The Chicago Maroons football team represents the University of Chicago in college football. The Maroons, which play in NCAA Division III, have been a football-only member of the Midwest Conference since 2017. The University of Chicago was a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the Maroons were coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg for 41 seasons. In 1935, halfback Jay Berwanger became the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, later known as the Heisman Trophy. In the late 1930s, university president Robert Maynard Hutchins decided that big-time college football and the university's commitment to academics were not compatible. The university abolished its football program in 1939 and withdrew from the Big Ten in 1946. Football returned to the University of Chicago in 1963 in the form of a club team, which was upgraded to varsity status in 1969. The Maroons began competing in Division III in 1973.

History

The program began play in 1892, with coach Amos Alonzo Stagg at the helm, where he would serve for until 1933. The team's name came about when Stagg decided the team needed to change in its color from goldenrod, with Stagg pointing out how the color soiled easily. On May 5, 1894, students and faculty met to determine the official color and nickname, with the result being the Maroons. The Maroons spent their first four seasons as an independent, with 1894 being a highlight year in which they went 10–7–1. They joined the Big Ten Conference in 1896. In 1899, they won their first Big Ten title, going 12–0–2 in regular play and 4-0 in conference play. Stagg formed a squad that would be fairly consistent for a quarter of a century, with the Maroons winning seven conference titles from 1899 to 1924, while managing to have four seasons in which they did not lose a game.

The Chicago football team has used the wishbone-C logo since at least 1898.

Stagg retired from Chicago after the 1932 season, in which the team went 3–4–1 (1–4), and then coached at the University of the Pacific. Clark Shaughnessy took over as the Maroons football coach in 1933. In his seven seasons he led them to two .500 records, but no finish above 6th in the conference. In 1936, they beat Wisconsin 7–6. As it turned out, this was their last conference win as a Big Ten member. The team disbanded in 1939.

Chicago fielded a football team again for the 1969 season. The team struggled for a few years, not getting to .500 until 1976, with a 4-4 record, and not getting above 500 until 1985. The first few decades were marked by losing, with four winless seasons occurring from 1973 to 1991. In 1994, Dick Maloney was hired as coach of the team. His 1995 team went 8–2, the Maroons' most wins in a season since coming back as a team. In 1998, the Maroons won the UAA conference title, winning all four of its conference games. The Maroons won three more conference titles under Maloney, who retired in 2012. Chris Wilkerson was hired as coach in 2013. In his second season, he led them to a UAA title.

Conference affiliations Independent (1892–1895) Big Ten Conference (1896–1939) No team (1940–1962) Club team (1963–1968) Independent (1969–1972) NCAA Division III independent (1973–1975) Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (1976–1987) University Athletic Association (1988–2016) Southern Athletic Association (2015–2016) Midwest Conference (2017–present)

Championships National championships Chicago lays claim to two national championships. Although they do not compete in NCAA Division I FBS, they maintain claims to titles won at the highest level at the time.

1905 Amos Alonzo Stagg Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, NCF 11–01913 Billingsley, Parke Davis 7–0

Conference championships Chicago has won 12 conference championships, seven in the Big Ten Conference and five in the University Athletic Association

1899 Big Ten Conference Amos Alonzo Stagg 12–0–2 4–0 1905 11–0 7–0 1907 4–1 4–0 1908 5–0–1 5–0 1913 7–0 7–0 1922† 5–1–1 4–0–1 1924 4–1–3 3–0–3 1998 University Athletic Association Dick Maloney 7–2 4–0 2000 7–2 4–0 2005 5–4 3–0 2010 8–2 3–0 2014 Chris Wilkerson 8–1 3–0

† Co-champions

All-time record against current Big Ten members School Wins Losses Ties % Illinois 19 22 3 .466 Indiana 20 4 1 .789 Iowa 9 3 2 .714 Maryland* 1 0 0 1.000 Michigan 7 19 0 .269 Michigan State* 1 0 0 1.000 Minnesota 5 12 1 .306 Nebraska* 1 1 0 .500 Northwestern 26 8 3 .743 Ohio State 2 10 2 .214 Oregon* 0 0 0 N/A Penn State* 0 0 0 N/A Purdue 27 14 1 .655 Rutgers* 0 0 0 N/A Washington* 1 0 0 1.000 Wisconsin 16 19 5 .463 UCLA* 0 0 0 N/A USC* 0 0 0 N/A Note: Michigan State, Oregon, Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers, Washington, UCLA, and USC were not members of the Big Ten when Chicago was a member.

Notable personnel

College Football Hall of Fame Jay BerwangerHalfback 1933–1935 1954 First recipient of the Heisman Trophy Hugo BezdekFullback 1905 1954 Inducted for his career as a coach at Oregon, Arkansas, and Penn State Fritz CrislerEnd 1919–1921 1954 Inducted for his career as a coach at Minnesota, Princeton, and Michigan Paul Des JardienCenter 1912–1914 1955 All-American in 1913 and 1914 Walter EckersallQuarterback 1903–1906 1951 Leader of the 1905 national championship team Clarence HerschbergerFullback 1895–1898 1970 First western player selected as a first-team All-American Tiny MaxwellGuard 1902, 1904–1905 1974 All-American for 1905 national championship team Clark ShaughnessyCoach 1933–1939 1968 College football coach for 50 years Amos Alonzo StaggCoach 1892–1932 1951 "The Grand Old Man of the Midway" Walter SteffenQuarterback 1906–1908 1969 Scored 156 points for teams that went 13–2–1; First-team All-American, 1908 Andy "Polyphemus" WyantGuard, Center 1892–1894 1962 Played 8 varsity seasons of college football for Bucknell and Chicago

Others Walter S. Kennedy, quarterback for Stagg's 1898–1899 teams Wally Marks, fullback and halfback, 1924–1926; leader of Chicago's last Big Ten championship team Nelson Norgren, played football under Stagg, coached Chicago basketball team, 1921–1942, 1944–1957 Laurens Shull, All-American, killed in action during World War I Frederick A. Speik, end, All-American, 1904 Herman Stegeman, played for 1913 national championship; later coached football, baseball, basketball and track at Georgia John Webster Thomas, fullback, All-American 1922, played for Stagg 1921–1923 Mysterious Walker, played for Stagg, 1904–1906; coached college teams, 1907–1940 Graham Kernwein, played for Stagg, 1923–1925; later played in the NFL

See also List of NCAA Division III football programs Chicago Maroons

Notes and references

External links