Northwestern exploring all options for 2024 home football schedule

Northwestern's 2024 season begins in less than seven months. The demolition of Ryan Field has already begun.

Yet the Wildcats still haven't signed contracts for any of their home games. In a reflection of how complicated the landscape is, a source close to the scheduling process told WildcatReport that even the date of the home opener could change to find an open field.

@WildcatReport posted on Monday on X that athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg told alumni in New York City last week that Northwestern will play a home game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., this season. Gragg did not specify an opponent, but the common sense option would be Wisconsin, on Oct. 19.

Many fans went into an uproar on X, admonishing Northwestern's athletic department. Playing the Badgers in a stadium in Wisconsin would be a tough pill to swallow, as it would turn a home game into nearly 200 miles of travel against a Big Ten foe that will blanket the stands in red. But there is a reason Northwestern is considering such a move.

The source shared that there are only two available venues for that date: Lambeau and SeatGeek Stadium, a 20,000-seat soccer venue in Chicago's south suburbs. Soldier Field, Wrigley Field and even Guaranteed Rate Field are unavailable.

Lambeau is at least an iconic stadium built for football that seats more than 81,000 and can accommodate a larger crowd. It’s also likely on a lot of fans' and players' bucket lists. The fact that it is located in Wisconsin is the obvious drawback.

The source said that the program is still weighing its options for that game, as it is for just about every home game on the schedule.

In fact, only two games have locations that are pretty much set at this time, according to the source. The Wildcats will play Indiana on Oct. 5 at SeatGeek, and host Ohio State at Wrigley Field on Nov. 16. The rest of the slate is still up in the air.

Northwestern Athletics issued the following statement when we requested comment about the venues for 2024 home games:

"Northwestern is still exploring options for where the team will play next season. At this time, contracts with venues are still being finalized and we will share information with you as soon as possible."

The emphasis in this entire endeavor, said the source, is trying to make games as convenient for fans as possible during the two years the Wildcats are away from Evanston as Ryan Field undergoes a complete, $800 million reconstruction.

Convenience seems hard to come by in this precarious situation.

The lead example is the season opener, currently scheduled against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, Aug. 31. SeatGeek is set to host the North Coast Music Festival from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, making it unavailable. Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears, is hosting a soccer match on Aug. 31; and not just any soccer match: it's Inter Miami, starring Lionel Messi, against the Chicago Fire. Wrigley and Guaranteed Rate Field are still hosting baseball games.

The source said that an option Northwestern is pursuing is pushing the game back a day to Sunday, Sept. 1, and playing at Soldier Field.

Northwestern will play its home games this season at some combination of SeatGeek and Wrigley, for sure. They are still evaluating Lambeau for one game, and pursuing opportunities at Soldier. So there is a solid rotation of options. The problem is that preexisting commitments make them hard to pin down.

Guaranteed Rate, home of the Chicago White Sox, is also an option, but not a likely one. Northwestern has an existing event and marketing partnership with Wrigley, where the Wildcats have played their three times since 2010, including last season. Guaranteed Rate is also about 10 miles further south from Evanston.

Wrigley and Guaranteed Rate are unlikely to host any games until the end of the baseball season, in any case. Their existing schedules, and the time-intensive nature of converting fields from baseball to football, takes them almost entirely out of the equation until November.

For the season opener against Miami, for example, the Sox have a direct conflict because the Mets are in town, while the Cubs open a series against the Pirates two days later, on Sept. 2.

So if Northwestern cannot either shift the music festival at SeatGeek to another date, or move the kickoff to a Sunday slot at Soldier, it is unclear whether they'll be able to host the game in the Chicago area.

Now you have an idea of the logistical headache the athletic department is facing in terms of scheduling. It's fourth-and-long, and, with the season fast approaching, the Wildcats can't just punt.

After playing Miami in a stadium, and possibly even on a date, to be determined, Northwestern has home games against Duke and Eastern Illinois, on Sept. 7 and 14, respectively. Both of these games conflict with scheduled Fire games at Soldier Field, not to mention they overlap with the Bears' NFL season. The Bears know their opponents, but the NFL doesn't release dates until May 11, further complicating the process.

Both games are likely to be played at SeatGeek as a result, said the source. That venue can accommodate what will probably be two of the smallest crowds of the season.

The Wildcats play at Washington and then have a bye before the Oct. 5 home game against Indiana at SeatGeek. After a road game -- if that's applicable for a team without a home stadium -- at Maryland, the Wildcats will play Wisconsin on Oct. 19. That would have been a traditional date for Homecoming, falling in the mid-October range after an away game.

Instead, Northwestern announced that Homecoming will be the team's next home game, against Ohio State, on Nov. 16. With only the smaller SeatGeek or distant Lambeau available, per the source, pushing the date a month later to give visiting alumni a more accessible venue seemed to make the most sense.

The offer to move a game to Lambeau, according to the source, came from Mark Murphy, the outgoing president and CEO of the Green Bay Packers who served as Northwestern's athletic director from 2003-07. Murphy offered to host a Wildcat game at the historic venue in 2024 and 2025. For 2025, high-profile opponents like Michigan and Oregon are being considered as options, said the source.

The final home game of the season, against Illinois on Nov. 30, will also probably be played at Wrigley, though the source said that Soldier Field remains an option if the NFL schedule allows it.

Northwestern may end up playing home games this season at four, possibly five different venues. The athletic department is still trying to piece together the scheduling puzzle. Fans are waiting to make plans.

The clock is ticking and pressure mounts as each day passes.