# 1956 Ivy League football season

The 1956 Ivy League football season was the first season of college football play for the Ivy League and was part of the 1956 college football season. The season began on September 29, 1956, and ended on November 24, 1956. Ivy League teams were 4–7–1 against non-conference opponents and Yale won the conference championship.

## Season overview

| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG |
| 1 | Yale | Jordan Olivar | NR | NR | 8–1 | 7–0 | 27.3 | 10.8 |
| 2 | Princeton | Charlie Caldwell | NR | #20 | 7–2 | 5–2 | 26.3 | 15.0 |
| 3 (tie) | Dartmouth | Bob Blackman | NR | NR | 5–4 | 4–3 | 13.6 | 9.9 |
| 3 (tie) | Penn | Steve Sebo | NR | NR | 4–5 | 4–3 | 10.7 | 24.0 |
| 5 | Brown | Alva Kelley | NR | NR | 5–4 | 3–4 | 13.8 | 10.4 |
| 6 (tie) | Columbia | Lou Little | NR | NR | 3–6 | 2–5 | 10.4 | 26.3 |
| 6 (tie) | Harvard | Lloyd Jordan | NR | NR | 2–6 | 2–5 | 19.1 | 24.9 |
| 8 | Cornell | George K. James | NR | NR | 1–8 | 1–6 | 11.1 | 23.2 |

## Schedule

* Index to colors and formatting
* Ivy League member won
* Ivy League member lost
* Ivy League teams in bold

### Week 1

| Date | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| September 29 | Connecticut | Yale | Yale Bowl • New Haven, CT | W 19–14 |
| September 29 | Rutgers | Princeton | Palmer Stadium • Princeton, NJ | W 28–6 |
| September 29 | New Hampshire | Dartmouth | Memorial Field • Hanover, NH | W 13–0 |
| September 29 | Penn State | Penn | Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA | L 34–0 |
| September 29 | Brown | Columbia | Baker Field • New York City, NY | BROWN 20–0 |
| September 29 | Cornell | Colgate | Colgate University • Hamilton, NY | L 6–34 |
| Date | Bye Week |
| September 29 | Harvard |

### Week 2

| Date | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| October 6 | Brown | Yale | Yale Bowl • New Haven, CT | YALE 30–2 |
| October 6 | Columbia | Princeton | Palmer Stadium • Princeton, NJ | PRIN 39–0 |
| October 6 | Dartmouth | Penn | Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA | PENN 14–7 |
| October 6 | Tufts | Harvard | Harvard Stadium • Boston, MA | L 13–19 |
| October 6 | Navy | Cornell | Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY | L 14–0 |

### Week 3

| Date | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| October 13 | Yale | Columbia | Baker Field • New York City, NY | YALE 33–19 |
| October 13 | Princeton | Penn | Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA | PRIN 34–0 |
| October 13 | Dartmouth | Brown | Brown Stadium • Providence, RI | DART 14–7 |
| October 13 | Harvard | Cornell | Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY | HAR 32–7 |

### Week 4

| Date | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| October 20 | Cornell | Yale | Yale Bowl • New Haven, CT | YALE 25–7 |
| October 20 | Colgate | Princeton | Palmer Stadium • Princeton, NJ | W 28–20 |
| October 20 | Holy Cross | Dartmouth | Memorial Field • Hanover, NH | T 7–7 |
| October 20 | Brown | Penn | Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA | PENN 14–7 |
| October 20 | Harvard | Columbia | Baker Field • New York City, NY | COL 26–20 |

### Week 5

| Date | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| October 27 | Colgate | Yale | Yale Bowl • New Haven, CT | L 6–14 |
| October 27 | Princeton | Cornell | Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY | PRIN 31–21 |
| October 27 | Dartmouth | Harvard | Harvard Stadium • Boston, MA | HAR 28–21 |
| October 27 | Navy | Penn | Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA | L 54–6 |
| October 27 | Rhode Island | Brown | Brown Stadium • Providence, RI | BROWN 27–7 |
| October 27 | Army | Columbia | Baker Field • New York City, NY | L 0–60 |

### Week 6

| Date | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| November 3 | Dartmouth | Yale | Yale Bowl • New Haven, CT | YALE 19–0 |
| November 3 | Brown | Princeton | Palmer Stadium • Princeton, NJ | PRIN 21–7 |
| November 3 | Penn | Harvard | Harvard Stadium • Boston, MA | PENN 28–14 |
| November 3 | Cornell | Columbia | Baker Field • New York City, NY | COL 25–19 |

### Week 7

| Date | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| November 10 | Penn | Yale | Yale Bowl • New Haven, CT | YALE 40–7 |
| November 10 | Harvard | Princeton | Palmer Stadium • Princeton, NJ | PRIN 35–20 |
| November 10 | Columbia | Dartmouth | Memorial Field • Hanover, NH | DART 14–0 |
| November 10 | Cornell | Brown | Brown Stadium • Providence, RI | BROWN 13–6 |

### Week 8

| Date | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| November 17 | #20 Princeton | Yale | Yale Bowl • New Haven, CT | YALE 42–20 |
| November 17 | Dartmouth | Cornell | Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY | DART 27–14 |
| November 17 | Penn | Columbia | Baker Field • New York City, NY | PENN 20–6 |
| November 17 | Brown | Harvard | Harvard Stadium • Boston, MA | BROWN 21–12 |

### Week 9

| Date | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| November 22 | Penn | Cornell | Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA | COR 20–7 |
| November 22 | Colgate | Brown | Brown Stadium • Providence, RI | W 20–0 |
| November 24 | Yale | Harvard | Harvard Stadium • Boston, MA | YALE 42–14 |
| November 24 | Dartmouth | Princeton | Palmer Stadium • Princeton, NJ | DART 19–0 |
| November 24 | Columbia | Rutgers | Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | W 18–12 |

## 1957 NFL Draft

Four Ivy League players were drafted in the 1957 NFL draft, held in November 1956 and January 1957: Al Ward, Paul Lopata, Dennis McGill, and Mike Bowman.
| Rnd. | Pick No. | NFL team | Player | Pos. | College | Conf. | Notes |
| 8 | 91 | Chicago Bears | Al Ward | B | Yale | Ivy | from Pittsburgh |
| 8 | 93 | Washington Redskins | Paul Lopata | E | Yale | Ivy | |
| 24 | 278 | Philadelphia Eagles | Dennis McGill | B | Yale | Ivy | |
| 29 | 349 | New York Giants | Mike Bowman | OG | Princeton | Ivy | |