1915 college football season

1915 NCAA football season
Eddie Mahan runs against Princeton.
Total # of teams	86[1]
Number of bowls	1
Champions	Cornell Big Red Pittsburgh Panthers
College football seasons « 1914 1916 »

The 1915 NCAA football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Cornell, Oklahoma, and Pittsburgh as having been selected national champions.^[2] Only Cornell and Pittsburgh claim national championships for the 1915 season.

Conference and program changes

Conference establishments

• The Southwest Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, later known as the Southwest Conference, began its first season of play in 1915. The league had eight founding members in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
• The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, now a Division III conference, began football play in 1915.

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
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
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 would defeat Brown 14-0. The game has been played annually ever since.

Conference standings

The following is a potentially incomplete list of conference standings:

1915 Big 9 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	1915 college football independents records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Washington   –       7 – 0 – 0 Washington State   –       7 – 0 – 0 Oregon   –       7 – 2 – 0 California   –       8 – 5 – 0 Oregon Agricultural   –       5 – 3 – 0 Montana   –       2 – 2 – 2 USC   –       3 – 4 – 0	1915 Missouri Valley 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 (MO) 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 RMFAC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Utah 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 2 – 0 Colorado 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1915 SAIAA 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 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 Maryland 0 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1915 SIAA football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Vanderbilt $ 4 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 Alabama 5 – 0 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 LSU 4 – 0 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Transylvania 1 – 0 – 1     1 – 0 – 1 Chattanooga 1 – 0 – 2     1 – 0 – 2 Georgia 3 – 1 – 2     5 – 2 – 2 Auburn 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Mississippi A&M 4 – 2 – 1     5 – 2 – 1 Kentucky 2 – 1 – 1     6 – 1 – 1 Florida 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 3 – 0 Tulane 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Clemson 2 – 2 – 0     2 – 4 – 2 Furman 1 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Mercer 1 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Mississippi College 2 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 Sewanee 1 – 2 – 2     4 – 3 – 2 Tennessee 1 – 4 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Centre 0 – 2 – 1     3 – 5 – 1 Louisville 0 – 3 – 1     1 – 5 – 1 The Citadel 0 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Wofford 0 – 1 – 0     0 – 1 – 0 Howard 0 – 2 – 0     0 – 2 – 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 Arkansas 1 – 1 – 0     4 – 2 – 1 Texas 2 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Texas A&M 1 – 1 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Rice 1 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Oklahoma A&M 0 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 1 Southwestern (TX) 0 – 2 – 0     4 – 3 – 0 + – Conference co-champions

Minor conferences

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association	Hampton Institute	3–0–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Albion Alma	4–0–1
Ohio Athletic Conference	Western Reserve	6–1–0

Awards and honors

All-Americans

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. http://www.jhowell.net/cf/cf1915.htm
2. Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, IN: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2009. p. 70. Retrieved 2009-10-16.