From: wlmg3055@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (William L. Myers)
Subject: Big 10 History (was Mich. Theme Song)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 23:45:23 GMT


The terms "Champions of the West" in the Michigan
Fight Song ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  refer to an old nick-
name for the Big 10 Conference, when it was the Big 9.
In the early 1900 to 1920's it was sometimes called 
The Western Conference. 


Beginings-  
	As college sports became more popular in the late 
	1890's, professionalism and gambling began to alarm 
	college administrators.

	So Purdue President James H. Smart invited his fellow
	pres. from IL, MN, MI, Northwestern, WI and the U. of
	Chicago to meet and discuss these issues.  They met 
	at the Palmer House hotel in Chicago in Jan. 1985.

	These schools formed the Intercollegiate Conference of
	Faculty Representatives.  They issued rules and began  
	to exert faculty control.  By 1899, IA and IN wanted
	in and the conference was refered to by the press 
	as The Big 9 (saves space, eh?).  

	OSU joined the conference in 1912.  Geographically it 
	made sense and even then they wanted to play Michigan,  
	their biggest rival.  And the conference had just 
	passed a 'non-intercourse' rule which prevented conference 
	teams from playing non-conference schools.  Michigan
	had briefly left the conference, but the threat of such
	a frigid response from other schools brought them
	back, and OSU along with them.  

	University of Chicago later dropped football to concentrate
	on academics, they were eventually replaced by Michigan State. 

"Champions"
	In 1901 Michigan hired Fielding H. (Hurry-up) Yost as
	football coach.  In the next 5 seasons they won 2 titles
	outright, and shared 2.  In 1905 they were upset 2-0
	by Amos A. Stagg's Chicago Maroons, in Stagg's greatest game.
	The Mich. teams had outscored opponents 2,821 to 42 over that 
	5 year span.


Western Conference -
	This name may have developed because the Big 9 took over a
	poorly run track meet called the 'Western Intercollegiate
	Athletic Association' in 1901, but this is speculation
	on my part.  There was also a similiar group which sponsored
	a wrestling meet.  Both meets were open competitions,
	frequently attended by Notre Dame, Stanford, California,
	Kansas, Nebraska, Drake (prior to their relays), Beloit, &
	Marquette.   

Basketball-
 	The first basketball game between members was played in Iowa 
	City between Iowa and University of Chicago.  Naturally the
	team from Illinois won, 13-12. (:) 
	     Chicago's Stagg and Iowa's H.F. Kallenburg arrainged 
	the match.  Both had been grad students at Springfield College,
	where Dr. Naismith taught and invented the game.
		But it took the conference until 1906 to take 
	basketball seriously enough to award a conference champion,
	when the first one was captured by Minnesota. 

Miscellaneous- 
	In the early days Northwestern was known as 'The Fighting 
	Methodists' or simply 'The Purple'.  
	
	It is rumored that current conference rules allow Michigan to 
	play their obnoxious fight song up to 1,000 times a game.
	Now that Dorky Dukies are singing it too, perhaps they can
	cut back a little... (:)   

Source
	The Big Ten, K.T. Wilson Jerry Brandfield, Prentiss-Hall, 1967.  

	
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