Michigan was in a conference prior to the B1G in 1892..
I realize that is kind of obscure, but quite an interesting thing I found today from a historical standpoint solely for the fact that it's never been mentioned in ANY Michigan record books.
Michigan supposedly first joined a conference in 1896 according to university records, media guides going back to 1968 and Bentley Library's online exhibit on the program.
That's not the case.
Apparently, Michigan joined a conference that later led to the creation of the B1G. It was called the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest (IAANW).
It was a 4-team conference with members Michigan, Northwestern, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The league dissolved after the 1893 season due to low revenues received by visiting teams being the primary cause per a 1928 Minnesota record book. Strangely, all the sources in the wikipedia article are all from the U of Minnesota.
I did find one record on the conference in from a DeepBlue Bentley Docx search-
A desire to regularize competition with other Midwestern universities led the Athletic Association to join Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Northwestern in forming the Northwestern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1893. The league sponsored competition in baseball and track but folded after one year.
What's interesting is that according to the U-M record, the league was called the NIAA.
Michigan went 1-2-0 in both seasons in this new-old conference, finishing 3rd in both seasons. These same 4 schools would meet up with Illinois, Chicago and Purdue three years after the league folded to form what is today known as the B1G.
Minnesota won both conference championships in 1892 and 1893 and it seems like they don't even realize it. They don't list those years at TCF Bank Stadium under their conference championship banner.
This is kind of a big deal because this would give Michigan a 493-204-18 all-time conference record with a .702 win percentage as opposed to what it was thought to be at 491-200-18 (.705).
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:08 PM ^
Welp, time to update the ol' super guide then.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:08 PM ^
Yea, but there was no Taysom Hill, so that league totally sucked.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:14 PM ^
I thought he was 139 years old?
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:17 PM ^
He was actually injured for the 1892 season, came back in 1893 after the league dissolved.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:30 PM ^
He was injured, then on a mission from 1893-2012. Missions were longer back then, since it was mostly walking or horseback.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:31 PM ^
He got hurt again and had to sit out until 1894.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:43 PM ^
We are all just living in it. Seriously. Taysom Hill was a good Mormon on another world and when he died God gave him his own planet to lord over, as the Mormon deity is wont to do for faithful Mormon men when their life on their Earth is over.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:08 PM ^
Probably due to predicted marketability of telegraphic licensing rights.
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December 22nd, 2015 at 5:37 PM ^
If by Big Ten you mean the Western Conference, or the always catchy Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives. Because it just rolls off the tongue.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:09 PM ^
Warning -- NSFW (language):
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:10 PM ^
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:12 PM ^
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^
Minnesota can't claim those championships because Alabama already did
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:05 PM ^
Can anyone tell me what this is originally from? Is that Tom Delonge?
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:20 PM ^
Pretty sure that's from a Blink 182 video. Sorry, I can't remember which one.
December 22nd, 2015 at 7:04 PM ^
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^
So legitimate question - what led you to be researching this? And how the hell did you find it in the first place?
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:29 PM ^
SuperGuide maintenance. Found it while looking for an attendance figure on the 1882 team.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:34 PM ^
a way to monetize this whole project of yours. You've probably spent 1000's of hours working on it. I'm sure there has to be a way to turn that into some cash. Which you can then convert into women.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:37 PM ^
December 22nd, 2015 at 6:28 PM ^
Researchin' ain't easy but it's necessary.
Now I'm chasin' obscure 19th Century UM football facts like Tom's chasin' Jerry.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:57 PM ^
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:11 PM ^
or Benjamin Franklin, I'm not sure. Maybe Yogi Berra. Or Moses.
December 22nd, 2015 at 5:12 PM ^
It was Homer Simpson:
December 22nd, 2015 at 5:15 PM ^
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:03 PM ^
And then he can have them help with further research?
