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| Wrigley will go purple again. (US Presswire) |
Northwestern will host a football game at Wrigley Field again. In fact, it will host five of them.
There are no games scheduled yet, but as part of a new agreement with the Chicago Cubs, which was announced Tuesday, Northwestern will play five football games at the historic baseball ballpark.
"We are thrilled to partner with a professional sports franchise as iconic as the Chicago Cubs in an agreement that truly is the first of its kind," said Northwestern's Jim Phillips. "As Chicago's Big Ten Team, this is a natural fit that will create tremendous opportunities for our student-athletes, our coaches and our fans in the area. I'd like to personally thank the Ricketts family and the entire Cubs executive team for all of their efforts in bringing this remarkable partnership to fruition."
Wrigley also will play host to Northwestern's baseball, lacrosse and soccer teams in the future.
The first game Northwestern played in Wrigley was against Illinois in 2010 and was memorable for a few reasons. First, it was being played at Wrigley, but what most people remember: Both teams could only use one end zone. Limited space between the back of the east end zone and the brick wall in right field led to safety concerns for the players.
That will change, as there will be no Northwestern games at the park until renovations are complete -- renovations that will no doubt provide a bit more room for a football field.
As for when the games will take place, 2014 would be the earliest possible date. However, with Cubs games scheduled in September and October -- OK, so there probably won't be many games played in October, but you never know -- that means the game will have to be played in November.
Northwestern's current home opponents in November 2014 are Iowa on Nov. 8 and Illinois on Nov. 29. While I can't be sure, I'd say the smart money is on the Wrigley rematch.
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