http://www.csnchicago.com/big-ten/illin ... -champaignA pair of future games between Illinois and Northwestern slated to be played at Soldier Field won't be.
The Illini announced Tuesday the end of what was supposed to be three games in five years against the rival Wildcats at the home of the Bears in Chicago. The two faced off there last season, but games schedule for the 2017 and 2019 seasons will revert back to their originally scheduled location: Memorial Stadium in Champaign. The 2016 and 2018 meetings were originally scheduled to take place in Evanston, with no signs ever existing of them being moved elsewhere.
Former Illinois athletics director Mike Thomas made the move to increase the football program's exposure in the Chicagoland area, a move that seemed like a good idea at the time with so many Chicago-based students at home on Thanksgiving break and so many Illinois alums in the Chicago area. But last year's atmosphere at Soldier Field, on a bad-weather day in late November with a Bill Cubit-coached Illini team coming in with a 5-6 record, left plenty to be desired and featured a ton of empty seats.
But new athletics director Josh Whitman cited the desire to keep the team's biggest rivalry game in its home stadium, another understandable move.
Whitman also announced that Illinois will continue to be a presence in Chicago, playing a non-conference game at Soldier Field once every four years, starting in 2018 with a game against South Florida.
“We feel strongly that we should play our traditional rivalry games in Champaign, but at the same time we are committed to a strong presence in Chicago,” Whitman said in the announcement. “Our intent is to play a major non-conference opponent at Soldier Field once every four years. Our team and fans enjoyed the game against Washington in 2013. It is important to maintain exposure in Chicago, and this also allows our fans and student-athletes an opportunity to experience Soldier Field.”
“With our strong ties to Chicago, playing Illinois football in historic Soldier Field will be a highlight for our players,” head coach Lovie Smith said. “Hosting a game in Chicago is great for recruiting while also giving the largest base of Illinois graduates access to Fighting Illini football.”
As Smith mentioned, obviously there are positive recruiting effects by being in the Chicago area, where the largest number of top in-state recruits live. But Smith's hiring also gives the Illini an in-state recruiting boost, one that perhaps is worth more than sending a team with a less high-profile head coach to Soldier Field once every couple of years.
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