Illinois Football Rumored to Play Neutral Site Game in 2024

Illinois Football Rumored to Play Neutral Site Game in 2024

We are still in the heart of hoops season, and yet Illinois Football news continues to keep revving up excitement for the “newly renovated” 2024 college football season. On Wednesday, Bob Asmussen of The News-Gazette in Champaign reported that Illinois Football is closing in on a deal to play the Northwestern Wildcats at famous Wrigley Field, in Chicago. The game itself is set to finish out the 2024 regular season on November 30th and will be a home game for the Wildcats. For those that may have forgotten, Northwestern announced in the fall of 2023 that they would be making a major $800M renovation to Ryan Field.  This will be taking place throughout the entirety of the 2024 season, and as a result, the Wildcats will need to play neutral-site home games.

History At Wrigley

Illini Football’s last appearance at Wrigley was certainly something to remember. Many loved the idea of playing a neutral site game in Chicago, however, some disliked watching football on an MLB field.  It was November 20th 2010, when coach Ron Zook and quarterback Nathan Scheelhause brought Illinois football to Addison street. There’s a bit of nostalgia for you. Illinois beat up on Northwestern, and were able to come out on top with a convincing 48-27 win. Mikel Leshoure broke a, still standing, single game rushing record that day. Mike, with credit to the Offensive Line, rushed for 330 yards, and 2 touchdowns on 33 carries. A historical and memorable performance for Leshoure, and Illinois football fans.

Thoughts

As stated, there will be mixed opinions on playing this game at Wrigley. Many will love the idea, and some wont. There is certainly unique opportunities that present themselves in this situation. In recruiting, you present a fun and different way to gets eyes on this program. Chicago is top priority recruiting ground for Bielema’s staff, and getting players to a game in the city, at a historic venue, versus a rival is good. This is provides a great opportunity for Chicago based Illini fans, who may not have the time to take a trip to Champaign, to get to a game. Building local connections in Illinois is key to exciting and growing this fan base. This leads to better recruiting connections, and fuller stadiums. The key, coming into Wrigley and putting on a show for Chicago.

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