Former "Major College" Teams

[Henny]

Besides all of the Ivy league teams, I can think of five former "major college" teams currently playing in I-AA:

Colgate
Fordham
Richmond
Villanova
William & Mary

Are there any others?

[RadMann]

Well, not exactly what you were asking, but the University of Chicago was once big-time but now plays in division III. Amos Alonzo Stagg coached there for many years....

"Amos Alonzo Stagg

Considered one of the great innovators in the development of college football, Amos Alonzo Stagg served as head football coach at Chicago from 1892 to 1932. During his tenure, Stagg compiled a record of 242-112-27 and led the Maroons to seven Big Ten Conference championships (1899, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1913, 1922, 1924).

Under Stagg’s guidance, Chicago emerged as one of the nation’s most formidable football powers during the first quarter of the 20th century.Stagg’s impact on the game of football began during his college playing days at Yale, where he was selected to the first-ever All-America team as an end in 1889. He began his coaching career the next year at the Springfield, Massachusetts, YMCA, now Springfield College. Stagg organized the school’s first football team, and among his players was James Naismith, the inventor of basketball....."

http://athletics.uchicago.edu/history/history-stagg.htm

[Henny]

Stagg was also the answer to a trivia question this past week. The question was what coaches were at the same school for 40 years or more. The only ones are Stagg and Joe Pa.

[WUTNDITWAA]

I think you can throw VMI and The Citadel in that mix as well.

[RadMann]

There was also St. Mary's from California that I believe won the Rose Bowl one year in the 30's (not sure, did not look it up). I recall a guy who posted on AGS for a while who was an alum and he was lamenting that they were dropping football altogether (maybe two years ago)....

[GOTOREROS]

There was also St. Mary's from California that I believe won the Rose Bowl one year in the 30's (not sure, did not look it up). I recall a guy who posted on AGS for a while who was an alum and he was lamenting that they were dropping football altogether (maybe two years ago)....

St. Mary's played in the 1939 Cotton Bowl, not the Rose Bowl....they beat Texas Tech 20-13....

Santa Clara played in the 1937 Sugar Bowl beating LSU 21-14, and rematched in the 1938 Sugar Bowl with LSU again defeating the Tigers 6-0. SCU also played in the 1950 Orange Bowl beating Kentucky 21-14....

GOTOREROS

[DFW HOYA]

Besides all of the Ivy league teams, I can think of five former "major college" teams currently playing in I-AA:

Colgate
Fordham
Richmond
Villanova
William & Mary

Are there any others?

Add Georgetown, Duquesne, Holy Cross, Davidson, VMI, Drake, and Dayton to the list.

[BearsCountry]

Southern Illinois, Indiana State, Illinois State I believe were all at one time major schools.

[chattanoogamocs]

Chattanooga played at least some seasons in the University (Major College) Division

The Mocs bounced back and forth between the University Division and College Division...but, no matter what the distinction, UC played 3-5 SEC teams a year (home and away) from the 30's to the 60's.

College Division might have been determined by school size, but no matter the name, Scrappy Moore and his little Moccasins snuck up and bit a number of big dogs on the butt.

Long live the David's...to hell with the Goliath's!!!

[bkrownd]

Stagg was also the answer to a trivia question this past week. The question was what coaches were at the same school for 40 years or more. The only ones are Stagg and Joe Pa.

Uhhhhh...Gagliardi...Robinson...Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

[TheBisonator]

What... Don't look at us... We were still playing American Legion and high school teams well into the 20's and 30's.:bang: :bang: :bang:

[JoltinJoe]

I'd add Bucknell to the list. The Bison were an early Orange Bowl champion.

Also Lafayette was major college and one of the best programs of the 1920s.

[cosmo here]

I'd add Bucknell to the list. The Bison were an early Orange Bowl champion.

Also Lafayette was major college and one of the best programs of the 1920s.

Yes, Lafayette claimed national championships in 1921 and 1926, to go with their championship from 1898.

[Tealblood]

How bout Suwanee(sp) little private up in Tenn. I think they used to play Alabama and other SEC teams. They were in the old SOCON which was a mjor conf. Not sure if they play at any level now .

[gophoenix]

Yeah, I agree, Sewanee was a big time school for decades going under the name "University of the South" ... I also think George Washington fits this too since they no longer have a team.

[OL FU]

I think you can throw VMI and The Citadel in that mix as well.

Citadel, VMI, Davidson, Furman all played in the SoCon since the 30's.
Richmond and W&M were also SoCon although I am not sure when they joined but would have been considered major.

