The Case for Moving Northern Iowa-Nebraska to Arrowhead Stadium

The NFL Draft filled this weekend’s news cycle, but a bit of scheduling news briefly took some of the limelight. Nebraska held its “Big Red Rebuild” presser on Friday to announce plans to renovate Memorial Stadium in 2027. Omaha World reporter Sam Mckewon reported Cornhusker athletic director Troy Dannen was considering moving a 2027 home game, specifically the home opener against Northern Illinois, to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.

Given the renovations that will temporarily reduce Memorial Stadium’s capacity, moving a game is logical. Among Nebraska’s 2027 non-conference opponents, Northern Illinois appears to be a fitting candidate for a rare collegiate game at Arrowhead Stadium, given their reputation in the Group of Five and a notable 2017 win over Nebraska. Still, considering other factors, Northern Illinois may not be the best fit for a Kansas City matchup.

The Cornhuskers also host Northern Iowa out of the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2027. Northern Iowa is 165 miles closer to Kansas City (299 miles) than Northern Illinois (464 miles). Furthermore, the Panthers have not played in an NFL stadium since traveling to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to play Minnesota in 1987.

A game at an NFL stadium would be more of a welcome novelty for Northern Iowa fans than Northern Illinois fans. Although the Huskies have never played at Arrowhead Stadium, Northern Illinois has played 22 games at eight different NFL stadiums since 2007. This does not include the two games they played at MLB ballparks (Toronto’s Rogers Centre and Chicago’s Guaranteed Rate Field). The novelty of a game at an NFL stadium has likely worn off for Huskie fans.

Additionally, Northern Illinois fans will be more travel-weary than Northern Iowa fans. Next year, the Huskies will notably join the Mountain West for football. The Huskies’ eight mainland conference mates are an average of 1357 miles from DeKalb. This number, of course, does not include Hawai’i. In contrast, Northern Iowa is an average of 439 miles from its Missouri Valley Football Conference members.

Northern Illinois fans may have to sacrifice traveling to see their team play at Arrowhead if it means attending a higher-leverage Mountain West conference game. Northern Iowa fans likely will not have to make this choice. If anything, Panther fans could just forgo traveling nearly 700 miles to Youngstown State, a school they have shared conference membership with since 1997.

Finally, Northern Iowa played at Nebraska just two seasons earlier in 2024. The experience of traveling to Lincoln is probably fresh in the minds of Panther fans. Switching up the experience should increase revenue from Northern Iowa fans.

In the end, Northern Illinois may have brand appeal, but Northern Iowa’s geography and conference situation make it a better choice for a 2027 Nebraska game at Arrowhead.