Final Four A Boon For Chicago Bars That Bet Big On Illini, Big Ten Alums

Key Points:

• Chicago bars with college affiliations, especially those supporting Big Ten schools, have seen a surge in business due to multiple teams reaching the March Madness Elite Eight and Final Four this year.
• Joe’s on Weed St., a longtime University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illini) bar, sold out table reservations shortly after the Illini advanced to the Final Four, with a waitlist exceeding 1,000 people.
• There are about 100 college bars in Chicago, but only a few pay for official alumni association designations, which can be costly; University of Iowa leads with seven alumni-affiliated bars, followed by Michigan State, Ohio State, and Illinois with six each.
• Chicago has a significant concentration of Big Ten alumni, with over 10% of graduates from several universities, including Illinois and Northwestern, residing in the city, making college bars a successful business model.
• The University of Illinois has over 90,000 alumni in Cook County, many of whom are expected to pack local bars for the Final Four game, while some dedicated fans plan to attend the event in Indianapolis despite high ticket prices.