Huddle up, college football fans. With the first Ws and Ls of the season behind us, it’s time to settle down and decide where you’ll spend your Saturdays for the next three months. These Big Ten bars pack ’em in with game-day deals and school spirit galore.
ILLINOIS
SCHOOLYARD TAVERN & GRILL
(3258 N. SOUTHPORT AVE.
773-528-8226)
Illini football has always been as much about the party as the game, and the same holds true at Schoolyard. Wear your orange and blue while eating $2 mini-burgers, $5 mac and cheese bites and monster fries, and — most important — drinking $4 Bud Lights from a souvenir stadium cup.
INDIANA
FINLEY DUNNE’S TAVERN
(3458 N. LINCOLN AVE.
773-477-7311)
Indiana may not have the best football team in the Big Ten, but Hoosiers still are fiercely loyal. Get buckets of Miller products for $13.50 while admiring the signed Bobby Knight basketball on display … and counting down the days until basketball season.
IOWA
SEDGWICK’S BAR & GRILL
(1935 N. SEDGWICK ST.
312-337-7900)
Known for showing soccer and rugby matches the rest of the year, Sedgwick’s transforms into Hawkeye country during football season. The bar keeps Iowa fans happy with $15 Miller Lite buckets and brunch until 2 p.m.
MICHIGAN
MAD RIVER BAR & GRILLE
(2909 N. SHEFFIELD AVE.
773-935-7500)
Appalachian State jokes will not be tolerated at Mad River, where rowdy Ann Arbor transplants gather for every game. Get $3 Wolverine shots, colored with Blue Curacao, and $10 Michigan mugs (32 oz.) with $6 refills of domestic drafts, plus a $10 brunch buffet.
MICHIGAN STATE
GIN MILL (2462 N. LINCOLN AVE. 773-549-3232)
Spartans say this place is just like the bars in East Lansing, and it’s guaranteed to be a sea of green and white on game days. Get 22-ounce stadium mugs for $6 with $5 Bud refills. If State wins, your next beer is on the house.
MINNESOTA
RED IVY (3525 N. CLARK ST. 773-472-0900)
Even if most of your college friends never left the Twin Cities (what is it about Minnesota?) you’re sure to find a healthy crowd of Chicago Gophers at Red Ivy. Bud Light and Miller Lite drafts are $3, and although you probably can’t make Goldy spin his head from here, the $5 mixed drinks will turn yours.
NORTHWESTERN
LION HEAD PUB
(2251 N. LINCOLN AVE.
773-348-5100)
Forget going back to Evanston to cheer on the Wildcats at a place named after another ferocious feline. Don your purple and head to Lion Head for $2 burgers, $2.75 Coors Light drafts and Smirnoff bloody marys. Who knows? Maybe this will be Northwestern’s year.
OHIO STATE
MICKEYS BAR & PATIO
(2450 N. CLARK ST.
773-435-0007)
Mickeys makes Buckeyes feel at home with servers sporting Ohio State jerseys and a DJ and drummer playing the “Buckeye Battle Cry” and “Hang on Sloopie.” Get pumped up with $6 Red Bull vodkas or get a 32-oz. OSU mug for $2 with $5 refills of Miller Lite.
PENN STATE
FLOUNDER’S (2201 N. CLYBOURN AVE. 773-472-9920)
Though nothing compares to tailgating in Happy Valley, Penn Staters can find fellow alums gathered at Flounder’s for the big game. This sports bar offers $7 pitchers of Miller Lite, $15 blue vodka lemonade pitchers and $7 omelets to the JoePa faithful.
PURDUE
THE DUGOUT BAR & GRILL
(950 W. ADDISON ST.
773-281-4213)
Eerily similar to the basement of a frat house, The Dugout is the newest Boilermaker bar on the block. Relive your college days with $3 Jell-O shots, $5 pitchers of Miller High Life, $4 Boiler bombs, and beer pong and flip cup tourneys with Purdue-themed prizes.
WISCONSIN
WILL’S NORTHWOODS INN (3030 N. RACINE AVE.
773-528-4400)
With hunting trophies and other cheesehead paraphernalia adorning the walls, Will’s is as Wisconsin as you can get this side of the border. On game days, get $9 pitchers of Miller Lite and Leinie’s Original to wash down free — yes, free — brats, hot dogs, cheeseburgers and, of course, cheese curds.
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