New Trier-Evanston football rivalry gets special 2026 setting: Northwestern’s new Ryan Field

The first high school football game ever played at the rebuilt Ryan Field will feature one of the state’s great rivalries.

New Trier will take on its longest-tenured foe Evanston at Northwestern University’s reimagined stadium in Week 9 — Friday evening, Oct. 16 — of this upcoming high school football season, according to officials from Northwestern, New Trier and Evanston during a press conference on Tuesday, May 26.

“In 143 days, Evanston will be competing with New Trier in Illinois’ greatest rivalry in college football’s greatest arena,” said Chris Livatino, Evanston Township High School’s athletic director, during the event.

Northwestern school leaders have regularly stated that an $850-million rebuilt Ryan Field was not only a football stadium but also a community venue for everything from seasonal events to concerts to local sports, the latter of which Northwestern called a “second anchor tenant” in a press release.

Pat Ryan Jr., a Northwestern trustee whose family is the primary funder of the new stadium, announced the news of the special event at Tuesday’s press conference. He also announced Northwestern would host other rent-free youth sports, like a basketball tournament and Olympic-style games.

“We specifically committed that if we were given the opportunity to host concerts and sell alcohol like other major stadiums, we would reinvest some of that revenue into community events including local high school and youth sports,” Ryan Jr. said. “Today’s announcement about these major rent-free events is just the first example of honoring those commitments to reinvest in Evanston and the broader community.”

New Trier Athletic Director Augie Fontanetta delivered the news of the football game venue to Trevians football coach Brian Doll about one month ago. Doll said when he passed the news on to his team, they erupted.

“Just total excitement when he let me know, and I was able to tell the kids last week … and they were thrilled out of their mind,” Doll told The Record.

He added, “It’s a big deal for both schools. … These two schools are connected, and Isabella Street right here is the borderline and the stadium is right off Isabella. You’re talking these two communities living right here, the historic traditions, big alumni bases, and it’s just special.”

New Trier and Evanston high schools have competed on a football field (sometimes twice a year) since 1913. In that time, Evanston holds a slim advantage with 57 wins to 54. The teams have tied six times.

Recent showdowns of the historic rivalry have lived up to its billing, too. The teams have split the last four matchups. New Trier bested the Wildkits in 2025 and 2022, while Evanston came out on top during both the 2024 and 2023 seasons.

The Week 9 matchup at Ryan Field will be New Trier’s final game of both its 2026 regular season and its conference slate. As reported by The Record earlier this month, the Trevians will play a shorter, three-game conference schedule this year as the Central Suburban League Conference shifts to a three-division structure for football.

“I’m so stoked. It’s going to be awesome,” New Trier rising senior Alex Fairchild said. “This is the biggest stadium almost everyone on the team is going to play in. It’s such a cool place. It’s also the third ever game to be played (at Ryan Field), so it’s like the start of an era, too.

“It’s a college football stadium. Most people are never going to get to play in one of these, and the whole team gets the experience. It’s going to be awesome.”

And the collegiate experiences don’t stop there for New Trier and Evanston student-athletes.

Also announced: The annual New Trier-Evanston rivalry basketball will be returning to Northwestern this season with a girls-boys doubleheader on Feb. 5, 2027, in Welsh-Ryan Arena.

With much depending on the college athletics scheduling, school officials declined to say whether the football or basketball games would become annual affairs.

Regardless, Fontanetta celebrated the scheduling of a momentous experience.

“Most of all we are excited for our student-athletes from Evanston and New Trier,” Fontanetta said during the press conference. “High school athletics is always about the student experience and making sure our kids have great experiences throughout their high school career and what better experience than showcasing the greatest football rivalry at the new Ryan Field.”

As previously reported by Evanston Roundtable, the new Ryan Field is slated to officially open on Friday, Oct. 2, when Northwestern is set to take on Penn State University.

Northwestern’s Oct. 2 evening game will be broadcast nationally on Fox, multiple outlets reported earlier this year. According to the Roundtable, Oct. 2 is also the 100th anniversary of the first game at the first Ryan Field, which opened as Dyche Stadium on Oct. 2, 1926.

The Wildcats will begin their 2026 home schedule with their first two games to be played at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, the university’s facility situated on the shores of Lake Michigan.

University officials first anticipated when construction began in July of 2024 on the $850 million, privately funded new stadium that it would be ready in time for the start of the 2026 season. But, as the Roundtable reported, the timeline has shifted to the completion date of mid-September of this year.

Northwestern announced its intentions to build the new “world-class” venue in the fall of 2022. The project will replace the previous 47,000-seat stadium with a smaller (35,000 seats) but modernized Big Ten football arena.

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