winner in Jay Berwanger. In 1939, the
school abolished the football program
when then-president Robert Maynard
Hutchins wanted the institution to
focus more on academics. (The school
resurrected the program in the 1960s
and in 1973 began competing at the
NCAA Division III level, which it still
does today.)
ONE OF THE MORE PROMINENT
The answer to the question was a
resounding “No.” There were two that
answered in the affirmative, and it is
no surprise that one of those was Dr.
Gaylord Harnwell, the President at
Penn. The other was Dr. C.E. Brehm,
then the President of the University of
Tennessee. The Ivy League was clearly
headed in one direction, while the rest
of the nation was headed in another.
PROGRAMS TO DROP THE Modern Day
SPORT WAS THE UNIVERSITY OF Currently, the Ivy League competes
at the Football Championship
Subdivision level in football. In
1982, the NCAA divided its Division
I classification into two separate
divisions: Division I-A and Division
I-AA. There are several differences
between the two classifications, but
primarily I-A schools spend more
money on their athletic programs
(larger facilities, more scholarships,
etc.). Now known as Football Bowl
Subdivision, the former NCAA
Division I-A schools (128 in total) may
have 85 players on a full scholarship
on their rosters at any given time. FCS
schools are permitted 63 scholarships
and those scholarships may be divided
amongst 85 players.
CHICAGO, A FOUNDING MEMBER
OF THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE.
When Princeton went 9-0 under
Charley Caldwell in 1950, it would
be the last Ivy League football team
to ever win or share a national
championship. It would also be the
last Ivy League school to produce
a Heisman Trophy winner. The
following season (1951), halfback
Dick Kazmaier won both the Maxwell
Award and the Heisman as college
football’s best player. Penn, a chief
rival of Princeton and the alma mater
of one of the game’s all-time greats
in Chuck Bednarik*, would go on to
fire its athletic director Fran Murray
in 1953 in a move that was designed
to declare the Quakers’ desire to
concentrate more on academics.
Murray was a long-time advocate for
Penn to become a big-time collegiate
power in football and other sports.
As the Ivy League got down to the
business of academics over athletics,
Sports Illustrated conducted a survey
in its January 7, 1957, issue polling
several prominent individuals about
the Ivy League’s de-emphasis of
football. The question posed to the
likes of Sen. William Knowland
(Senate Minority Leader), Charles
Thomas (Secretary of the Navy), and
Biggie Munn, the athletic director at
Michigan State was, “Will colleges
throughout the country follow the lead
of the Ivy League and de-emphasize
football?”
The Ivy League, however, is not the only
FCS league that restricts scholarships.
There are three other FCS conferences
that place restrictions on the amount
of football scholarships available.
The Pioneer League, which includes
schools such as Dayton, Drake, and
Jacksonville, is like the Ivy League and
does not permit football scholarships.
The Patriot League – think William
& Mary and Lafayette – used to have
the same Ivy League policy but now
does allow its members to offer 60
football scholarships to a maximum of
80 players. The Northeast Conference
(NEC) also limits scholarships to 40
but keeps the 85-player max. These
scholarship limitations play a role in
why you never see a school from any
of these conferences, Ivy included, take
on an FBS school. If an FBS team plays
an FCS school and the FCS school
does not have at least 61 players on at
least a partial scholarship, a win by the
FBS team does not count toward bowl
eligibility.
Issues regarding postseason play come
up from time to time with regards to
Ivy League football. Current Harvard
head coach Tim Murphy has been at
the school for 22 years and boasts an
In 1939, Big Ten founding member, the University of Chicago, produced
the first-ever Heisman Trophy winner, Jay Berwanger. (Photo Courtesy of
University of Chicago Library)
Coach & Player Magazine • Spring 2017
27