The Big Ten wants to get away from the cold, not embrace it.
That’s one takeaway from a report by the Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein, who details that a proposed bowl game that was being proposed for Wrigley Field is now on pause after Big Ten teams stated their preference for a postseason destination with a much warmer climate.
“The Cubs wanted to have a higher-placed team and a potentially more excited fan base,” a source told the paper. “The Cubs said they’re not looking for a lower-tier bowl game; they’re very selective in what they do.”
The baseball club had been aiming to bring a bowl game to their historic venue for the past few years but it seems like the disinterest on the part of the Big Ten will keep things circling instead of being firmed up. Greenstein notes that an ACC opponent was being bandied about as the potential other half of the equation in the bowl matchup as well.
Even with this bit of news, Big Ten teams will not be skipping out on playing a bowl in a baseball stadium in the future nor Wrigley Field itself. The league already has a postseason tie-in with the Pinstripe Bowl (at Yankee Stadium in New York) and it was recently announced that Northwestern and Wisconsin would meet at the friendly confines on Nov. 7th, 2020 as part of a five-game series at the venue the Wildcats are a part of.