
NU athletic director Jim Phillips talks about a new partnership Tuesday with the Cubs at Wrigley Field. (Abel Uribe/Tribune Photo / February 5, 2013)
The partnership between the Chicago Cubs and Northwestern was so logical, so low-stress, that Cubs exec Crane Kenney said it was completed “with a handshake and a thank-you.”
And yet the deal is the first of its kind, a union between a school and professional franchise that will benefit multiple NU teams while enriching the Cubs and its employees who seek graduate-level education.
While executives on both sides imagine the marketing and signage possibilities, Chicago-area football fans who enjoyed the 2010 Wrigley Field football game will get to witness five more, starting in 2014.

