Wrigley Field to Feature Only One End Zone for Illinois-Northwestern

Filed under: Illinois, Northwestern

On Saturday, Illinois and Northwestern will square off at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. Obviously, the historic field isn't typically used for football, but a plan was put in place to convert the stadium for the event in the same way Yankee Stadium is doing for the Pinstripe Bowl.

But when the football field was laid out at Wrigley, one of the end zones was just feet away from the right-field wall. Though the wall features padding, the safety of players and fans became a concern. So the Big Ten came up with a solution: only use one end zone.

"The health and safety of our student-athletes is of the utmost importance," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said. "Both Illinois and Northwestern did significant due diligence over the past 18 months, but after seeing the actual layout of the field, all parties felt that it was appropriate to adjust the rules to further enhance the safety of our student-athletes."

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