Northwestern is a charter member of the Big Ten Conference.
 Their athletic teams are nicknamed the Wildcats, with their mascot known as Willie the Wildcat.
They are the only private institution in the conference, and has by far the smallest undergraduate enrollment (the next-smallest member, Iowa, is almost three times as large, with almost 22,000 undergraduates).

Northwestern fields 19 intercollegiate athletic teams (8 men's and 11 women's) in addition to numerous club sports.
 The women's lacrosse team won five consecutive NCAA national championships between 2005 and 2009, went undefeated in 2005 and 2009, added more NCAA championships in 2011 and 2012, giving them 7 NCAA championships in 8 years, and holds several scoring records.
 The men's basketball team is recognized by the Helms Athletic Foundation as the 1931 National Champion.
In the 2010–11 school year, the Wildcats had one national championship, 12 teams in postseason play, 20 All-Americans, two CoSIDA Academic All-American selections, 8 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, 1 conference Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, 53 All-Conference and a record 201 Academic All-Big Ten athletes.
Overall, 12 of Northwestern's 19 varsity programs had NCAA or bowl postseason appearances.

Venues:
The football team plays at Ryan Field (formerly known as Dyche Stadium); the basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams play at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
 In 2018, the school opened the Walter Athletics Center, a $270 million, state of the art lakefront facility for the football team and other sports.

Nickname:
Before 1924, they were known as "The Purple" and unofficially as "The Fighting Methodists."
The name Wildcats was bestowed upon the university in 1924 by Wallace Abbey, a writer for the Chicago Daily Tribune who wrote that even in a loss to the University of Chicago, "Football players had not come down from Evanston; wildcats would be a name better suited to [Coach Glenn] Thistletwaite's boys."
The name was so popular that university board members made "wildcats" the official nickname just months later.
In 1972, the student body voted to change the official nickname from "Wildcats" to "Purple Haze" but the new name never stuck.

The mascot of Northwestern Athletics is Willie the Wildcat.
The first mascot, however, was a live, caged bear cub from the Lincoln Park Zoo named Furpaw who was brought to the playing field on the day of a game to greet the fans.
But after a losing season, the team, deciding that Furpaw was to blame for its misfortune, banished him from campus forever.
Willie the Wildcat made his debut in 1933 first as a logo, and then in three dimensions in 1947, when members of the Alpha Delta fraternity dressed as wildcats during a Homecoming Parade.
The Northwestern University Marching Band (NUMB) performs at all home football games and leads cheers in the student section and performs the Alma Mater at the end of the game.

Football: 
Northwestern's football team has made 73 appearances in the top 10 of the AP poll since 1936 (including 5 at #1) and has won eight Big Ten conference championships since 1903.
At one time, Northwestern had the longest losing streak in Division I-A, losing 34 consecutive games between 1979 and 1982.
They did not appear in a bowl game after 1949 until the 1996 Rose Bowl.
The team did not win a bowl since the 1949 Rose Bowl until the 2013 Gator Bowl.
Following the sudden death of football coach Randy Walker in 2006, 31-year-old former All-American Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald assumed the position, becoming the youngest Division I FBS coach at the time.

Basketball:
In 1998, two former Northwestern basketball players were charged and convicted for sports bribery as a result of being paid to shave points in games against three other Big Ten schools during the 1995 season.
The football team became embroiled in a different betting scandal later that year when federal prosecutors indicted four former players for perjury related to betting on their own games.
In August 2001, Rashidi Wheeler, a senior safety, collapsed and died d
Northwestern is a charter member of the Big Ten Conference.  Their athletic teams are nicknamed the Wildcats, with their mascot known as Willie the Wildcat. They are the only private institution in the conference, and has by far the smallest undergraduate enrollment (the next-smallest member, Iowa, is almost three times as large, with almost 22,000 undergraduates).
Northwestern fields 19 intercollegiate athletic teams (8 men's and 11 women's) in addition to numerous club sports.  The women's lacrosse team won five consecutive NCAA national championships between 2005 and 2009, went undefeated in 2005 and 2009, added more NCAA championships in 2011 and 2012, giving them 7 NCAA championships in 8 years, and holds several scoring records.  The men's basketball team is recognized by the Helms Athletic Foundation as the 1931 National Champion. In the 2010–11 school year, the Wildcats had one national championship, 12 teams in postseason play, 20 All-Americans, two CoSIDA Academic All-American selections, 8 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, 1 conference Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, 53 All-Conference and a record 201 Academic All-Big Ten athletes. Overall, 12 of Northwestern's 19 varsity programs had NCAA or bowl postseason appearances.
Venues:
The football team plays at Ryan Field (formerly known as Dyche Stadium); the basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams play at Welsh-Ryan Arena.  In 2018, the school opened the Walter Athletics Center, a $270 million, state of the art lakefront facility for the football team and other sports.
Nickname:
Before 1924, they were known as "The Purple" and unofficially as "The Fighting Methodists." The name Wildcats was bestowed upon the university in 1924 by Wallace Abbey, a writer for the Chicago Daily Tribune who wrote that even in a loss to the University of Chicago, "Football players had not come down from Evanston; wildcats would be a name better suited to [Coach Glenn] Thistletwaite's boys." The name was so popular that university board members made "wildcats" the official nickname just months later. In 1972, the student body voted to change the official nickname from "Wildcats" to "Purple Haze" but the new name never stuck.
The mascot of Northwestern Athletics is Willie the Wildcat. The first mascot, however, was a live, caged bear cub from the Lincoln Park Zoo named Furpaw who was brought to the playing field on the day of a game to greet the fans. But after a losing season, the team, deciding that Furpaw was to blame for its misfortune, banished him from campus forever. Willie the Wildcat made his debut in 1933 first as a logo, and then in three dimensions in 1947, when members of the Alpha Delta fraternity dressed as wildcats during a Homecoming Parade. The Northwestern University Marching Band (NUMB) performs at all home football games and leads cheers in the student section and performs the Alma Mater at the end of the game.
Football: 
Northwestern's football team has made 73 appearances in the top 10 of the AP poll since 1936 (including 5 at #1) and has won eight Big Ten conference championships since 1903. At one time, Northwestern had the longest losing streak in Division I-A, losing 34 consecutive games between 1979 and 1982. They did not appear in a bowl game after 1949 until the 1996 Rose Bowl. The team did not win a bowl since the 1949 Rose Bowl until the 2013 Gator Bowl. Following the sudden death of football coach Randy Walker in 2006, 31-year-old former All-American Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald assumed the position, becoming the youngest Division I FBS coach at the time.
Basketball:
In 1998, two former Northwestern basketball players were charged and convicted for sports bribery as a result of being paid to shave points in games against three other Big Ten schools during the 1995 season. The football team became embroiled in a different betting scandal later that year when federal prosecutors indicted four former players for perjury related to betting on their own games. In August 2001, Rashidi Wheeler, a senior safety, collapsed and died d
Northwestern University