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Northwestern agreed to a massive deal to host a Mountain West team in 2017
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Northwestern filled its 2017 non-conference schedule with a Mountain West opponent. That’s not exactly news that will make you think twice.
How about this instead: Northwestern agreed to bring Nevada to Evanston in 2017, and will pay $1.2 million to do so.
That’s the number reported by the Reno-Gazette Journal, which said that its the second-highest game check Nevada ever received. The only one richer than Northwestern’s came from Texas A&M, which paid Nevada $1.5 million in 2015. Nevada is also receiving $1 million to play Notre Dame this upcoming season.
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Why was the contract so rich? Perhaps Northwestern was eager to fill it’s 2017 non-conference schedule, which it did by setting up this matchup. The Wildcats were the last B1G team to fill their 2017 slate.
With the new nine-game conference schedule, Northwestern already had its Power Five opponent requirement satisfied by Duke. Besides Nevada wouldn’t even count toward that.
So why would Northwestern go from paying directional schools $500,000 to more than doubling that price? Well, the move catches the Wildcats up with some of the prices paid by other B1G teams. Wisconsin is also paying Florida Atlantic $1.2 million to come to Madison in 2017 while Michigan paid Miami (Ohio) $1.1 million in 2014.
Still, it’s a high number to play a non-Power Five team that’s been to a bowl game 10 of the last 11 years.
In 2015, Bret Bielema’s Arkansas squad was handed a home loss by a Toledo team it paid $1 million to come to Fayetteville. Northwestern will look to avoid similar shame when the Wolf Pack invades Evanston next year.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.