The Northwestern Wildcats football team represents Northwestern University as an NCAA Division I college football team and member of the Big Ten Conference based near Chicago in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern began playing football in 1882. Its football mascot is the Wildcat, a term coined by a Chicago Tribune reporter in 1924, after reporting on a football game where the players appeared as "a wall of purple wildcats". Northwestern Football is also marketed as "Chicago's Big Ten Team" with its proximity and ties to Chicago.
The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern has eight men's and eleven women's NCAA Division I sports teams and is marketed as "Chicago's Big Ten Team". The mascot is Willie the Wildcat.
Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats football program, until his 2023 termination in the aftermath of a hazing scandal.
The 2008 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his third season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats played their homes games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois.
The Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry is a college football rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Northwestern Wildcats. The Land of Lincoln Trophy is presented to the winner of the game. The teams began competing for the new prize in 2009, replacing the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, which was used from 1945 to 2008.
The 2010 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his fifth season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. The annual rivalry game against the University of Illinois was played at Wrigley Field on November 20.
The 2011 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his sixth season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They are members of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 3–4 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place in the Legends Division. They were invited to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas where they were defeated by Texas A&M 22–33.
The 2015 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was Pat Fitzgerald's tenth season as the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 6–2 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Outback Bowl where they were defeated by Tennessee 45–6.
The 2016 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by Pat Fitzgerald who is in his 11th season as the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference.
The 2017 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 12th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald. This was the Wildcats' fifth ten-win season, three of which were led by Pat Fitzgerald. They finished the season 10–3, 7–2 in Big Ten play to finish in second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Music City Bowl where they defeated Kentucky.
The 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game presented by Discover was played on December 1, 2018 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The eighth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, it determined the 2018 champion of the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State, the East Division champion, defeated West Division champion Northwestern 45–24 to win its second straight Big Ten Championship.
The 2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 13th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
The 2019 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 14th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald. They finished the season 3–9, 1–8 in Big Ten play to finish in last place in the West Division.
The 2020 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Ryan Day, and played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. It was the Buckeyes' 131st season overall and 108th as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The 2020 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 15th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
The 2021 Citrus Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2021, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. EST on ABC. It was the 75th edition of the Citrus Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by Vrbo, a vacation rental marketplace owned by the HomeAway division of Expedia, the game was officially known as the Vrbo Citrus Bowl.
The 2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 19, 2020 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The tenth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, it determined the 2020 champion of the Big Ten Conference. The game was played between the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes out of the East division, and the No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats out of the West division. Sponsored by credit card company Discover, the game was officially known as the Big Ten Championship Game presented by Discover.
The George Jewett Trophy is an American college football rivalry trophy that was established in 2021 to be awarded to the winner of the Michigan–Northwestern football game.
The 2022 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, and competed as members of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 17th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
The 2023 Northwestern Wildcats football team represents Northwestern University in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They are led by first-year head coach David Braun and play their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. Braun began the season as interim head coach and was elevated to permanent head coach on November 15 following the team's 24–10 road win over Wisconsin.
