men. The Wildcats have since achieved an all-time-high rank of No. 1 during the 1936 and 1962 seasons, which has thus far not been duplicated. The team plays home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. The Wildcats have participated in a total of 16 bowl games, including appearances in 10 seasons between 2008 and 2020. During the 2016–2018 seasons, they won three consecutive bowl games. In 2020, the Wildcats claimed the title of Big Ten West Champions and were champions in their bowl game.
=== Basketball ===
The Helms Athletic Foundation named the men's basketball team the 1931 National Champion. In 2017, the men's basketball team earned an NCAA berth for the first time in the program's history. They won their first-round matchup against Vanderbilt University but lost to number-one seed Gonzaga in the second round.
In 1998, two former Northwestern basketball players were charged and convicted for sports bribery, having been paid to shave points in games against three other Big Ten schools during the 1995 …
