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1879 college football season

Last updated: 2025-07-29 21:55:56

1879 college football season

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.

The US Naval Academy also had its first game; the team did not have a coach until 1890.[2]

Conference and program changes

TeamFormer conferenceNew conference
Michigan WolverinesProgram establishedIndependent
Massachusetts AggiesProgram establishedIndependent
Haverford FordsProgram establishedIndependent
Navy MidshipmenProgram establishedIndependent
Pennsylvania MilitaryProgram establishedIndependent
Racine CollegeProgram establishedIndependent
TorontoProgram establishedIndependent

Conference standings

Depiction of the Princeton v Yale game by Arthur B. Frost
1879 college football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Princeton   –  4 –0 –1
Yale   –  3 –0 –2
Massachusetts   –  1 –0 –0
Michigan   –  1 –0 –1
Haverford   –  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   –  1 –2 –5
Rutgers   –  1 –2 –3
Pennsylvania Military   –  0 –1 –1
NYU   –  0 –2 –1
Racine   –  0 –1 –0
Swarthmore   –  0 –1 –0
Columbia   –  0 –3 –2

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. ↑ Navy Football History Database


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