[OhioHen]

How bout Suwanee(sp) little private up in Tenn. I think they used to play Alabama and other SEC teams. They were in the old SOCON which was a mjor conf. Not sure if they play at any level now .

Sewanee now plays in the DIII Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The top football school in the conference is currently Trinity University of San Antonio (my brother's alma mater).

I was sure my first post would be related to Delaware (my alma mater), but I end up posting about DIII!:o

[HIU 93]

Stagg was also the answer to a trivia question this past week. The question was what coaches were at the same school for 40 years or more. The only ones are Stagg and Joe Pa.

The legendary Coach Eddie Robinson also holds that distinction.

[lucchesicourt]

Coach Fred Arp of UCD is in his 40th year at UCD, too. Just was never head coach.

[McNeese72]

McNeese was I-A (or whatever it was called then) in the late 70's and early 80's. They played in three Independence Bowls and even made it into the Top 25 sometime in the undefeated 79 regular season.


Doc

[89Hen]

I also think George Washington fits this too since they no longer have a team.
I think we've gotten away from the original question which was what I-AA teams were former "major college" teams. GW dropped football 12 years before I-AA was formed.

As for the quick answer... basically anyone in the Ivy, Patriot, and old Southern Conference were "major college" teams. Look at Furman's old schedules...

1950 included South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Clemson and Georgia. :bow:

[OL FU]

Citadel, VMI, Davidson, Furman all played in the SoCon since the 30's.
Richmond and W&M were also SoCon although I am not sure when they joined but would have been considered major.

Richmond and William & Mary also joined in the '30's and so would have been apart of the SoCon's major days.

[jmuroller]

Isn't there a D3 school that once played in the Rose Bowl? I just remember reading an article about them in the past few years. I think they might be somewhere close to JMU. Maybe within a few hours?

[grizbeer]

Montana was a member of the Pacific Coast Conference (now Pac 10) along with Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Stanford, Cal and Idaho from 1924 - 1949.

[Pard4Life]

I'd add Bucknell to the list. The Bison were an early Orange Bowl champion.

Also Lafayette was major college and one of the best programs of the 1920s.

Yeah Bucknell won the first Orange Bowl over Miami in 1935... Holy Cross also went to the Orange Bowl but lost...

Georgetown went to a bowl down there too.. Orange or Sugar.. but lost...

Lafayette was a major power... numerous Walter Camp All-Americans, college hall of fame coaches, invented the helmet/huddle, and mega games vs. Lehigh and Penn... also games vs. Army, Penn St, Syracuse, Fordham, West Virginia, Pitt to name a few...

[grizbeer]

Isn't there a D3 school that once played in the Rose Bowl? I just remember reading an article about them in the past few years. I think they might be somewhere close to JMU. Maybe within a few hours?
Washington and Jefferson in 1922.

[Pard4Life]

Yes, Lafayette claimed national championships in 1921 and 1926, to go with their championship from 1898.

1896.. :nod:

We had a well renowned song named after that team... 'Lafayette Two-Step Polka' or something like that... we went 11-0-1... ranked #1 by a majority of publications... :D

[Pard4Life]

Washington and Jefferson in 1922.

Pards played them in Atlantic City, late 1920s, became known as the first indoor night-game.. or somethign liek that..

[Pard4Life]

Duquesne of the MAAC won the Sugar Bowl back in the day and won the 'Festival of Palms', a year before it changed its name to the Orange Bowl in 1934.

[Pards Rule]

AND least we not forget - and most significant because descedants/relatives of Mr. Shoals were honored at halftime of the Homecoming game this past Saturday vs. Holy Cross at Fisher Field - the 1948 Lafayette team was invited to play at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX on New Years Day, 1949 versus Texas - El Paso. There was one problem though - LC's only black player, Mr. David Shoals, would have to stay home because he was not allowed on the field with the laws then in effect. The entire team voted to turn down the invite since he wasn't allowed to play. Kudos to the team for its outstanding record that year, and, more importantly, its stand against discrimination.

[NoCoDanny]

Wasn't West Texas A&M in the Southland at some point?

[89Hen]

Kudos to the team for its outstanding record that year, and, more importantly, its stand against discrimination.
:nod: xsmileyclapx :thumbsup: :beerchug:

[bison137]

A little more on Bucknell, who got a mention or two early in the thread:

1. Bucknell beat Miami easily in the first Orange Bowl ever played - 1935.

2. Penn State was a big rival of the Bison before the turn of the century and then again from 1926-48. In the late '20's and early '30's Bucknell beat PSU six consecutive times. It was only after World War II that PSU started to pull ahead of the Bison in football.

