Could Football Be Returning To Wrigley?

Northwestern AD Jim Phillips eyes a Wildcat game in Friendly Confines.

By TOM FORNELLI

Updated 1:27 PM CST, Sat, Jan 17, 2009

Print Email Share TWITTER FACEBOOK

Getty Images

While the Winter Classic isn't the sole reason for the resurgence of hockey in this town -- let's face it, the Classic was nice but if the Blackhawks still weren't televising home games and losing more often than not, nobody would care -- it did provide a nice spark for a Blackhawks franchise that seemed to be on a ventilator for years. The success of that game didn't go unnoticed by Northwestern Athletic Director Jim Phillips, who has a football program that could use a shock to the system itself.

With the Wildcats starting to gain some notoriety around Chicago thanks to their 9-4 season which ended in a close Alamo Bowl loss, and a young coach in Pat Fitzgerald who brings more legitimacy to the program every day, Phillips is looking for his Winter Classic to help solidify the Cats presence in the city.

That plan being to have the Wildcats host a football game in Wrigley Field against the Fighting Illini.

"We are continuing a dialogue with Illinois," Phillips said. "Within the next month or so, we'll decide if it's something that can work. There are a lot of moving parts, but it's something I will pursue aggressively.

"I thought of how good the Northern Illinois-Iowa game was at Soldier Field. This may be the next great venue for a special game."

The NIU/Iowa game Phillips referred to took place back in September of 2007, and was Phillips work as well since he was the AD at Northern when it happened.

This would be a great thing for Northwestern football seeing as how the only home game they sell out is when Ohio State comes to town, and it's not Wildcat fans filling the seats for that game. Odds are NU students and alums would come out in droves for a game at Wrigley, which would bring in more money to the program to go with the attention.