December 22nd, 2015 at 5:33 PM ^
December 23rd, 2015 at 6:09 AM ^
Buckeye fans and alumni might be able to explain the details.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:35 PM ^
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^
That's interesting. JUB doesn't mention the IAANW at all in his History of College Athletics course. He teaches the usual narrative - that Michigan joined the Western Conference (B1G) as a founding member in 1896, creating the first academically-focused athletic conference.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:32 PM ^
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:35 PM ^
I know we have one very famous namesake of the time (Northwestern University) and a prominent mention in "The Victors", but I really have a tough time conceptualizing Michigan or Illinois as western. Both geographically and culturally it's just so odd coming from a 21st century perspective.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:50 PM ^
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December 22nd, 2015 at 4:00 PM ^
Understanding is not the same thing as conceptualizing, but thanks for the advice.
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:38 PM ^
well, I mean, it isn't that difficult to conceptualize. Look at the NFL, for example, and how stilted it is toward the northeast, to the point where Missouri qualifies as Western in spite of all other MO based teams playing in midwestern centric divisions. That's indicative of how the population was disbursed as recently as the 1970s.
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^
well, I mean, it isn't that difficult to conceptualize. Look at the NFL, for example, and how stilted it is toward the northeast, to the point where Missouri qualifies as Western in spite of all other MO based teams playing in midwestern centric divisions. That's indicative of how the population was disbursed as recently as the 1970s.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:39 PM ^
You are talking about adjusting the football team's conference record based on this, but doesn't the Bentley article itself say that it sponsored competition in baseball and track?
"Football" is a glaring omission in the list above, so perhaps it is appropriate to adjust Michigan baseball's conference record, but not its football conference record?
I realize the wikipedia article lists football in addition to baseball and track, but is there a primary source (such as a newspaper article) that confirms that teams were competing for a conference championship in football?
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:00 PM ^
I'm not doing anything until I find something more concrete because this changes so much stuff.
I'm glad I did find the Bentley note, but even the name of this damn thing isn't clear. Is it the IAANW (Wiki) or the NIAA (Bentley)?
I'm trying to get into the sources that are listed in the wikipedia article that are Minnesota publications. I sent this over to Greg Dooley to see if he knows anything of it.
edit: I just found one of the sources. Gopher's Illustrated: A history of Minnesota football by Al Papas.
The interesting thing here is that there is no mention of Wisconsin. WTF?!
Minnesota, Michigan and Northwestern formed the "Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest in 1892. It covered football, baseball and track. The association disbanded after its second season with Minnesota winning the only two football championships.
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:09 PM ^
Even the oldest sources in the Wiki article are from 35 years after the conference folded, and the source you link above is from almost 100 years after the conference folded. I would still encourage you to look at newspaper articles from 1892 & 1893 about the football games among the 4 teams in the conference.
Do any of them mention that they are conference games? When Minnesota wraps up the title, do the Minneapolis papers mention the fact? If not, you can start to assume that the teams were not competing for a football title.
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:11 PM ^
I just found this from a 1948 edition of The Michigan Alumnus so this isn't just a Minnesota thing. I will get looking for the newspaper archives shortly.
On April 16, 1892, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest was organized in Chicago by the Universites of Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin. This was the forerunner of the present Western Conference.
The suggestion for its organization came from Michigan, and the University's student delegate was elected as first President of the new group. So says the "Old Scrap Book," which further reports: "The formation of this league is the most important step that has been taken in western intercollegiate athletics for many years. There is no association of its kind in existence in the country."
Its jurisdiction covered football, baseball, track and tennis at first, but all but football were dropped in later years.
It looks we now have a consensus on the name: IAANW.
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:28 PM ^
November 12, 1893 account of Minnesota-Wisconsin by the Chicago Tribune.
Minnesota University has again (won) the championship of the Northwestern League, gaining it this afternoon by defeating Wisconsin University to the tune of 40 to 0.
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:56 PM ^
I think we can move that into the "Confirmed" column. And now we know it was called the "Northwestern League" in the press, which is a lot better than whatever its official name was.
Fun fact: in the box score that you linked, the referee of that Minnesota-Wisconsin game (W. C. Winter) was also Minnesota's head coach.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:41 PM ^
Wait, you say "both seasons" and that it started in 1892, but the blockquote says it was founded in 1893 and competed for one year. Which is it?
Also, do we actually know if football was part of this conference? The quote specifically mentions only baseball and track.
December 22nd, 2015 at 3:40 PM ^
