Chris Murray

cmurray@rgj.com

The Wolf Pack football team's game at Northwestern in 2017 has been moved up two weeks, with the Wildcats kicking in more guaranteed cash.

The game, agreed to in February, was originally scheduled for Sept. 16, 2017 but has been moved to Sept. 2, 2017 and will serve as the season opener for both teams. Northwestern originally agreed to pay Nevada $1.2 million for the one-game series but has upped that figure to $1.3 million to change the date.

The new contract, which is a one-game series, was finalized Monday and obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal via a public records request Tuesday.

Nevada previously had non-conference games in 2017 scheduled with Idaho (Sept. 2), Toledo (Sept. 9) and Washington (Sept. 23). The Idaho matchup, which was part of a two-game series with a return game in 2021 or 2022, will have to be moved or canceled to accommodate the Northwestern change. The Vandals recently announced it will move from the FBS to the FCS in 2018, when it will join the Big Sky, and have been working on changes to its future schedules.

Pack football lands big-money game at Northwestern

The $1.3 million payout will be the second largest in Nevada's history. The Wolf Pack earned $1.5 million to play at Texas A&M of the SEC in 2015. It also has a $1 million game at Notre Dame in 2016. Those are the only seven-figure paydays in Nevada football history.

This will not be the first time Nevada has played the Big Ten school. The Wolf Pack beat Northwestern, 31-21, in 2006 in Reno before losing on the road to the Wildcats, 36-31, in 2007 as part of a two-game series. The Wolf Pack also has played Wisconsin, Maryland and Nebraska from the Big Ten, although those final two teams were not in the Big 10 at the time of the matchup against Nevada. Northwestern went 10-3 last season and finished 23rd in the final AP Top 25.

The Wolf Pack will play at least two Power 5 schools in each of the next four seasons: Notre Dame and Purdue in 2016; Washington State and Northwestern in 2017; Washington and Oregon State in 2018; and Purdue and Oregon in 2019. All but two of those games -- Oregon State in 2018; Purdue in 2019 -- will be on the road.