1915 college football season

1915 college football season
Eddie Mahan runs against Princeton
Number of bowls1
Champion(s)Cornell
Pittsburgh
← 1914 · football seasons · 1916 →

The 1915 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Cornell, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Pittsburgh as having been selected national champions in later years.[1] Only Cornell (named by four major selectors) and Pittsburgh (named by one) claim national championships for the 1915 season.

Conference and program changes

Conference establishments

Membership changes

School 1914 Conference 1915 Conference
Akron football Independent Ohio Athletic
Arkansas Razorbacks Independent Southwest
Baylor Bears Independent Southwest
California Golden Bears Program reinstated Independent
University Farm Cal Aggies Program Established Independent
Chattanooga Mocs Independent SIAA
Catholic Cardinals Independent SAIAA
Louisville Cardinals Independent SIAA
Oklahoma Sooners Independent Southwest
Oklahoma A&M Cowboys Independent Southwest
Rice Owls Independent Southwest
Southern Methodist Parsons Program Established TIAA
Southwestern (TX) Pirates Independent Southwest
Texas Longhorns Independent Southwest
Texas A&M Aggies Independent Southwest
Transylvania Pioneers Independent SIAA

Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl was played for the first time since its inception on January 1, 1902, following the 1901 season. Washington State defeated Brown, 14–0. The game has been played annually ever since.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

1915 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Nebraska $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0
Kansas 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Iowa State 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Washington University 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 2 – 0
Missouri 1 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 1
Drake 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Kansas State 0 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1915 Northwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Washington State ^ + 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0
Washington + 1 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0
Oregon 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Oregon Agricultural 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Idaho 0 – 3 – 1 1 – 4 – 1
Whitman 0 – 4 – 1 0 – 4 – 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – Selected as Rose Bowl representative
1915 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Colorado Agricultural $ 7 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0
Utah 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0
Colorado Mines 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 2 – 0
Colorado College 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Denver 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
Wyoming 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Colorado 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 0
Utah Agricultural 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1915 South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Virginia + 2 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Washington and Lee + 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 1
Georgetown + 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Catholic University 1 – 0 – 0 5 – 2 – 0
Johns Hopkins 1 – 0 – 0 1 – 0 – 0
Richmond 0 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 1
VPI 0 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
North Carolina A&M 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 3 – 1
North Carolina 0 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
1915 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Vanderbilt $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Alabama 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
LSU 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Transylvania 3 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1
Auburn 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Georgia 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 2
Chattanooga 3 – 1 – 2 5 – 2 – 2
Mississippi A&M 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1
Kentucky 2 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1
Florida 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
Clemson 2 – 2 – 1 2 – 4 – 2
South Carolina 1 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1
Furman 1 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Mercer 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Mississippi College 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 1
The Citadel 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Sewanee 1 – 2 – 2 4 – 3 – 2
Tennessee 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
Tulane 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
Central University 0 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Louisville 0 – 3 – 1 1 – 5 – 1
Howard (AL) 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 1
Wofford 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Ole Miss 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1915 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Oklahoma $ 3 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0
Baylor 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0
Texas 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Texas A&M 1 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Arkansas 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 2 – 1
Rice 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Oklahoma A&M 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Southwestern (TX) 0 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
  • Baylor forfeited claim to co-champion for using ineligible player.[2]
1915 Western Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Minnesota + 3 – 0 – 1 6 – 0 – 1
Illinois + 3 – 0 – 2 5 – 0 – 2
Chicago 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0
Ohio State 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 1 – 1
Purdue 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 3 – 1
Wisconsin 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
Iowa 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0
Indiana 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 3 – 1
Northwestern 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 5 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions

