Illinois' Bret Bielema Anticipates First-Ever Wrigley Field Game as Coach

The Illini coach, who first visited Wrigley Field as a Cubs fan, said coaching at the Friendly Confines will be "a learning experience"

Oct 12, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema celebrates a 50-49 win over the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Ahead of Illinois' regular-season Week 14 finale against Northwestern on Saturday, coach Bret Bielema said he is excited about the opportunity to play in a game at an iconic venue like Chicago's Wrigley Field.

Bielema vividly recalled his first in-person memory of the 110-year-old stadium. His Cubs fandom traces back to his youth, when he inherited his grandfather's love of the team.

Bielema has been seen frequently at Cubs games in the spring, including a meet-and-greet with fans and his conducting the seventh-inning stretch in a custom No. 91 jersey with his name on the back.

"Going into my senior year [at Iowa], believe it or not, the senior [Big Ten] media days used to be held in Chicago," Bielema said. "I went in a day early and took the train to my first Cubs game ever, with Mike Devlin. [I] met Kirk Herbstreit in the lobby of the hotel we were at. He was a senior as well. That's kind of what stands out to me – my first-ever Cubs game. I was never good at baseball. I was usually the first guy picked in gym class for every sport other than baseball. It was usually last. Wasn't very good at it, but really enjoyed the ballparks."

Prior to Bielema's eventual marriage and rise as a college football coach, he would make it a priority to visit a new baseball stadium every summer, he said.

"I've been to Pittsburgh, Seattle, Minnesota, Denver, all the East Coast [parks], [San Francisco] Giants, Boston," Bielema said. "It was kind of just what I loved to do."

Bielema said he zeroed in on last year's Northwestern-Iowa game to get a feel for what the experience of coaching in a baseball stadium might be.

"I'm gonna be very interested in what the wind's gonna be like," Bielema said. "We're gonna travel in there Friday and go through the stadium, but it should be a learning experience for everyone."

Illinois seeks its ninth win of the season and its first against Northwestern since 2022.

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