Illinois has no choice in the matter.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/col...0448.story

Quote:One key question was answered Monday: If NU wants to move its game Nov. 20, 2010, against Illinois from Ryan Field to Wrigley, it does not need Illinois' approval.

"The only time a school would need approval is if it wanted to have a date changed," said Big Ten Associate Commissioner Mark Rudner.

No question JP did a lot for NIU, and I certainly do not begrudge him for moving on to greener pastures. I wish him the best. Does not change the fact that I never cared for the guy.

Phillips was just on the score discussing the potential game and Wrigley. There are a number of hurdles to clear, namley is Wrigley still large enough to host football. He stressed it was his strong preference to play Illinois and that he would exhaust all options to work with Illinois.

If Illinois fell through he said he would probably look to another Big 10 program and finally an out-of-confernece matchup. Of course there was no mention of NIU being a possible suitor...although he did mention it was the NIU vs. Iowa mathchup along with the Winter Classic that inspired this idea.

MD our program was more successful at funding projects under JP and getting games like the Soldier field game. The things that athletic director controls. It will take another two years before we know if Kill & Patton we're good hires.