Independents

1915 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Cornell   –   9 – 0 – 0
Pittsburgh   –   8 – 0 – 0
Columbia   –   5 – 0 – 0
Harvard   –   8 – 1 – 0
Carnegie Tech   –   7 – 1 – 0
Rutgers   –   7 – 1 – 0
Villanova   –   6 – 1 – 0
Washington & Jefferson   –   8 – 1 – 1
Colgate   –   5 – 1 – 0
Syracuse   –   9 – 1 – 2
Dartmouth   –   7 – 1 – 1
Tufts   –   5 – 1 – 2
Penn State   –   7 – 2 – 0
Lafayette   –   8 – 3 – 0
Princeton   –   6 – 2 – 0
Franklin & Marshall   –   6 – 2 – 0
Temple   –   3 – 1 – 1
Geneva   –   6 – 3 – 0
Wesleyan   –   6 – 3 – 0
Allegheny   –   5 – 3 – 0
Swarthmore   –   5 – 3 – 0
Army   –   5 – 3 – 1
Lehigh   –   6 – 4 – 0
Holy Cross   –   3 – 2 – 2
Brown   –   5 – 4 – 1
Fordham   –   4 – 4 – 0
NYU   –   4 – 4 – 1
Middlebury   –   3 – 4 – 2
Muhlenberg   –   4 – 5 – 0
Yale   –   4 – 5 – 0
Boston College   –   3 – 4 – 0
Penn   –   3 – 5 – 2
WPI   –   3 – 5 – 1
Buffalo   –   3 – 5 – 0
Carlisle   –   3 – 6 – 2
Rhode Island State   –   3 – 5 – 0
New Hampshire   –   3 – 6 – 1
Gettysburg   –   3 – 6 – 0
Rochester   –   3 – 6 – 0
Bucknell   –   2 – 6 – 3
Vermont   –   1 – 4 – 2
Williams   –   1 – 7 – 0
1915 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Dubuque   –   7 – 0 – 0
Carleton   –   6 – 0 – 0
Wabash   –   7 – 0 – 1
Notre Dame   –   7 – 1 – 0
Grinnell   –   6 – 1 – 0
Michigan Agricultural   –   5 – 1 – 0
Western State Normal (MI)   –   5 – 1 – 0
South Dakota State   –   5 – 1 – 1
Heidelberg   –   5 – 2 – 1
Millikin   –   5 – 2 – 1
Nebraska Wesleyan   –   6 – 3 – 0
St. Mary's (OH)   –   3 – 2 – 0
Michigan State Normal   –   4 – 2 – 1
Doane   –   5 – 3 – 0
Marquette   –   4 – 2 – 2
South Dakota   –   4 – 2 – 2
Jamestown   –   3 – 2 – 1
Penn (IA)   –   4 – 3 – 0
Michigan   –   4 – 3 – 1
Saint Louis   –   4 – 3 – 1
Creighton   –   3 – 3 – 1
Haskell   –   3 – 3 – 0
Iowa State Teachers   –   3 – 3 – 0
North Dakota Agricultural   –   3 – 3 – 0
St. Thomas (MN)   –   2 – 2 – 1
Hanover   –   2 – 4 – 0
Lake Forest   –   2 – 4 – 0
Northern Illinois State   –   2 – 5 – 1
Lawrence   –   2 – 5 – 0
Earlham   –   2 – 6 – 0
Detroit   –   1 – 5 – 0
Butler   –   1 – 6 – 0
1915 Southern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Georgia Tech   –   7 – 0 – 1
Ouachita Baptist   –   7 – 1 – 0
Dallas   –   6 – 1 – 0
Spring Hill   –   6 – 1 – 0
North Texas State Normal   –   5 – 1 – 1
Sam Houston Normal   –   5 – 1 – 1
West Virginia   –   5 – 1 – 1
Jonesboro Aggies   –   4 – 1 – 1
Johns Hopkins   –   6 – 2 – 0
VMI   –   6 – 2 – 1
Southwestern Louisiana Industrial   –   5 – 2 – 1
Delaware   –   6 – 3 – 0
Maryland   –   6 – 3 – 0
Louisiana Normal College   –   4 – 2 – 0
Southwest Texas State   –   5 – 3 – 2
Davidson   –   4 – 3 – 1
Mississippi Normal   –   4 – 3 – 0
West Tennessee State Normal   –   4 – 3 – 0
Guilford   –   1 – 1 – 0
Middle Tennessee State Normal   –   3 – 3 – 1
Presbyterian   –   4 – 4 – 0
Henderson-Brown   –   3 – 4 – 1
TCU   –   4 – 5 – 0
Wake Forest   –   3 – 4 – 0
Navy   –   3 – 5 – 1
Western Kentucky State Normal   –   1 – 4 – 2
Louisville   –   1 – 5 – 1
Marshall   –   1 – 7 – 0
1915 Western college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Hawaii   –   5 – 1 – 1
New Mexico   –   3 – 1 – 0
New Mexico A&M   –   5 – 2 – 0
Montana A&M   –   4 – 2 – 1
Arizona   –   5 – 3 – 0
California   –   8 – 5 – 0
Tempe Normal   –   3 – 2 – 0
University Farm   –   3 – 2 – 0
Cheney Normal   –   1 – 1 – 0
Montana   –   2 – 2 – 2
Willamette   –   2 – 2 – 1
USC   –   3 – 4 – 0
Saint Mary's   –   3 – 7 – 0
Nevada   –   0 – 6 – 0

Minor conferences

Conference Champion(s) Record
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Hampton Institute 3–0
Inter-Normal Athletic Conference of Wisconsin River Falls Normal 5–0
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Baker (KS)
Kansas State Normal 		—
Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Association Transylvania —
Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association Louisiana Industrial 2–0–1
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Albion
Alma 		4–0–1
Ohio Athletic Conference Western Reserve 6–1
Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference Central State Teachers —
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Occidental 4–0
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Fisk —

