Northwestern head coach David Braun has a message for Evanston: show up Oct. 2 and make the new Ryan Field the loudest 35,000-seat stadium in college football.

Braun used Big Ten Media Days on Thursday, Aug. 6, to issue a direct challenge to Northwestern fans, students and the broader Evanston community, The Daily Northwestern reported. Fill the $875 million stadium for its inaugural game against Penn State, he said, and help the Wildcats build a genuine home-field advantage.

Braun has been making the case across multiple appearances this summer. "It's my job to put the best team in that stadium," he told Sporting News on July 31. "But it's your job... to turn New Ryan Field into the best home field advantage in all of college football."

He described the venue as a "new-age Roman Coliseum," pointing to its acoustics and fan intimacy as reasons the smaller capacity could work in the Wildcats' favor.

A stadium built for noise

The new Ryan Field, located on Evanston's north side, sits 21 feet below ground level, bringing every seat closer to the action than the old stadium allowed. A 300,000-square-foot canopy covers the seating bowl, amplifying crowd noise downward toward the field. The design borrows from European soccer stadiums, including a 2,000-person safe-standing student section called the "Wildcat Wall" behind the south end zone, according to The Athletic.

At 35,000 seats, it's the smallest football stadium in the Big Ten. Braun has embraced that.

"We're not trying to be the biggest. We delivered on being the best," he said in a July 21 interview with the Chicago Tribune. "It's the intimacy, it's the sight lines for our fans, it's the environment we have an opportunity to create for our players."

What's at stake

The Friday, Oct. 2, opener against Penn State marks exactly 100 years since the original Northwestern stadium opened on Oct. 2, 1926, according to the Evanston Roundtable. The game will air on Fox Sports.

Northwestern enters the season after going 7-6 in 2025, when the team played home games at the lakefront Martin Stadium and Wrigley Field while construction continued. The Wildcats won the GameAbove Sports Bowl against Central Michigan to close that campaign.

For 2026, Braun has added former Oregon and Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to his staff and brought in transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles, who played 30 games over three seasons at Oregon State and Michigan State. Northwestern also retained 88 percent of its eligible returning players, including All-Big Ten safety Robert Fitzgerald and wide receiver Griffin Wilde.

Community ties

The stadium will feature an "Evanston and North Shore Favorites" program bringing local restaurants into the venue as pop-up vendors on game days, according to the Evanston Roundtable. The surrounding park space will be open to the public year-round and host community events during the off-season, according to Evanston Now.

Ryan Sports Development CEO Pat Ryan Jr. said in late July that over 1,000 workers remained on site, with a "sizable investment" needed to finish on time after more than 50 weather-related construction delays. The stadium is expected to reach substantial completion by Sept. 11, with a soft opening before the Oct. 2 debut.

Northwestern opens the 2026 season against South Dakota State and Colorado at Martin Stadium, then travels to defending national champion Indiana before returning to Evanston for the Penn State opener. Season tickets went on sale in late July, as we reported July 29.

Braun's pitch to the community is simple: the building is ready. Now he needs the neighbors to bring the noise.