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Official Northwestern Sites

NUSports.com-- Now operated by Learfield Sports and Northwestern Sports Properties, this is the official NU athletic site, providing info about all Northwestern teams.  Includes press releases, audio/video, and up to date team rosters. The site includes current video commentary by Lauren Withrow, covering NU football. It also houses the official NU athletic / fan merchandise site.

Social Network Sites and Fundraising-- This section of NU communications has changed quite a bit in the last couple of years. The Northwestern Gridiron Network, or NGN, was the NU booster club and used to control the site www.supportthecats.com. However, as of 2023 the NGN no longer has any online presence, and the SupportTheCats page is now an official NU site featuring: Rebuild Ryan Field-- the site devoted to the efforts to build a new Ryan Field after the '23 season. The Wildcat Fund and other fundraising opportunities Here are a few of the key social media pages that NU hosts: Twitter: NU Sports Twitter: NU Football YouTube: NU Athletics Facebook: NU Athletics Instagram: NU Football Pinterest: NU Football

Northwestern University-- NU's Web site, a portal to just about everything on campus and to the alumni pages.

NU Archives-- The University Archives (now located in the Charles Deering McCormick Library) has a wide-ranging digital collection available online.. The Archives has posted series of film clips of NU football, and is continuing to expand the list of restored and digitized game films.

WNUR-- Chicago's Sound Experiment and the only place to hear reggae, industrial, and Leonard Nemoy singing Beatles tunes, all in one evening.  Here is their NU football page.  WNUR-FM broadcasts the Wildcats, as does WGN; however, only WGN carries the games live on the Web. In Spring 2005 WNUR's Howard Tilman posted to WNUR's web site his discussion about HailToPurple.com, the first edition of his series, "So You're a Northwestern Fan."

The Daily Northwestern-- the last whisper of truth in a maddening cacophony of LIES.

Other Fan Sites and Blogs Like Hail To Purple, these are pages run by individuals, non-commercial and independent.

Section 1: Actively Updated Fan Sites Pages active as of September 2023

Bring Your Champions, They're Our Meat-- Ready for a shock to the system?  Then take a look at the wittiest, strangest, and most inexplicable NU fan site of all time.  A blog that began in November 2008, BYCTOM features sports commentary that focuses on NU football... sort of.  I fear that the creator of BYCTOM might give up and stop updating (the updates are, shall we say, sporadic).  Two words of advice to this person: DON'T STOP.  Do whatever it takes to go on.  Quit your job.  Release the hostages.  Make an unholy pact with the darker forces of your psyche-- whatever it takes.

West Lot Pirates-- "Give no quarter-- especially the fourth."  Semi-pro tailgating group the West Lot Pirates set up this podcast-laden masterwork in December 2010 to help you follow NU football and the Pirates' exploits as they continue to show no mercy to Ryan Field's western waste.

Section 2: Inactive Fan Sites Sites on the Web, but no longer updated

Northwestern Highlights-- Wildcat fan NUBears (aka NUWildcats) made a cottage industry of creating outstanding YouTube clips from Northwestern football games, both recent and historical (see the YouTube link at the top of this page).  Here is his personal site, begun November 2008, which archives all his efforts.  Last updated February 2016.

Expect Victory Right-- Started August 2010, Expect Victory Right cleverly combines the two catchphrases "Expect Victory" and "Victory Right" for its title.  Detailed pre and post-game commentary.  Last updated in 2011.

Bleed Wildcat Purple-- A Northwestern football fan blog that began September 2010.  Bleed Wildcat Purple is a student-run site, last updated in 2012.

Section 3: The Dearly Departed NU football fan sites that are no longer on the Web.

Click here for a list of defunct fan sites.

Unofficial Northwestern Sites Pages either affiliated with an Internet network or run as commercial sites

Rivals' WildcatReport.com--  This is Northwestern's site within the Rivals / Yahoo network.  The current Rivals site is administered by Lou Vaccher, who provides original and in-depth coverage of games, recruiting and more.  Larry Watts, who used to write for the Evanston Review, had also provided material for Rivals. The site was started by Chris Pool back on the old RivalNet network toward the end of 1996.  Roy Lamberton later ran the site (and called it Purple Reign) starting in the fall of 2000.  In November 2002 Roy took Purple Reign to Scout, joining Chris Pool.