3. In 1931, unbeaten Bucknell faced unbeaten Fordham in the final game of the season at the Polo Grounds. The Bison prevailed 14-13, led by their star running back, Clarke Hinkle, who later made the NFL Hall of Fame.

4. The Bison football star from 1898-1900 was Christy Mathewson. A little blurb about Mathewson on the gridiron: "One of the truly outstanding players of his era, Mathewson kicked a point after touchdown in the first varsity game of his freshman year, and in the next three years added 13 touchdowns and eight field goals. Mathewson gained national attention when he dropkicked two field goals against Pennsylvania in 1899 and added a 45-yard field goal against Army the following year. As a result, he was named the “12th man” on Walter Camp’s 1900 All-America team."

[Pards Rule]

Bison, I also read where BU (my parents went there as well as bro & sister-in-law) was threatening NOT to play the game after they arrived and found out not all the money that was promised to them was available "yet". I understand the local sponsors had to hustle to come up with the rest of the pot!

[UNH 40]

My old man played for Army in the early 70's playing against Lehigh, Holy Cross, and Lafayette all the time.

Also in the 60's Dartmouth believe it or not was one of the best teams in all of college football. I believe they were ranked in the low teens at the time in their storied history.

[Pards Rule]

Yeah, would have liked to play Army last year - maybe a W!!

[JRGNYR]

Add Holy Cross to the list of Patriot League schools with a great 1930s. In addition to the annual game against BC, there were also games against Pitt, Syracuse, and Penn State sprinkled in there, although I think most of those came in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Unfortunately I don't have a football media guide in front of me.

I have to be honest, I didn't realize Bucknell and Lafayette were so powerful in the 20s and 30s in football. Perhaps a good resource for the Patriot League, and something that would help build a little league pride overall, would be some kind of publication that details the early histories of the PL's football programs.

On a larger scale, some kind of history of major college football would be interesting to see, since when you speak to someone who's 35 and younger, major college football to them is the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big XII, etc.

Speaking of Colgate, they've played HC forever. Maybe one of the 'Gate fans can fill us in on their football history.

[Pard4Life]

My old man played for Army in the early 70's playing against Lehigh, Holy Cross, and Lafayette all the time.

Also in the 60's Dartmouth believe it or not was one of the best teams in all of college football. I believe they were ranked in the low teens at the time in their storied history.

I think Dartmouth's last year of glory (nationally) was 1970 or 1968... 9-0, ranked #15 I believe.

Lafayette has not played Army that much though, only 1-7-1 or somethign like that all-time. Only win was in 1940... and their coach compared us to Notre Dame that season! :D

[Pard4Life]

Add Holy Cross to the list of Patriot League schools with a great 1930s. In addition to the annual game against BC, there were also games against Pitt, Syracuse, and Penn State sprinkled in there, although I think most of those came in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Unfortunately I don't have a football media guide in front of me.

I have to be honest, I didn't realize Bucknell and Lafayette were so powerful in the 20s and 30s in football. Perhaps a good resource for the Patriot League, and something that would help build a little league pride overall, would be some kind of publication that details the early histories of the PL's football programs.

On a larger scale, some kind of history of major college football would be interesting to see, since when you speak to someone who's 35 and younger, major college football to them is the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big XII, etc.

Speaking of Colgate, they've played HC forever. Maybe one of the 'Gate fans can fill us in on their football history.

I know Colgate was undefeated and did not surrender a point in 1930... and they beat Ohio St...

[89Hen]

I know Colgate was undefeated and did not surrender a point in 1930... and they beat Ohio St...
Must not have played Delaware that year. :p

[bulldog10jw]

I know Colgate was undefeated and did not surrender a point in 1930... and they beat Ohio St...

I think there was a Colgate team in the thirties that was undefeated but did not get a Bowl bid. They were known as "undefeated, untied, unscored upon, and univited".

[BearsCountry]

It would have been really intresting if when the I-A and I-AA split occured if Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Penn stayed in I-A. Eastern football would have a total different look.

[bison137]

Add Holy Cross to the list of Patriot League schools with a great 1930s. In addition to the annual game against BC, there were also games against Pitt, Syracuse, and Penn State sprinkled in there, although I think most of those came in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Unfortunately I don't have a football media guide in front of me.

I have to be honest, I didn't realize Bucknell and Lafayette were so powerful in the 20s and 30s in football. Perhaps a good resource for the Patriot League, and something that would help build a little league pride overall, would be some kind of publication that details the early histories of the PL's football programs.



Back in the old days, Bucknell had wins over Miami (FL), Navy, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Virginia, Temple, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. Also had one or more games with NC State, Syracuse, and Army. As mentioned also had some wins over Fordham when Fordham was a strong program.

