It's finally official: Northwestern and Illinois will play a football game at Wrigley Field this season.

Northwestern and the Chicago Cubs have scheduled a news conference at noon ET Friday at the Friendly Confines to announce details of a Nov. 20 game against Illinois. This process took more than 20 months, as Northwestern dealt with issues relating to player/coach safety, field/locker room space, television, revenue distribution, opponent, the season-ticket package and insurance, but a deal is finally done.

Wrigley hasn't hosted football since the Chicago Bears left for Soldier Field after the 1970 season, so needless to say, this should be a pretty major event. Northwestern's home attendance struggles are well documented, and the school has had a hard time forming a connection to the Chicago market despite being a solid Big Ten team since 1995. At the very least, the Wrigley game will put Northwestern on the sports radar in Chicago.

I also like the choice of opponent (sorry, Iowa fans, you would have packed the place for sure). This can only help Illinois, a struggling program that needs to revive its large alumni base in the Chicago area. I visited with Illini head coach Ron Zook on Wednesday, and he's excited about the game for both teams.

Northwestern's next challenge is marketing the Wrigley game to its fans and to casual sports fans in Chicago. Will Illinois fans outnumber NU fans at Wrigley? Yes. But NU athletics director Jim Phillips wants this event to look as much like a home game as possible. A spread-out Northwestern alumni base typically travels well to bowls and could be lured back to Chicago if approached in the right way, even for a late November game.

Northwestern's ultimate goal is to increase its season-ticket base, and the school can finally start selling season tickets with the Wrigley game finalized.

Are there potential downsides? Sure. Northwestern will play only five games at its home stadium, Ryan Field, this fall. The delay in finalizing the Wrigley Game also delayed Northwestern from sending out season-ticket requests.

But in the big picture, I like this move for a school that has often been far too content to be an afterthought in the Chicago sports scene.