling, honors the generations of Bears who helped build this tradition, and represents another major step forward as we continue to elevate the profile of Morgan State Athletics on the national stage. To bring postseason wrestling back to our campus is both historic and meaningful, and we look forward to welcoming the EIWA and some of the nation's top programs to Baltimore."

The EIWA, the oldest collegiate athletic conference in the nation, will bring its championship event to Baltimore for the first time as Morgan continues to build on its historic wrestling tradition.

"I'm pleased and excited Morgan State will be the host for the 2028 EIWA Championships," said Gene Nighman, EIWA executive director. "Coach Monday is leading the resurgence of a premier wrestling program at Morgan State, and hosting an automatic NCAA qualifying tournament adds to the Morgan State legacy. As the newest member of the EIWA, Morgan State will make history and add to the tradition of the EIWA by serving as a first-time host of the EIWA Championships."

The 2027 EIWA Championships will be held at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., from March 5-7.
 
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Morgan's revival has been guided by Monday, an Olympic gold medalist, three-time Olympian, and National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee, who was hired on Aug. 24, 2022. Before taking over the Bears' program, Monday served as director of wrestling and head coach at SPIRE Academy.

The return of wrestling in 2023-24 marked a historic milestone for Morgan, which became the only HBCU with a Division I wrestling program. Its reinstatement followed a landmark $2.7 million gift from HBCU Wrestling, helping fund scholarships and support up to nine full scholarships annually while expanding wrestling opportunities across HBCU campuses.

Morgan wrestling boasts a proud and storied legacy dating back to the early 1950s. The Bears quickly established themselves as one of the premier programs in the region, dominating competition throughout that decade and carrying that momentum into the 1960s, highlighted by Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships in 1963, 1964, and 1965.

The program reached even greater heights in 1975-76 when legendary head coach James Phillips took the reins. Over the next two decades, Phillips guided Morgan through one of the most successful eras in program history, leading the Bears to 13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships while earning MEAC Coach of the Year honors 12 times. He also helped bring the NCAA Division II National Championships to Morgan in 1984, further cementing the university's place on the national wrestling stage.

Under Phillips' leadership, Morgan produced four national champions and more than 75 All-Americans, building a tradition of excellence that resonated far beyond Baltimore. Although the program was discontinued following the 1996-97 season, in part because of a lack of resources, Morgan's wrestling legacy remains one of the most decorated and respected in HBCU athletics history.

Now, more than 30 years after Morgan last hosted a postseason wrestling event on campus, the Bears are set to welcome one of the sport's most historic championships back to Baltimore — a fitting next chapter for a program whose past and future continue to shape the national wrestling landscape.
 
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ABOUT THE EIWA
The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) was founded in 1904, and it is the oldest wrestling conference in the nation.  Founding members' schools were Columbia, Yale, Penn, and Princeton. The EIWA, with 12 member schools, is one of the largest wrestling conferences in the nation. The EIWA is an automatic qualifier (AQ) tournament to the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championship.  
 
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.

 
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