The1952 Big Ten Conference football season was the 57th season ofcollege football played by the member schools of theBig Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) and was a part of the1952 college football season.

The1952 Wisconsin Badgers football team, under head coachIvy Williamson, compiled a 6–3–1 record, tied for the Big Ten championship, was ranked No. 10 in the final UP poll and No. 11 in the final AP poll, and lost toUSC in the1953 Rose Bowl. TackleDave Suminski was the team's only first-team All-American and was selected as the team's most valuable player. SophomoreAlan Ameche was a first-team All-Big Ten player, set a Wisconsin record with 946 rushing yards, and went on to win the 1954Heisman Trophy.

The1952 Purdue Boilermakers football team, under head coachStu Holcomb, was the Big Ten co-champion and ranked No. 12 in the final UP poll and No. 18 in the final AP poll. Purdue endBernie Flowers was the Big Ten's only consensus first-team All-American in 1952 and was the first Big Ten player selected in the1953 NFL draft.Dale Samuels was the first Purdue quarterback to pass for over 1,000 yards in a season.

The conference's statistical leaders included Illinois quarterbackTommy O'Connell with 1,761 passing yards and 1,724 yards of total offense,^[1] Alan Ameche with 946 rushing yards,^[1] and Indiana'sGene Gedman with 54 points scored.^[2]

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the finalAP Poll of the 1952 season^[3]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1952 season^[3]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold^[3]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold^[3]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of theChicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold^[4]

• Wisconsin 42, Marquette 19.
• Ohio State 33, Indiana 13.
• Purdue 20, Penn State 20.
• Michigan State 27, Michigan 13.

• Wisconsin 20, Illinois 6.
• Purdue 21, Ohio State 14.
• Stanford 14, Michigan 7.

• Ohio State 23, Wisconsin 14.
• Purdue 41, Iowa 14.
• Michigan 28, Indiana 13.

• Wisconsin 42, Iowa 13.
• Ohio State 35, Washington State 7.
• Notre Dame 26, Purdue 14.
• Michigan 48, Northwestern 14.

• UCLA 20, Wisconsin 7.
• Iowa 8, Ohio State 0.
• Purdue 40, Illinois 12.
• Michigan 21, Minnesota 0.

• Wisconsin 21, Rice 7.
• Ohio State 24, Northwestern 21.
• Michigan State 14, Purdue 7.
• Illinois 22, Michigan 13.

• Wisconsin 24, Northwestern 20.
• Pittsburgh 21, Ohio State 14.
• Minnesota 14, Purdue 14.
• Michigan 49, Cornell 7.

• Wisconsin 37, Indiana 14.
• Ohio State 27, Illinois 7.
• Michigan 21, Purdue 10.

• Minnesota 21, Wisconsin 21.
• Ohio State 27, Michigan 7.
• Purdue 21, Indiana 16.

The following players were picked by theAssociated Press (AP)as first-team players on the1952 All-Big Ten Conference football team. The AP picked separate offensive and defensive units, whereas the UP selected a single, eleven man unit.

AP offense and UP overall selections

AP defensive unit

At the end of the 1952 season, only one Big Ten player secured a consensus first-team pick on the1952 College Football All-America Team.^[5] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

Minnesota running backPaul Giel finished third in the voting for the 1952Heisman Trophy.^[6]

The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the1953 NFL draft:^[7]

• 1952 Big Ten Conference football season

• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from February 2021
• Articles with permanently dead external links
• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata