Ryan Field (1926)

The stadium opened in 1926 as Dyche Stadium, named for William Dyche, class of 1882, Evanston mayor from 1895 to 1899 and overseer of the building project. It was renamed Ryan Field in 1997 in honor of the family of Aon Corporation founder Patrick G. Ryan, who was then chairman of Northwestern's board of trustees. At the time it was constructed, Dyche Stadium was considered one of the finest college football stadiums in the country. The stadium originally consisted of two semi-circular grandstands on either sideline, designed to maximize the number of fans sitting close to the action. End zone seating was later added in the south, and in 1952 McGaw Memorial Hall was built beyond the north end zone. The stadium had a natural grass surface when it opened, switched to artificial turf in 1973, and restored natural grass before the 1997 season with the playing surface lowered approximately 5 feet to improve sight lines. The Chicago Bears played their first home game of the 1970 season at Dyche Stadium as an experiment after the NFL required them to move out of Wrigley Field. The stadium closed at the end of the 2023 season, and preparation for demolition began on January 29, 2024, to make way for a new Ryan Field on the site. Demolition was completed on June 3, 2024, putting a temporary pause on 97 years of Northwestern football at the site.

Before its demolition in 2024, Ryan Field was the only FBS stadium without permanent lighting. The stadium was originally named Dyche Stadium after William Dyche, an 1882 Northwestern graduate who served as Evanston mayor from 1895 to 1899. The Chicago Bears played their first home game of the 1970 NFL season at the stadium against the Philadelphia Eagles, as the NFL had required the Bears to leave Wrigley Field due to its sub-50,000 seating capacity. A preliminary proposal featured symmetrical triple decks on both sidelines but was never realized due to cost overruns and attendance figures that rarely approached 50,000.