Big Ten Daily (April 11): Northwestern Announces Plan for 2024, 2025 Home Football Games
Northwestern has finally figured out a plan for home football games for the next two seasons while construction on the new state-of-the-art stadium continues. The school announced it will build a temporary field on campus so the Wildcats can continue to play games "close to home."
The temporary stadium will be at the Lanny and Sharon Martin athletics facility, which overlooks Lake Michigan. A full home schedule for Northwestern's 2024 season has yet to be released.
Northwestern also acknowledged that it is working with other venues in the Chicago area to potentially host games during the 2024 season.
Because of the construction on Ryan Field, Northwestern was left searching for venues to play its home football games for the 2024 season. Rumored locations included Soldier Field (Chicago Bears), Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs), Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers) and SeatGeek Stadium (Chicago Fire FC).
"We talk all the time about providing the ultimate student-athlete experience, and keeping our team on campus while providing a true home field advantage accomplishes that mission," said coach David Braun. "During a period of exciting transition, playing in a venue that brings the Northwestern community together provides a perfect bridge to the new Ryan Field, and I'm so excited about the gameday experience for our program and the entire Wildcat community."
Northwestern's home opponents for the 2024 season include: Miami (Ohio), Duke, Eastern Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Illinois.
The Wildcats finished the 2023 football season with an 8-5 record. They capped off the unpredictable season with a 14-7 win over Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.
WNBA preparing for Caitlin Clark
Fans of the Indiana Fever and Iowa Hawkeyes will have plenty of chances to see Caitlin Clark during the upcoming WNBA season. Three dozen Fever games will be aired on national television for the 2024 season.
Indiana sent out a social media post on Wednesday announcing that 36 games will be available on a national broadcast this season. The Fever are expected to select Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft on Monday, April 15.
The WNBA season consists of 40 regular season games, meaning all but four of Indiana's games will be played on the national stage. Networks airing those games include Amazon, NBA TV, ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, CBS, CBS Sports and ION.
Clark was a two-time National Player of the Year during her career at Iowa. She led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back appearances in the national championship and won three Big Ten Tournament titles.
Clark joins a young Fever group that includes Aliyah Boston, Lexie Hull, Kelsey Mitchell, NaLyssa Smith and Grace Berger.
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