1897 college football season

The 1897 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Pennsylvania and Yale as having been selected national champions.

1897 college football season
1897 North Carolina team
Champion(s)	Pennsylvania Yale
football seasons

Conference and program changes

Conference establishments

• One conference played its final season in 1897:
  • Western Interstate University Football Association – active since 1892

Membership changes

School	1896 Conference	1897 Conference
Arizona Normal Football	Program Established	Independent
Central Colonels	Independent	SIAA
Gallaudet Bison	Independent	MIFA

Conference standings

Major conference standings

1897 Colorado Football Association standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Colorado $ 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Colorado Mines 1 – 1 – 0 2 – 2 – 0 Colorado College 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1897 Maryland Intercollegiate Football Association standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Gallaudet $ 3 – 0 – 1 4 – 1 – 1 Maryland 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Vanderbilt $ 3 – 0 – 0 6 – 0 – 1 Georgia 2 – 0 – 0 2 – 1 – 0 Auburn 2 – 0 – 1 2 – 0 – 1 Tennessee 1 – 0 – 0 4 – 1 – 0 Central (KY) 1 – 1 – 0 1 – 2 – 0 Nashville 1 – 1 – 0 1 – 1 – 0 Alabama 0 – 0 – 0 1 – 0 – 0 Texas 0 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 LSU 0 – 0 – 0 1 – 1 – 0 Sewanee 1 – 2 – 1 1 – 3 – 1 Clemson 0 – 1 – 0 2 – 2 – 0 Mercer 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 2 – 1 Cumberland (TN) 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 1 – 0 Kentucky State College 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 SW Presbyterian 0 – 0 – 0 0 – 0 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1897 Triangular Football League standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Dartmouth $ 2 – 0 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Amherst 0 – 1 – 1 2 – 6 – 2 Williams 0 – 1 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1897 Western Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wisconsin $ 3 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Chicago 3 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0 Michigan 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 1 Illinois 1 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Purdue 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Northwestern 0 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Minnesota 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1897 Western Interstate University Football Association standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Nebraska $ 3 – 0 – 0 5 – 1 – 0 Kansas 2 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Iowa 0 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Missouri 0 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion

Independents

1897 Eastern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Penn   –   15 – 0 – 0 Princeton   –   10 – 1 – 0 Washington & Jefferson   –   10 – 1 – 0 Yale   –   9 – 0 – 2 Buffalo   –   9 – 1 – 0 Harvard   –   10 – 1 – 1 Army   –   6 – 1 – 1 Vermont   –   3 – 0 – 2 Lafayette   –   9 – 2 – 1 Drexel   –   6 – 2 – 1 Colgate   –   5 – 2 – 1 Dickinson   –   7 – 3 – 2 Swarthmore   –   7 – 3 – 2 Fordham   –   2 – 1 – 1 Cornell   –   5 – 3 – 1 Syracuse   –   5 – 3 – 1 Brown   –   7 – 4 – 0 Carlisle   –   6 – 4 – 0 Boston College   –   4 – 3 – 0 Holy Cross   –   4 – 3 – 1 Bucknell   –   3 – 3 – 1 NYU   –   3 – 3 – 0 Temple   –   3 – 3 – 0 Trinity (CT)   –   4 – 4 – 1 Wesleyan   –   6 – 6 – 0 Tufts   –   6 – 7 – 0 Geneva   –   3 – 4 – 1 Pittsburgh College   –   3 – 5 – 2 Villanova   –   3 – 5 – 1 Penn State   –   3 – 6 – 0 Amherst   –   2 – 6 – 2 Frankin & Marshall   –   2 – 6 – 2 Lehigh   –   3 – 7 – 0 New Hampshire   –   2 – 5 – 0 Rutgers   –   2 – 5 – 0 Western Univ. Penn.   –   1 – 3 – 0	1897 Midwestern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Butler   –   3 – 0 – 0 Fairmount   –   1 – 0 – 0 Washburn   –   7 – 1 – 0 Cincinnati   –   9 – 1 – 1 Iowa State Normal   –   5 – 1 – 0 Ohio Wesleyan   –   7 – 1 – 1 Indiana   –   6 – 1 – 1 Ohio   –   7 – 2 – 0 Carthage   –   3 – 1 – 0 Iowa Agricultural   –   3 – 1 – 0 Notre Dame   –   4 – 1 – 1 Michigan Agricultural   –   4 – 2 – 1 Central Michigan   –   2 – 1 – 0 Baldwin–Wallace   –   2 – 1 – 1 Chicago Dental Infirmary   –   2 – 2 – 1 Missouri   –   5 – 6 – 0 Lake Forest   –   4 – 5 – 1 Drake   –   2 – 3 – 0 Heidelberg   –   2 – 3 – 0 Detroit College   –   1 – 2 – 0 Indiana Normal   –   1 – 4 – 0 Kansas State   –   1 – 2 – 1 Mount Union   –   2 – 4 – 1 Rush Medical College   –   1 – 4 – 1 DePauw   –   2 – 6 – 0 Wittenberg   –   2 – 6 – 0 Haskell   –   1 – 4 – 0 Indiana State Normal   –   1 – 4 – 0 Ohio State   –   1 – 7 – 1 South Dakota Agricultural   –   0 – 1 – 0 Washington University   –   0 – 2 – 0 North Dakota Agricultural   –   0 – 3 – 0	1897 Southern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Oklahoma   –   2 – 0 – 0 Arkansas   –   2 – 0 – 1 Navy   –   8 – 1 – 0 Virginia   –   6 – 2 – 1 Add-Ran   –   3 – 1 – 0 Washington and Lee   –   3 – 1 – 0 VPI   –   5 – 2 – 0 North Carolina   –   7 – 3 – 0 VMI   –   3 – 2 – 0 Guilford   –   2 – 1 – 0 West Virginia   –   5 – 4 – 1 Davidson   –   1 – 1 – 0 Georgia Tech   –   1 – 1 – 0 Columbian   –   4 – 5 – 1 Richmond   –   3 – 5 – 0 North Carolina A&M   –   1 – 2 – 0 Texas A&M   –   1 – 2 – 0 Delaware   –   1 – 5 – 1 William & Mary   –   0 – 1 – 0 Marshall   –   0 – 3 – 0 South Carolina   –   0 – 3 – 0
1897 Far West college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Oregon Agricultural   –   5 – 0 – 0 Washington Agricultural   –   2 – 0 – 0 Wyoming   –   2 – 0 – 0 USC   –   5 – 1 – 0 Stanford   –   4 – 1 – 0 New Mexico A&M   –   1 – 0 – 1 Oregon   –   1 – 1 – 0 Montana   –   1 – 2 – 3 Washington   –   1 – 2 – 0 Montana Agricultural   –   1 – 3 – 0 California   –   0 – 3 – 2 Utah   –   1 – 5 – 0 Arizona Normal   –   0 – 1 – 0 Nevada State   –   0 – 1 – 0

Minor conferences

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Kalamazoo	5–0

Rankings

Main article: 1897 college football rankings

See also

• 1897 College Football All-America Team