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Northwestern Wildcats Football Tickets

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Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 32 reviews

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About

Official Ticket Marketplace of the Northwestern University Wildcats

Northwestern University Wildcats Football History

The Northwestern University football team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Forming its first football program in 1876, Northwestern became a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, initially known as the Western Conference, in 1896. Overall, the Wildcats have won eight conference championships, with six shared titles from 1903 to 2000 and two outright wins in 1936 and 1995. During the Big Ten’s divisional era, Northwestern earned two division titles, in 2018 and 2020, as members of the Big Ten’s West Division. The Wildcats have also played in 18 bowl games, starting in 1948 with a victory at the Rose Bowl, where they returned nearly five decades later for their second bowl appearance in 1995. In more recent bowl games, Northwestern has notched six consecutive postseason wins between 2016 and 2025.

Northwestern competes annually with in-state conference rivals the Illinois Fighting Illini for The Land of Lincoln Trophy. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have landed big moments like the 17-15 upset over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1995, the high-scoring 54-51 win against the Michigan Wolverines in 2000 and the 31-27 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers which secured Northwestern its first West Division title.

Northwestern University Wildcats Team Info

Conference: Big Ten Conference

Team Colors: Purple, White

Team Rivals: Illinois Fighting Illini, Michigan Wolverines, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Northwestern University Wildcats at Ryan Field

Ryan Field refers to both Northwestern's longtime home in Evanston, Illinois as well as the Wildcats’ new home field opening in the same location ahead of the 2026 season. The first Ryan Field opened in 1926 as Dyche Stadium and was later renamed to Ryan Field after major renovations in 1996. On November 18, 2023, Northwestern won their last home game at the original Ryan Field, defeating the Purdue Boilermakers, 23-15. The Wildcats set their home debut at the new Ryan Field for October 2. 2026 against the Penn State Nittany Lions. The new Ryan Field was built with an expected seating capacity of 35,000.

FAQS

Northwestern Wildcats tickets for the 2026 regular season can be purchased on Ticketmaster, the Official Ticket Marketplace of the Northwestern Wildcats. If you're thinking about last minute tickets, all Northwestern Wildcats tickets purchased through Ticketmaster are 100% verified and instantly delivered to your phone -- so you can buy tickets right up until kickoff.

In September 2026, the Northwestern Wildcats temporarily play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field(Opens in new tab) at Martin Stadium at the university's Evanston, Illinois campus.

Starting in October 2026, the Wildcats will play home games at the new Ryan Field. View a seating map for Ryan Field(Opens in new tab).

The Northwestern Wildcats' biggest rivals are the Illinois Fighting Illini, Michigan Wolverines and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 32 reviews
  • Rating: 4 out of 5

    Many positives, one negative

    by BW on 11/10/26Ryan Field - Evanston

    Beautiful venue, great food, excellent sight lines. AWFUL WIFI. Couldn't even text friends that were in another part of the stadium.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    ADA seating was great

    by Cats on 11/10/26Ryan Field - Evanston

    Entry at east gate was very difficult and congested

  • Rating: 3 out of 5

    Great venue but some serious glitches...

    by Ebart on 11/10/26Ryan Field - Evanston

    Beautiful stadium with lots of good seats. Unfortunately, the entry experience was a complete fail with scanners that didn't work and tickets that didn't properly show a QR code. So even though we arrived 40 minutes before the start of the game we still missed the kickoff. That is inexcusable. Also, though the "gourmet"nature of the food is touted everywhere we were hard-pressed to find any food that was actually hot. No one wants an ice cold bowl of chili (Luxbar) when you're standing in the wind and it's 40 degrees. Not to mention the prices of everything: $25 for a BEER???

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    Terrific Venue

    by bkmom on 10/27/26Ryan Field - Evanston

    Ryan Field lived up to all the hype surrounding it. E very seat has great sight lines, the food was exceptional, and the electrifying Wildcats did not disappoint either.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    Fantastic stadium experience

    by Jen on 10/27/26Ryan Field - Evanston

    Incredible stadium. It actually offers too many great food options around/outside the stadium, keeping people out of their seats, and instead enjoying the concourse and exterior atmosphere. Maybe next year, the great Chicago food festival should shut down after the first quarter to get people back in their seats for the rest of the game.

  • Rating: 2 out of 5

    Very disappointing

    by GTom on 10/27/26Ryan Field - Evanston

    I'm sure that the good seatsat the lower levels are more fun, but the upper deck seats, while having clear views, are not good. You feel a mile away from the action (and this is after Pat Ryan Jr. promised an intimate feel... the experience was anything but intimate). The stairs are very steep. An older gentleman fell at the beginning of the game, and cut his head open. Do not buy upper deck seats if you or your guest have mobility issues. There are no concessions at that level and you have to come down those steep stairs for concessions and restrooms. This is clearly a two-tier stadium... better seats for those paying ridiculous prices, and pretty much mediocre-to-bad (and massively overpriced) endzone, corner, and upper deck seats for the rest of us.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    2 visits and 2 wins

    by Dick on 10/27/26Ryan Field - Evanston

    Wheelchair accessible seating on the 2nd level was easy to get in and out. A nice ledge to place food and drinks on is a welcome touch. So pleased the ‘Thunderstruck’ experience has continued in the new venue.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5

    Too much produced noise

    by Steve fresh on 10/24/26

    So they need to figure out that piping in crowd noise and loud music is a bad idea for a football game. It’s overhyped and over produced. Let the crowd do their thing, we can make noise, let us. Plus the cowboy hat dude providing the cheerleading was wierd and unnecessary.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5

    Stadium lovely. The “show” was too much.

    by Bradison on 10/14/26Ryan Field - Evanston

    The new stadium is fantastic. Very accessible and open feeling. Our very high up corner seats provided an amazing view - not sure how they do that! The food is very expensive. Water was $7 and no water filling stations-“they have not been built yet”. And no one thought to bring in the portable ones they had at the outdoor stadium? But the biggest disappointment was the whole production aspect of the game. First of all it was so loud constantly that we were yelling to the person right next to us in order to be heard. Wear earplugs! They had some guy in a cowboy hat hyping everything up in a way that felt nothing like our school. There was very little time allocated for the marching band to play and they have not figured out how to balance the mics in the stands at all. All we could hear was drums. Parking is very expensive and inconvenient. Tickets even with the alumni section discount were very pricey and the Rutgers game is much cheaper than what we paid. Overall, we will not be attending a game again for quite some time.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5

    New Ryan Field App Inoperative

    by DE Moore on 10/13/26Ryan Field - Evanston

    New Ryan Field App required for entry stopped working as you approach stadium.