Monmouth College Athletics

Introduction

Among the multitude of social changes, the 20th century witnessed the origin, development and evolution of athletics into an integral part of the educational experience at colleges and universities across America, and Monmouth was no exception. Despite tremendous changes in rules, equipment and recruiting since 1868, intercollegiate sports, especially at the small college level, remain a vital opportunity for competition and success for student-athletes.

The current document attempts to summarize the history of varsity intercollegiate athletics at Monmouth College, from their origins in the 1860s and the formation of the Midwest Conference through limited activity in wartime years to the present “modern era” of Fighting Scot sport teams. The increase in team sports, the advent of women’s competition, the construction of athletic facilities and some of the more noted coaches and athletes in Monmouth history are also mentioned, along with college traditions such as the M-Club, the Fighting Scots nickname and the Athletic Hall of Fame.

Since 1868, many talented men and women have worn the red and white uniforms of Monmouth and all have contributed to a legacy of tradition and success for future classes of students.

The Origin of Organized Sports

Athletics have long been a means for recreation and interaction for the students of the college. However, like most other colleges in their infancy, there was little interest or money for sports in the early years at Monmouth. Time was spent on academic studies and training, in particular for the ministry and education. Nearing the turn of the century there became a more urgent desire for some sort of organized form of sport activity among the students.

The intercollegiate athletic program at Monmouth traces its origins to the late 1860s, a time when there was no regular competition between schools and interclass contests were common on campus. The 1894 yearbook Ravelings noted the importance of athletics to the life of the college when it wrote “the necessity of physical activity for the ... development of all parts of the human economy so essential to robust, vigorous health is no longer doubted. The system of athletics has its objections but ... these are more than overbalanced by the advantages it offers.”

The first football game was played in 1888 against Knox College which generated a gridiron rivalry that continues to this day as the sixth longest-running rivalry in the nation in all college divisions and the third longest in Division III. Due to its larger participation numbers and popularity, football quickly supplanted baseball and track as the main athletic activity and eventually caused the elimination of baseball as a fall season sport. The first recorded intercollegiate baseball games at Monmouth were in the fall of 1868 and track and field squads were first recognized in the 1898 edition of the Ravelings yearbook. The turn of the century saw the introduction of basketball, a sport the 1901 annual recognized as “fast becoming one of the most popular American games.” These four major sports – football, basketball, track and baseball – have remained the most popular through the years at Monmouth and soon the interest in joining a league with other schools became necessary to expand the opportunities for all of the newly-formed sport teams.