Aug. 27, 2010
Allstate Announcement Release (PDF Format) 
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs and Northwestern University announced today that Allstate Insurance Company will be the official sponsor for the November 20, 2010 college football game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Illinois Fighting Illini being held at Wrigley Field.
The Allstate Wrigleyville Classic will be the first time in more than 87 years that the two teams have faced off at Wrigley Field and the first time in nearly 40 years that a football game has been played at the Friendly Confines.
Chicago Cubs Executive Chairman Tom Ricketts and Allstate's Vice President of Marketing, Lisa Cochrane, joined Northwestern Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald and Director of Athletics and Recreation Jim Phillips at Wrigley Field today to unveil the official logo for the November 20 event.
"We want to thank Allstate for partnering with the Cubs and Northwestern for what promises to be an instant college football classic," said Ricketts. "Wrigley will be a great venue for the Wildcats to take on their long-time rival Fighting Illini. Allstate's support and connection to sports sponsorship will help make this a special day for Wildcat and Illini fans and for Chicago sports."
As one of the most visible sponsors in college football, Allstate has partnered with Northwestern University through the company's "Good Hands®" field goal net program for the past five years and has donated $28,500 to the university's general scholarship fund.
"As Chicago's proud hometown insurer, Allstate is thrilled to be a part of this marquee sporting event at one of the most iconic sports venues in existence," said Cochrane. "We look forward to seeing the Allstate `Good Hands®' field goal net raised at Wrigley Field and celebrating our passion for college football with this great city."
"To be certain, Northwestern is ecstatic to team up with Allstate and the Chicago Cubs organization in showcasing this monumental event," said Phillips. "Allstate has been a wonderful partner of Northwestern Athletics in recent years and we look forward to working with them on this terrific event."
"We have had a student-athlete named to the prestigious 11-player Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® each of the past four years, and another student-athlete, Corbin Bryant, nominated this year," said Fitzgerald. "We are excited to be teamed up with Allstate who has the same strong set of values and sense of community we as a team strive for."
Tickets for this 2:30 p.m. CT game are available through the Northwestern Ticket Office. In order to purchase a ticket for the November 20 game, fans must purchase season tickets for Northwestern's five home games at Ryan Field. Season tickets are now on sale through Wildcat ticket outlets (Ryan Field Box Office, 847-491-CATS [2287] or NUsports.com).
ABOUT ALLSTATE
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer. Widely known through the "You're In Good Hands With Allstate®" slogan, Allstate is reinventing protection and retirement to help more than 17 million households insure what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products and services through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as via www.allstate.com) and 1-800 Allstate®.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL
Northwestern is savoring its most successful stretch of football in school history. Since 1995, the Wildcats have posted nine seasons with six or more victories. In the last decade (2000-09), the Wildcats won six or more games seven times (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009) and touted six bowl-eligible teams. Northwestern finished the last decade with an overall record of 61-60.
In the last 15 years, only Ohio State and Michigan have won more Big Ten titles than the Wildcats' three conference crowns. NU has won a combined 17 games the past two seasons, which ranks as the third-most wins in a two-year period in school history. The Wildcats are coming off a 2010 New Year's Day appearance in the Outback Bowl.
Off the field, Northwestern's football program is shining, too. The Wildcats had a school-record 60 players earn a 3.0 grade point average for the 2010 winter quarter, and for the second time in as many years, the team earned a cumulative GPA of better than 3.0. Northwestern had a school-record 29 football student-athletes earn Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2009, with two of those individuals being named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans. Northwestern's football student-athletes also volunteer over 1,100 hours of combined community outreach each year.
Northwestern opens the 2010 season on Saturday, Sept. 4 in Nashville, Tenn., vs. Vanderbilt (6:30 p.m. CT).
ABOUT FOOTBALL AT WRIGLEY FIELD
Wrigley Field, built in 1914 and home of the Cubs since 1916, regularly hosted football games from 1916-70, including roughly 370 NFL games. The primary football tenants were the Chicago Bears, who called Wrigley Field home from 1921-70, but the ballpark also hosted the Chicago Tigers (1920) and the Chicago Cardinals (1920, 1931-39). Besides Northwestern, DePaul and the University of Illinois, other colleges to play at Wrigley Field include Loyola, which in 1926 hosted Arkansas Tech before playing DePaul a year later.
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