247Sports' Purple Wildcats-- A CBS Sports affiliate network, 247Sports is a site similar to Rivals, with a combination of free and paid premium content. Chris Emma, after leaving Scout, began the Northwestern section of 247Sports ("Wildcat Digest") in 2014 and covered NU athletics and recruiting until he left in 2015. Since then, publishing duties have shifted several times. In February 2017, 247 purchased the Scout network and absorbed its sites, including the NU site Purple Wildcats. Purple Wildcats was created by Chris Pool after he left Rivals. Several people administered the site after Pool left, including Roy Lamberton, Chris Emma, Nick Medline, and Steven Goldstein, before the site became a holding shell.   The Scout network of sites used to be part of Fox Sports.

Inside NU-- The SB*Nation network's NU section, with a staff that included former writers from Sippin' On Purple and Lake The Posts. A commercial site begun in 2012, Inside NU was created by Medill students Kevin Trahan and Chris Johnson. In 2014 it moved to SB*Nation and took over SB*Nation site Sippin' On Purple.

North by Northwestern-- Hard to peg: NbN is not an official NU publication, nor is it part of a larger Internet network.  It is a completely independent online student publication for the NU community, begun in 2006.  Features thorough coverage of NU sports.

Chicago Tribune-- The coverage for NU by the Chicago media waxes and wanes.  Right now it is at a low mark (as is the Trib itself). Teddy Greenstein used to cover NU; the Trib now has someone named "Associated Press" providing most of its thin coverage.

If you think the Trib's coverage of NU is poor, it's better than the Sun-Times, which no longer covers NU sports at all. The Sun-Times now only covers pro sports and high schools, with occasional coverage of some college in Indiana. No link.

ESPN-- The Purple's team page from ESPN.  Links to ESPN articles about the 'Cats. The network's Big Ten blog, once a great resource, appears to be inactive.

Sports Illustrated-- SI's small page devoted to Northwestern.  Includes sports.  Illustrated.

FoxSports-- When Wildcats Attack:  Highlights Here.  A meld of several groups, including Fox, CollegeFootballNews.com, the Sporting News and The Insiders.

CBS SportsLine-- The Tiffany Network's team page for NU.

NBC-- Another NU page, with a few basic stats and stories.

Message Boards Want to post your Wildcat football rants?  Want to lurk and see what others are writing about NU?  Here are all of the NU football message boards.

Rivals Wildcat Football Free Board-- The main Rivals NU board.  The former "Purple Reign," it is now moderated by LouV and the Rivals staff. Rivals Wildcat Football Premium Board-- A premium, fee-based message board returned to Wildcat Report in 2007 as a place for Rivals subscribers to discuss recruiting scoops and other topics. 247Sports Board-- Message board for Purple Wildcats. "NWU" Sport List Archive-- This page is a partial archive of the "NWU Sports List," run by Mike Nolan.  Members subscribe to participate.  Not a conventional message board, but a list of e-mailed posts.  The oldest existing Northwestern message board (started circa 1994).  Viewing the archive used to be open to all, but changed in 2004 to an entirely subscription-based service.

YouTube NU Football Index
A page of links, devoted to Wildcat game clips currently housed on YouTube

Other Sites of Interest to NU Fans

The Big Ten Conference-- The official site: news releases and a resource for stats.  Run by Learfield.

Big Ten - Online-- A nice survey of each Big Ten school's online info and resources.

NCAA-- The NCAA's official site.  Of particular note is the site's records page, which gives links to on-line and free copies of the most recent NCAA football record books, in Adobe format.  A must for football history and stats buffs.

NU Alumni Football Cards-- Interesting gallery of antique football cards featuring NU alumni during their pro careers.

Collegefootballnews.com--  What used to be an independent and fun college football site eventually became part of the Scout network. As of 2015 it had quietly become part of USA Today. A few years ago it moved from USA Today to Sports Illustrated.  Still very interesting analysis and commentary.

Power Ratings-- James Howell's College Football Power Ratings.  A creative rating system that James Howell has applied to just about every team in college history.  Extensive site with  schedules, scores, results from the Ice Age.

College Football Data Warehouse (Internet Archive)-- This is a loss: The College Football Data Warehouse was a fantastic online resource for researching school histories and coaching records. Sadly, the Warehouse dropped from the Internet several years ago. The Internet Archive does have a partial archive of the site, which remains useful.

Sports Reference Database-- Similar structure to the old College Football Data Warehouse. A lot of historical data for NU football. Not all of it is 100% accurate, so be sure to cross check.

Pro Football Reference-- Lists all NU football players who have played in the NFL, with key stats.

The Helmet Project-- The Helmet Project is one graphic artist's attempt to recreate virtually  every football helmet ever worn by an organized team.  The Big Ten has a page, and NU's section includes illustrations of some of the Wildcats' helmets since 1960.