# 1946 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football season

The 1946 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football season was the season of college football played by the seven member schools of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) as part of the 1946 college football season.
The Bethany Swedes compiled a 6–2 record and won the KCAC championship.
The Ottawa Braves finished in second place and led the conference in both scoring offense (25.9 points per game) and scoring defense (3.7 points per game).
None of the KCAC teams was ranked in the Associated Press poll or played in a bowl game.

## Conference overview

| Conf. rank | Team | Head coach | Conf. record | Overall record | Points scored | Points against |
| 1 | Bethany (KS) | Ray D. Hahn | 5–1 | 6–2 | 130 | 131 |
| 2 (tie) | Ottawa | Wally A. Forsberg | 4–1–1 | 7–1–1 | 233 | 33 |
| 2 (tie) | Baker | Karl Spear | 4–1–1 | 5–3–1 | 154 | 71 |
| 4 | McPherson | Thomas C. Hayden | 3–2–1 | 4–3–1 | 107 | 114 |
| 5 | Kansas Wesleyan | Virgil Baer | 2–3–1 | 3–4–2 | 54 | 72 |
| 6 | Bethel (KS) | Bob Tully | 1–5 | 2–6 | 51 | 113 |
| 7 | College of Emporia | Walt Newland | 0–6 | 1–8 | 38 | 195 |

## Teams
### Bethany

The 1946 Bethany Swedes football team was an American football team that represented Bethany College as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1946 college football season. In their sixth, non-consecutive season under head coach Ray D. Hahn, the team compiled a 6–2 record (5–1 against KCAC opponents) and won the KCAC championship.
The team played its home games at Bethany Field in Lindsborg, Kansas.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
| September 20 | at Midland* | Fremont, NE | W 13–4 |
| October 3 | Kansas Wesleyan | Bethany FieldLindsborg, KS | W 14–13 |
| October 11 | at Baker | Baldwin City, KS | L 0–26 |
| October 18 | Bethel (KS) | Bethany FieldLindsborg, KS | W 31–0 |
| October 26 | at College of Emporia | Emporia, KS | W 25–0 |
| November 1 | Ottawa | Bethany FieldLindsborg, KS | W 20–14 |
| November 8 | at McPherson | McPherson, KS | W 20–13 |
| November 23 | at Oklahoma City* | Taft StadiumOklahoma City, OK | L 6–61 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecoming |||||

### Ottawa

The 1946 Ottawa Braves football team was an American football team that represented Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas, as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1946 college football season. Led by head coach first-year Wally A. Forsberg, the team compiled a 7–1–1 record (4–1–1 against KCAC opponents), tied for second place in the KCAC, shut out seven of nine opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 233 to 33.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
| September 21 | at Haskell* | Lawrence, KS | W 45–0 |
| September 27 | Bethel (KS) | Ottawa, KS | W 33–0 |
| October 4 | at William Jewell* | Liberty, MO | W 27–0 |
| October 11 | Kansas Wesleyan | Salina, KS | T 0–0 |
| October 18 | at Tarkio* | Tarkio,MO | W 37–0 |
| October 25 | McPherson | Ottawa, KS | W 37–0 |
| November 1 | at Bethany (KS) | Bethany FieldLindsborg, KS | L 14–20 |
| November 15 | at College of Emporia | Emporia, KS | W 20–0 |
| November 22 | Baker | Ottawa, KS | W 20–13 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecoming |||||

### Baker

The 1946 Baker Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1946 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Karl Spear, the team compiled a 5–3–1 record (4–1–1 against KCAC opponents), tied for second place in the KCAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 154 to 71.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
| September 27 | Southwestern (KS) | Baldwin City, KS | L 0–25 |
| October 4 | at McPherson | McPherson, KS | T 12–12 |
| October 11 | Bethany (KS) | Baldwin City, KS | W 26–0 |
| October 18 | College of Emporia | Baldwin City, KS | W 32–0 |
| October 25 | at Bethel (KS) | Newton, KS | W 13–7 |
| | William Jewell | | L 6–7 |
| November 8 | Haskell | Baldwin City, KS | W 49–0 |
| November 16 | Kansas Wesleyan | Baldwin City, KS | W 3–0 |
| November 22 | at Ottawa | Ottawa, KS | L 13–20 |