Minor conference standings

1915 Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Hampton $ 3 – 0 – 0 4 – 0 – 0
Howard 1 – 1 – 0 2 – 1 – 0
Shaw 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 2 – 0
Virginia Union 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 2 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1915 Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Hampden–Sydney $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Richmond 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Randolph–Macon 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
William & Mary 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1915 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Southern Illinois   –   6 – 2 – 0
Carthage 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0
1915 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Baker + 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Kansas State Normal + 4 – 0 – 1 5 – 2 – 2
Cooper 6 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1
Friends 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Kansas Wesleyan 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Hays Normal 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
Southwestern (KS) 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Pittsburg Normal 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
College of Emporia 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Ottawa 2 – 4 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Washburn 1 – 2 – 1 2 – 5 – 1
Fairmount 2 – 5 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
St. Mary's (KS) 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Bethany (KS) 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 6 – 0
Kansas City University 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 4 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1915 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Albion + 4 – 0 – 1 5 – 1 – 1
Alma + 1 – 0 – 2 1 – 3 – 2
Olivet 2 – 1 – 2 3 – 3 – 2
Kalamazoo 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 2 – 0
Hillsdale 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 3 – 1
Adrian 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1915 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
William Jewell $ 5 – 0 – 1 5 – 1 – 1
Springfield Normal 2 – 0 – 0 4 – 2 – 0
Westminster (MO) 3 – 1 – 1 3 – 2 – 2
Missouri Wesleyan 2 – 1 – 1 ? – ? – ?
Tarkio 1 – 2 – 1 ? – ? – ?
Central (MO) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0
Kirksville Normal 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 5 – 0
Missouri Valley 0 – 2 – 0 ? – ? – ?
Drury 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1915 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Western Reserve $ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Miami (OH) 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Denison 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Ohio 2 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Wooster 3 – 1 – 2 3 – 3 – 2
Case 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Oberlin 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
Cincinnati 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Ohio Wesleyan 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Kenyon 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Akron 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 1
Wittenberg 0 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Mount Union 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Baldwin–Wallace 0 – 0 – 0 0 – 0 – 0
Ohio State * 3 – 0 – 0 5 – 1 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – did not complete for championship
1915 Wisconsin Normal Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
River Falls Normal $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 1
Whitewater Normal 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 2 – 1
La Crosse Normal 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0
Milwaukee Normal 2 – 1 – 0 3 – 3 – 1
Oshkosh Normal 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 0
Stevens Point Normal 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 2 – 0
Stout Normal 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 3 – 1
Superior Normal 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 3 – 0
Platteville Normal 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 6 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion

Awards and honors

All-Americans

Main article: 1915 College Football All-America Team

The consensus All-America team included:

Position Name Height Weight (lbs.) Class Hometown Team
QB Charley Barrett 6'0" 180 Sr. Cleveland, Ohio Cornell
HB Dick King 5'8" 175 Sr. Boston, Massachusetts Harvard
HB Bart Macomber 5'9" 183 Jr. Oak Park, Illinois Illinois
HB Buck Mayer 172 Sr. Norfolk, Virginia Virginia
HB Neno DaPrato 5'10" 185 Sr. Iron Mountain, Michigan Michigan Agricultural
FB Eddie Mahan 5'11" 171 Sr. Natick, Massachusetts Harvard
E Murray Shelton 6'1" 170 Sr. Dunkirk, New York Cornell
E Bert Baston 6'1" 170 Jr. St. Louis Park, Minnesota Minnesota
T Cub Buck Sr. Eau Claire, Wisconsin Wisconsin
G Clarence Spears Sr. De Witt, Arkansas Dartmouth
C Bob Peck 5'9" 179 So. Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh
G Harold White 6'6" 273 Sr. New York, New York Syracuse
T Joseph Gilman Jr. Honolulu, Hawaii Harvard
E Guy Chamberlin 6'2" 196 Sr. Blue Springs, Nebraska Nebraska
E Bob Higgins So. Corning, New York Penn State

Statistical leaders

  • Team scoring most points: Vanderbilt, 514 to 38.
  • Player scoring most points: Jerry DaPrato, Michigan Agricultural, 185
  • Player scoring most touchdowns: Jerry DaPrato, Michigan Agricultural, 34
  • Player scoring most goals after touchdown: F. Parke Geyer, Oklahoma, 56
  • Player scoring most field goals: William T. Van de Graaff, Alabama, 11
  • Longest punt: Fritz Shiverick, Cornell, 86 yards, inclusive of roll of ball
  • Longest run from kickoff: John Barrett, Washington & Lee, 101 yards
  • Longest punt return: James DeHart, Pittsburgh, 105 yards
  • Longest run from scrimmage: Dave Tayloe, North Carolina, and John R. Georgetown, 90 yards each

References

  1. ^ Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, IN: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2009. p. 70. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
  2. ^ http://www.thompsonian.info/swc-historical-standings.pdf
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