The Wildcats are returning to Wrigley Field.
Northwestern has teamed up with the Chicago Cubs to bring more than just its football team to the Friendly Confines over the next five years. It all starts on April 20, when the Cats host Michigan for some baseball at Wrigley. The following spring, lacrosse will take the field against Notre Dame, and more sports are set to join the party shortly.
As exciting as it may be for NU to return to the North Side, two major programs will not benefit from this partnership. In fact, these are the same two teams that don’t reap any rewards from the $220 million athletic facility on the shores of Lake Michigan that was announced in September. Those two squads are, of course, men’s and women’s basketball.
This is not to say athletic director Jim Phillips should not have made these two deals. Both were very smart for the athletic department as a whole and should bring NU a lot of publicity, which equals added revenue. However, these deals do very little to improve the situation of two programs on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament.
Phillips has said numerous times that football is the engine driving the boat. And although that’s undoubtedly true, basketball is the gas pedal of said boat. As fast as the boat goes with football-related revenues, it only goes faster with revenue from basketball. Football can bring in a lot of revenue, but basketball also brings in a lot of money, especially if the team continues to improve and play in the postseason.
Phillips told me last quarter that basketball facilities are on the radar, but the athletic department has to spread out its investment. I commend this approach, but it is also what is holding the basketball programs back.
As much as coach Bill Carmody has been maligned for not being able to steer the Cats into the NCAA Tournament, he has done an incredible job given the facilities his players have to work with. Welsh-Ryan Arena is probably one of the worst in the country among the schools in BCS conferences. The fieldhouse in the back is nice, but it leaves much to be desired. Facilities are obviously not the only thing that matters; otherwise Nebraska would be a basketball powerhouse with their new facilities. However, it can be the difference between good teams and great teams.
By the time the new lakeside facility is complete, 15 of the 19 varsity sports will have had their practice or game areas upgraded since 2000. The four sports left out are fencing, volleyball and both basketball programs. We can talk about the fencing facilities, but they don’t have enough home duals for NU to spend valuable resources upgrading Patten Gymnasium for them. On the other hand, basketball is the second-most popular college sport behind football. Fans obsess over the latest basketball recruits not the latest tennis, fencing or soccer recruits.
Recruits will love the new facility and will relish the opportunity to play in such a historic venue as Wrigley Field. However, these deals forget a major revenue source for the athletic department — the basketball programs.
