Comedians, actors and journalists of renown have all made their way through the Northwestern University campus, located just north of the bustling metropolis of Chicago. The only private university in the Big Ten before USC joins up later this year, NU is one of the conference’s founding members.
While the Wildcats are still picking up the pieces in a football program plagued by scandal, and outside of lacrosse don’t boast many team national titles, the school’s investment in sports is arriving at a new peak. And you’re bound to hear about many of the developments, given the number of sports writers and broadcasters who hail from the school.
As the Oregon Ducks prepare for a move to the Big Ten in 2024, The Oregonian/OregonLive is taking a look at all of their newest conference rivals. While Ducks fans might be deeply familiar with fellow Pac-12 departees Washington, USC and UCLA, they have 14 new teams to get to know this year.
Next up is Northwestern.
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Nickname: Wildcats
Location: Evanston, Illinois
School founded: 1851
Joined Big Ten: 1896
Type: Private (not-for-profit)
Enrollment: 22,732
Endowment: $14.4 billion
Athletic department spending (2021-22): $105.4 million
Athletic department revenue (2021-22): $105.4 million
Football spending (2021-22): $32.9 million
Football revenue (2021-22): $58.9 million
Football stadium: Ryan Field
Capacity: 47,130
Varsity sports: 19 (8 men’s, 11 women’s)
Mascot: Willie the Wildcat
Fight song: “Go! U Northwestern”
Notable alumni: Warren Beatty, Stephen Colbert, Zooey Deschanel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, George R.R. Martin, Meghan Markle, Seth Meyers, Pharrell Williams, a boatload of prominent journalists
Famous coaches: Pat Fitzgerald (football, fired in 2023 following hazing investigation), Kelly Amonte Hiller (women’s lacrosse)
Biggest rivals: Illinois, Iowa
Essential movie: Mean Girls (2004) — Northwestern gets name-dropped early in the film, and there are several Northwestern connections among the characters. Plus, it’s a bonafide classic.
Team national titles: Women’s lacrosse (8), field hockey (1)
Did you know? The Rock is a large boulder made of quartzite located on the NU campus, originally a fountain donated by the Class of 1902. Over the decades, The Rock has become a central piece of university tradition: painted over with different messages for sporting events, student activism, performance art and more.
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