Northwestern Women's Basketball, Volleyball To Open Season At ETHS

EVANSTON, IL — Northwestern women's basketball and volleyball are spending the 2017-18 season playing home games at Evanston Township High School's historic Beardsley Gym, which the University is renting while the Welsh-Ryan Arena carries out a $110 million renovation. Work on Welsh-Ryan got underway after the Wildcats' participation in March Madness and is expected to be finished by fall 2018, according to Northwestern.

The first match to take place on ETHS campus is set for Saturday when the Northwestern volleyball squad takes on Illinois at 7 p.m. (find the entire schedule for both teams below.)

"ETHS highly values our many partnership opportunities with Northwestern," said ETHS Athletic Director Chris Livatino. "We are honored to share our beloved Beardsley Gym with the Wildcats and thrilled to host the volleyball and women's basketball teams here this year."

In addition to being the 2017-18 home for NU's women's basketball and volleyball teams, ETHS will host its regular schedule of high school athletic events in Beardsley, giving fans of the 'Kits and 'Cats the chance to enjoy a broad range of sporting events at home in Evanston.

"We're thrilled for the opportunity that Evanston Township High School has provided our student-athletes and fans," said Jim Phillips, Northwestern vice president for athletics & recreation. "This is a reflection of our already strong partnership with the Evanston community. We are excited for our women's basketball and volleyball programs to compete locally next year and create a true home-gym advantage as close to the Northwestern campus as possible."

The venue will provide a state-of-the-art home for Northwestern basketball, volleyball, wrestling and the fans of those programs. Volleyball and women's basketball coaches praised the move.

"We are grateful to ETHS for the opportunity to compete in their gym next year," head women's basketball coach Joe McKeown said. "It is important to our team, and for our fans, to continue to play in this community while our arena undergoes a world-class renovation."

"Our entire program is excited to play close to home next year in Evanston," head volleyball coach Shane Davis said. "This will continue to provide our student-athletes with a true home venue, and our fans access to the best college volleyball in the nation."

School officials began discussing the possibility of renting out the ETHS gym back in the fall of 2016, Pioneer Press reported. Northwestern had considered using venues at other local colleges and some professional facilities but decided ETHS was the best location, allowing for the least disruption to players' schedules and keeping revenue from games inside Evanston. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Evanston — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Due to the money brought in by the Wildcats rending the gym, ETHS has been able to spend about $175,000 in upgrades, including adding new video boards and replacing the floor.

The Northwestern men's basketball team will play its 2017-2018 home games at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

Northwestern Women's Volleyball Full Home Schedule at ETHS:

Illinois

• Sep. 23
• 7 p.m.

Indiana

• Oct. 6
• 7 p.m.

Purdue

• Oct. 8
• 1 p.m.

Rutgers

• Oct. 25
• 7 p.m.

Michigan State

• Nov. 4
• 7 p.m.

Minnesota

• Nov. 17
• 7 p.m.

Wisconsin

• Nov. 19
• 1 p.m.

Nebraska

• Nov. 22
• 7 p.m.

Northwestern Women's Basketball Full Home Schedule at ETHS:

Missouri, St. Louis (exhibition game)

• Nov. 5
• 2 p.m.

Oakland

• Nov. 16
• 7 p.m.

Santa Clara

• Nov. 22
• 1 p.m.

University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee

• Dec. 3
• 2 p.m.

Stony Brooke University

• Dec. 10
• 6 p.m.

DePaul

• Dec. 13
• 7 p.m.

Eastern Illinois

• Dec. 22
• 4 p.m.

Minnesota

• Dec. 28
• 7 p.m.

Nebraska

• Jan. 7
• 2 p.m.

Wisconsin

• Jan. 11
• 7 p.m.

Maryland

• Jan. 25
• 7 p.m.

Michigan

• Jan. 28
• 2 p.m.

Iowa

• Feb. 11
• 2 p.m.

Illinois

• Feb. 18
• 2 p.m.

Rutgers (senior night)

• Feb. 25
• 2 p.m.

_{Top photo: Beardsley Gym after renovations with new video board | Courtesy Chris Livatino, ETHS}