The Illinois College Championship
By A. G. Reid, Director Athletics, Monmouth College.
College basket ball in Illinois during the season of 1907-8 was by far the fastest that has ever been played among the colleges of Illinois. Almost every college was represented by a fast team and as the season advanced some very fast ball was brought out in the race for the survival of the fittest. The championship honors belong to the Monmouth College team, which met and defeated Knox College, Shurtleff College, Millikin University, Normal University, Illinois College and Bradley Institute, in every instance winning by large scores. Monmouth was defeated twice during the season, losing to Normal University and to Bradley Institute of Peoria, but she in turn defeated both these teams in the return games by larger scores than by which she was defeated. Neither Normal nor Bradley can put forth any serious claim to the first honors, as both these teams lost several of their games to teams of inferior standing, Normal losing to both Lincoln College and to Hedding College near the close of the season. To Monmouth belongs the distinction of running up the largest score in an intercollegiate game of any college in this section of the country, winning from Illinois College by the score of 86 to 10. Monmouth also won from the strong Simpson College team, which lost the Iowa collegiate championship to Grinnell, by one point in a game full of sensational playing, the final score standing 38 to 37.
The Chicago colleges, Armour Institute, DePaul University, and Lake Forest College, did not play any of the "down state" colleges, but from the record made in their games with other teams, they are hardly in the running for State honors. It is to be hoped that these teams will arrange to meet the other college teams in the season that is approaching so that a line can be gotten on the relative standing of all the college teams of the State this season. Shurtleff College team was perhaps the next strongest team in the running, while Milliken and Knox both had plucky teams, but were outclassed in their big games. Bradley had a good consistent team, but were unable to cope against a fast scoring team. Lombard and Hedding were represented by mediocre teams and did not play a sufficient number of leading teams to give them standing, while Illinois College was an easy mark for all of her opponents.
6-22-1914
The championships in the various branches during the last year were divided as follows:
- football - William & Vashti
- basketball - Illinois Wesleyan
- track - Illinois College
- baseball - Millikin
- tennis - Millikin
The Daily Review - Decatur, IL newspaper
Champaign, March 13, 1911. Representatives of the various colleges composing the Illinois Intercollegiate association unanimously voted Shurtleff college of Upper Alton a membership, bringing the total to twelve.
1913-1914 BB season (newspapers referred to it as Little 15)
north - Peoria south - Decatur
1. Augustana 1. Eastern Illinois
2. Bradley 2. Illinois College
3. Carthage 3. Illinois Wesleyan
4. Eureka 4. Lincoln
5. Hedding 5. McKendree
6. Illinois State 6. Millikin
7. Lombard 7. Shurtleff
8. William & Vashti
MANY GAMES IN COLLEGE CONFERENCE
The 1914 season of football among the minor colleges of Illinois will be opened this week by Monmouth playing the Christian university team at Canton, MO, and Millikin playing St Louis University at St Louis. Most of the other institutions will play their initial game the first week of October.
Outdoor practice now is the daily program on each gridiron. The following is a list of the games arranged by the various members of the Intercollegiate Association.
Sept. 26—Monmouth with Christian University at Canton, MO
Oct 3 —Lincoln at William & Vashti
Oct. 10—Eureka with Bradley at Peoria
Millikin of Decatur at Normal
Illinois Wesleyan University of Bloomington at Charleston
Lombard of Galesburg at William & Vashti
Monmouth with Parsons at Fairfield, IA
Lincoln with Illinois College at Jacksonville
Oct 17 — Northwestern College (North Central) at Monmouth
William and Vashti at Carthage
Shurtleff of Upper Alton at Decatur
Bradley of Peoria at Lincoln
Lombard of Galesburg with 'Wesleyan at Bloomington
Oct 24—Monmouth at Lake Forest
Wesleyan of Bloomington at William & Vashti
Millikin with Lombard at Galesburg
Bradley of Peoria with Hedding at Abingdon
Oct. 31.—Iowa Wesleyan at Monmouth
Bradley of Peoria with State Normal at Normal
William and Vashti of Aledo at Decatur
Lincoln with Eastern Illinois at Charleston
Illinois of Jacksonville with Wesleyan at Bloomington
Nov. 6. — William and Vashti at Eureka
State Normal of Normal at Lincoln
Nov 7—Grinnell at Monmouth
Illinois of Jacksonville with Millikin at Decatur
Wesleyan with Bradley at Peoria
Nov 13—Eureka at Lincoln
Monmouth with Penn at Oskaloosa, IA
Nov 14—Bradley of Peoria at William and Vashti
Millikin of Decatur with Wesleyan at Bloomington
Nov 20—Wesleyan of Bloomington at Lincoln
Nov 21 —Illinois of Jacksonville with Bradley at Peoria
Nov. 26—Monmouth with Knox at Galesburg
Eastern Illinois of Charleston with Millikin at Decatur
William and Vashti with Illinois at Jacksonville
State Normal of Normal with Wesleyan at Bloomington
Lombard of Galesburg at Lincoln