### McPherson

The 1946 McPherson Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas, as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1946 college football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Thomas C. Hayden, the team compiled a 4–3–1 record (3–2–1 against KCAC opponents), finished in fourth place in the KCAC, and was outscored by a total of 114 to 107.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
| | Sterling* | | W 13–7 |
| October 4 | Baker | McPherson, KS | T 12–12 |
| October 11 | at College of Emporia | Schaffner FieldEmporia, KS | W 28–0 |
| October 18 | Kansas Wesleyan | McPherson, KS | W 28–0 |
| October 25 | at Ottawa | Ottawa, KS | L 0–37 |
| November 2 | Bethel | | W 7–6 |
| November 8 | Bethany | McPherson, KS | L 13–20 |
| November 15 | at Missouri Valley* | Marshall, MO | L 6–32 |
| *Non-conference game |||||

### Kansas Wesleyan

The 1946 Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes football team was an American football team that represented Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kansas, as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1946 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Virgil Baer, the team compiled a 3–4–2 record (2–3–1 against KCAC opponents), finished in fifth place in the KCAC, and was outscored by a total of 72 to 54.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
| September 21 | at Fort Hays State | Lewis StadiumHays, KS | L 0–14 |
| September 27 | Morningside | Salina, KS | W 9–7 |
| October 3 | Bethany | Bethany FieldLindsborg, KS | L 13–14 |
| October 11 | Ottawa | Martin StadiumSalina, KS | T 0–0 |
| October 18 | at McPherson | McPherson StadiumMcPherson, KS | L 0–28 |
| October 26 | Hamline | | T 0–0 |
| November 2 | College of Emporia | Salina, KS | W 26–6 |
| November 16 | at Baker | Baldwin City, KS | L 0–3 |
| November 22 | Bethel | | W 6–0 |
| Homecoming |||||

### Bethel

The 1946 Bethel Graymaroons football team was an American football team that represented Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1946 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Bob Tully, the team compiled a 2–6 record (1–5 against KCAC opponents), finished in sixth place in the KCAC, and was outscored by a total of 113 to 51.
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| | Ottawa | L 0–33 |
| | NW Oklahoma Teachers* | L 6–14 |
| | Bethany | L 0–31 |
| | Baker | L 7–13 |
| | McPherson | L 6–7 |
| | College of Emporia | W 20–0 |
| | Sterling* | W 12–9 |
| | Kansas Wesleyan | L 0–6 |
| *Non-conference game |||||

### College of Emporia

The 1946 College of Emporia Fighting Presbies football team was an American football team that represented the College of Emporia in Emporia, Kansas, as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1946 college football season. Led by head coach Walt Newland, the team compiled a 1–8 record (0–6 against KCAC opponents), finished in last place in the KCAC, and was outscored by a total of 195 to 38.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result |
| September 27 | 8:00 p.m. | Haskell* | Schaffner FieldEmporia, KS | W 26–7 |
| October 5 | | at St. Benedict's* | Atchison, KS | L 0–18 |
| October 12 | | McPherson | Emporia, KS | L 0–28 |
| October 18 | | at Baker | Baldwin City, KS | L 0–32 |
| October 26 | | Bethany (KS) | Emporia, KS | L 0–25 |
| November 2 | | at Kansas Wesleyan | Salina, KS | L 6–26 |
| November 8 | | Bethel (KS) | Emporia, KS | L 0–20 |
| November 15 | | Ottawa (KS) | Emporia, KS | L 0–20 |
| November 23 | | Southwestern (KS)* | Emporia, KS | L 6–19 |
| *Non-conference gameAll times are in Central time ||||||

## All-conference team

At the end of the season, the Associated Press (AP) selected a 1946 Kansas Conference all-star team. Ottawa, which finished second in the conference standings, placed four players on the first team. Conference champion Bethany placed three on the first team. The first-team picks by position were:
* Backs: Bill Olson, Bethany; Roy Carlson, Bethany; John Wassmer, Ottawa; Howard Knight, Baker
* Ends: Jim Irick, Baker; James Cahoon, Bethany
* Tackles: Warren Smith, Kansas Wesleyan; Buck Reinicker, McPherson
* Guards: Harry Trigg, Ottawa; Tom Trigg, Ottawa
* Center: Bill Erickson, Ottawa