[Pard4Life]

I think there was a Colgate team in the thirties that was undefeated but did not get a Bowl bid. They were known as "undefeated, untied, unscored upon, and univited".

Yep, that's them... 1930 (or 1932?) ... an Andy Kerr coached team..

[Go...gate]

I think there was a Colgate team in the thirties that was undefeated but did not get a Bowl bid. They were known as "undefeated, untied, unscored upon, and univited".

1932 was the year - "Undefeated, Untied, Unscored-upon, and Univited" - to the Rose Bowl. Actually, Colgate was a Division I major independent until 1981, along with many schools already discussed. They were listed every week among the conference standings as "Major Independents", and their ranks included Lafayette, Holy Cross, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Army, Navy, Air Force, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Temple and Miami (FL).

[Go...gate]

It would have been really intresting if when the I-A and I-AA split occured if Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Penn stayed in I-A. Eastern football would have a total different look.

Princeton, Yale, Harvard and Penn could all have stayed in I-A but elected to drop to I-AA as a conference after the 1981 season.

[GOTOREROS]

1896.. :nod:

We had a well renowned song named after that team... 'Lafayette Two-Step Polka' or something like that... we went 11-0-1... ranked #1 by a majority of publications... :D


11-0-1? But who did you play? I heard the schedule was pretty soft.....:D

It's all about SOS! ;)

GOTOREROS

[LeopardFan04]

11-0-1? But who did you play? I heard the schedule was pretty soft.....:D

It's all about SOS! ;)

GOTOREROS

Since you asked: ;) :)

1896: 11-0-1

Coach:
Parke H. Davis





National Champions





W/L
Date
PF
Opponent
PA
Location
Notes

W
09-26-1896
44
Volunteer AC (NY)
0
Easton, PA


T
10-07-1896
0
Princeton (NJ)
0
Easton, PA


W
10-15-1896
18
West Virginia
0
Fairmont, WV


W
10-16-1896
6
West Virginia
0
Parkersburg, WV


W
10-17-1896
34
West Virginia
0
Wheeling, WV


W
10-24-1896
6
Pennsylvania
4
Philadelphia, PA


W
10-31-1896
18
Dickinson (PA)
0
Easton, PA


W
11-10-1896
17
Bloomsburg (PA)
0
Bloomsburg, PA


W
11-11-1896
23
Wyoming Seminary (PA)
0
Kingston, PA


W
11-14-1896
38
Franklin & Marshall (PA)
0
Easton, PA


W
11-21-1896
18
Wesleyan (CT)
0
Easton, PA


W
11-26-1896
18
Navy (MD)
6
Annapolis, MD



240
Season Totals
10

[LeopardFan04]

11-0-1? But who did you play? I heard the schedule was pretty soft.....:D

It's all about SOS! ;)

GOTOREROS

Since you asked: ;) :)

1896: 11-0-1

Coach: Parke H. Davis
National Champions

W/L Date PF Opponent PA Location Notes

W 09-26-1896 44 Volunteer AC (NY) 0 Easton, PA
T 10-07-1896 0 Princeton (NJ) 0 Easton, PA
W 10-15-1896 18 West Virginia 0 Fairmont, WV
W 10-16-1896 6 West Virginia 0 Parkersburg, WV
W 10-17-1896 34 West Virginia 0 Wheeling, WV
W 10-24-1896 6 Pennsylvania 4 Philadelphia, PA
W 10-31-1896 18 Dickinson (PA) 0 Easton, PA
W 11-10-1896 17 Bloomsburg (PA) 0 Bloomsburg, PA
W 11-11-1896 23 Wyoming Seminary (PA) 0 Kingston, PA
W 11-14-1896 38 Franklin & Marshall (PA) 0 Easton, PA
W 11-21-1896 18 Wesleyan (CT) 0 Easton, PA
W 11-26-1896 18 Navy (MD) 6 Annapolis, MD
240 Season Totals 10


I believe this was the last time we didn't play Lehigh...also, we played 3 in one week twice during the season...


from the College Football Data Warehouse site...

[BigApp]

Duke

[ngineer]

As previously noted, all of the Patriot schools were 'major' football powers in 'days of old'. One of Lehigh's proudest moments is headlined above. Occured in 1889 and is still, today, the Nittany Lions worst loss in its storied history....:nod: Lehigh last played Penn State in 1942.

[Pards Rule]

Ouch..three times in three days! Another time three times in a week. Like to see SDSU do that! And without helmets (except George Barclay who invented it that year)