Games listed in red are not confirmed.  Dates printed in red do not yet have a confirmed date and, therefore, are not necessarily listed in the correct order. 

The most recent update to this information was made on August 11:

Added a previously announced game with Ball State in 2026.

Previous updates:

May 2:

UCF has announced a home-and-home series with NU, the first ever between these teams. UCF will visit Ryan Field II on September 9, 2028. NU will head to Orlando for a game on September 6, 2031. This announcement conflicts with a previous announcement from Rice, stating that the Owls would play at NU on 9/6/31.


Jan 23:

While NU has not yet provided any updates about its 2024 schedule, season tickets, or home venues, we do now know that NU will host Eastern Illinois as its third non-conference opponent this fall (schedule is updated below).

Nov. 3:

The Big Ten released the dates for the 2024 conference games. NU will provide the University of Washington with its Big Ten debut game on September 21. The 'Cats will play OSU and Michigan back-to-back in November.

The Big Ten Announced Matchups for 2024 Through 2028 (Oct. 6)

As expected, the addition of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington to the conference in 2024 has invalidated the Big Ten's previously announced schedules for the 2024 and '25 seasons. The conference announced on October 4 a list of new matchups for the next four years. Here are some of the highlights:

• The Big Ten will no longer have its East / West divisions. This is not a surprise; the divisions were expected to be scrapped. Still, this is a disappointment. The Big Ten West, besides containing all of Northwestern's traditional and historical rivalries, was a delightfully crazy division.
• The schedules now adhere to a set of rules called the "Flex Protext XVIII" model, which-- unlike what you might be thinking-- is not a new birth control product but the guidelines for conference scheduling. The model is supposed to make sure that B1G teams play every opponent at lease once at home and once on the road during any five-year stretch, while not playing (most) opponents more than three times during that period. There are 12 protected matchups that must be played annually, including NU vs. Illinois.
• None of the Big Ten matchups yet have dates. There are no schedules yet for conference games, even for the 2024 games!

If we look at all Big Ten teams by NU schedule with them during the next five seasons, the grid looks like this:

...Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue, Washington, and Wisconsin all play the maximum three games vs. NU during this period. Iowa, MSU, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, UCLA, and USC play only two games vs. NU during these seasons. It's a minor point, but it would be better for NU's traditions and rivalries to swap Washington and Maryland's three games with Iowa and Minnesota's two.

The two-year gaps NU now faces in its schedules vs. Iowa (2027-'28), Minny (2027-'28), and Wisconsin (2025-'26) are the longest such stretches NU has gone without facing these historic rivals since:

• Iowa: 2003-'04
  
• Minnesota: 2005-'06
  
• Wisconsin: 2007-'08