Gridiron Program on Hold

The May 9, 1917, Minneapolis Journal reported that intramural sports were suspended on the University of Minnesota campus and that Intercollegiate football was suspended for the duration of the World War. Coaches were being used to work on classroom teaching. Many of the athletes were in the service going off to war.

"Sports were off center stage in Minnesota, the wholesale enlistment of athletes," said a prominent Professor and the Intramural Sports Committee chairman. That makes every maintenance of intramural sports this spring practically impossible. However, Intercollegic Athletics are found impractical next fall. In that case, all possible efforts will be made to place intramural games so that men of the University may receive athletic training that will fit them for enlistment."

Source: Newspapers.com, The Minneapolis Journal
Thu, May 10, 1917 ·Page 18

It's difficult to give an exact number of suspended college football programs during World War I. However, the war significantly disrupted college football in 1917 and especially 1918. Many eligible players joined the military, and the Student Army Training Corps (SATC) further impacted programs. 1 Some schools, like Carlisle, closed entirely, while others heavily altered or temporarily suspended their teams.