CHICAGO — Saturday’s college football game at Wrigley Field between Northwestern and Illinois was shaping up to be an unusual game. But on Friday, the Big Ten announced a series of security-related changes that promise to make the game even more memorable, regardless of location.
After seeing the tight layout required to fit a football field into the home of the Chicago Cubs, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany announced that teams would run all of their offensive plays in one direction, toward the end zone. west. Each time the ball changes hands, players will be turned around so the action heads west – toward the third base dugout and away from the right field wall.
The move followed a number of news reports that questioned whether the narrow east-west configuration of the Wrigley football field could cause injuries. For example, a corner of the east end zone is less than two feet from the wall in the right field corner. The back center of the east end zone is six inches from the right field wall and the uprights are attached directly to the wall. (The other goal post is in front of the third base dugout.)
Both teams had approved the layout and the configuration had been made public, but members of the media were able to walk and photograph the field for the first time on Wednesday. Then the issue of safety became a major topic on college football blogs, overshadowing the event’s main attraction, the first football game to be played there in nearly 40 years.
The layout of the field had to be adjusted from that used by the Chicago Bears, who played their final game there in December 1970, due to seats added by the Cubs along the third base line.
“The health and safety of our student-athletes is of the utmost importance. » Delany said in a statement. After reviewing the situation, he said, “all parties felt it was appropriate to adjust the rules.”
Under the new rule, all offensive plays, including extra points and overtime possessions, will go to the west end zone, the conference said. Kickoffs will be taken to the east end zone and back to the west. After each change of possession, the ball will be repositioned, according to the Big Ten press release.
If a player intercepts a pass, he will be allowed to run the ball into the east end zone — and score, Northwestern spokesman Scott Hammer said. Once play is stopped, the referee will reverse direction so that the offensive team advances into the west end zone.
Bill Martin, the former University of Michigan athletic director, said Big Ten officials made the right choice. “The most important thing is safety. You wouldn’t want the outcome of the match to be determined by the physical venue itself,” he said. “Better late than never.”
Martin, who held the position at Michigan until last year, said the decision to use a single end zone was likely to tie the game in a game that Northwestern was expected to dominate.
“The playing field is level,” he said. “Everyone plays under the same conditions. No one has an advantage, so it doesn’t matter.
When asked if he was concerned that a player might mix up and head in the wrong direction, Martin replied: “If he does, he’d better sit on the bench for the rest of the day. If he does, he has no place on a Big Ten team.
Cheryl Raye Stout, a veteran Chicago sportscaster, said the need to be alert on the field could improve players’ performance. “The guys are resilient,” she said of both teams. “There’s so much energy put into this. Maybe some nuance would help.
Northwestern (7-3) claimed Wrigley as its home field against Illinois (5-5) in Saturday afternoon’s game.
Cubs and Northwestern officials announced their plans for the contest in April. It is one of two college football games played Saturday at the baseball parks. Notre Dame will face Army at Yankee Stadium that night.
“It’s going to be a spectacular atmosphere,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said this week.
Wrigley’s preparation took about three weeks. The pitcher’s mound was flattened and the field was covered with fresh turf. Even before Friday’s announcement, Illinois coach Ron Zook had joked that the game might be more like arena football, even though the field is regulation size.
The design means that there is only room on the left and center sides of the pitch for the team benches. The Wildcats and Illini will be separated by a few yards.
Additionally, Illini fans might be annoyed by the sight of large swathes of purple and white, Northwestern’s colors, on the sidelines. Fitzgerald insisted on claiming the stadium as his home field before agreeing to play Illinois there, said Scott Hammer, a Northwestern spokesman.
Gardeners used 100 gallons of purple paint and 50 gallons of white to color the turf, said Rich Thorne, a member of the team that built the soccer field in recent weeks.
“It’s in as good shape as our field right now,” said Thorne, whose duties included stenciling the Wildcats’ emblems onto the surface.
Unlike spectators at typical college football games, including those played at Northwestern’s Ryan Field in nearby Evanston, fans will be able to purchase beer Saturday at Cubs-run concession stands. The baseball team plays an active role in hosting the game, which is sponsored by Allstate.
This is the second time in less than two years that Wrigley has transferred to another sport.
Last year on New Year’s Day, the field hosted a rink for the NHL Winter Classic, featuring the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. Fans, some wearing parkas, shivered in 25 degree temperatures as Wings beat Blackhawks, 6-4.
The weather should be more temperate Saturday at Wrigley.
Saturday’s contest is the first college football game at Wrigley since 1938, when the stadium was home to DePaul. The last time Northwestern and Illinois faced each other on the field was in 1923, in front of 32,000 fans.
A full house of 39,800 people is expected for Saturday’s match. That’s about 8,000 fewer people than would normally be the case for a Northwestern home game, said Hammer, the university spokesman, but this game gets a lot more attention.
Even though fans can’t enter the park, they can still get a good idea of what’s going to happen. The iconic curved marquee outside the stadium, normally red with white lettering, was painted purple this week.
On Wednesday, Jennifer Gawal of Chicago took her 11-week-old son Connor and his mother, Letty Nolan, to see the sign and pose for photos outside the stadium.
Gawal, wearing a gray hooded Illinois sweatshirt, said she was happy Wrigley was being used for football.
“Everyone knows it’s for the Cubs, and the Cubs aren’t doing very well,” she said. “So it’s good to have Northwestern and Illinois here.”
The only thing that bothered her, she said, was the color. “I would have preferred to see a little orange and blue,” the Illini colors, she said.
