American Football Database
Advertisement

The 1879 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Princeton and Yale having been selected as national champions.[1]

Racine College and the University of Michigan played the first football game in the Midwest. The 1879 Michigan Wolverines football team beat Racine in a game played in Chicago.

Navy also had its first game; the team did not have a coach until 1890.[2]

Conference and program changes[]

School 1878 Conference 1879 Conference
Michigan Wolverines Program Established Independent

Conference standings[]

1879 college football records
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Princeton         4 0 1
Yale         3 0 2
Massachusetts         1 0 0
Michigan         1 0 1
Harvard         2 1 2
Penn         2 2 0
Amherst         1 1 0
Navy         0 0 1
McGill         0 0 1
Toronto         0 0 1
Stevens Tech         1 2 5
Rutgers         1 2 3
PA Military         0 1 1
Racine         0 1 0
Columbia         0 3 2
Swarthmore         0 0 0
*† Result of Swarthmore's lone game is unknown

References[]


Template:Collegefootball-1870s-season-stub

1879 Michigan football team

Official photograph of 1879 University of Michigan football team Back row: Jack A. Green, William W. Hannan, David DeTar, Charles A. Mitchell, Frank Reed, Albert S. Pettit

Advertisement