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| Chicago Maroons | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | University of Chicago |
| Conference | University Athletic Association Midwest Conference (baseball and football) CCIW (women's lacrosse) |
| NCAA | Division III |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Football stadium | Stagg Field |
| Basketball arena | Ratner Athletics Center |
| Other venues | Henry Crown Fieldhouse |
| Mascot | Phil the Phoenix |
| Nickname | Maroons |
| Fight song | Wave the Flag |
| Colors | Maroon and white[1] |
| Website | athletics |
 | |
TheChicago Maroons are the intercollegiate sports teams of theUniversity of Chicago. They are named after the colormaroon. Team colors are maroon and gray,[2] and Phil thePhoenix is their mascot. They now compete in theNCAA Division III, mostly as members of theUniversity Athletic Association.
The University of Chicago helped found theBig Ten Conference in 1895; although it dropped football in 1939 (as inconsistent with its academic vision), its other teams remained members until 1946. Football returned as a club sport in 1963, as a varsity sport in 1969, and began competing independently in Division III in 1973. The school was part of theMidwest Collegiate Athletic Conference from 1976 to 1987, and its football team joined the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference's successor, theMidwest Conference (MWC), in 2017. In the 2018–19 school year, Chicago added baseball to its MWC membership, and elevated its club team in women's lacrosse to full varsity status, with that sport competing in theCollege Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).
Stagg Field is the home stadium for the re-instatedfootball team.
The Maroons helped establish the Big Ten Conference (then known as the "Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives", and commonly called the "Western Conference") at a follow-up meeting on February 8, 1896.[3] The league initially consisted of Chicago, Purdue, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Northwestern.
Jay Berwanger was awarded the first Heisman trophy in 1935.[4]
Hall of Fame coachAmos Alonzo Stagg coached the football team from 1892–1932, the basketball team from 1920–1921, and the baseball team from 1893–1905 and 1907–1913.[5] He encouraged players to adoptvegetarianism, believing it supported both athleticism and a "gentle and gentlemanly" sportsmanship.[6]
The football team was dropped following the 1939 season.[7] In explaining the reason to drop football, Robert Maynard Hutchins, the university’s president, had written acidly in The Saturday Evening Post “In many colleges, it is possible for a boy to win 12 letters without learning how to write one.”[8]
On March 7, 1946 the University of Chicago withdrew from the Big Ten Conference.[9] On May 31, 1946 the resignation was formally accepted by the Big Ten Conference.[10]
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| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Lacrosse |
| Football | Soccer |
| Golf | Softball |
| Soccer | Swimming |
| Swimming | Tennis |
| Tennis | Track and field |
| Track and field | Volleyball |
| Wrestling |
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| Venue | Sport(s) | Open. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerald Ratner Athletics Center | Basketball (2003–) Volleyball Wrestling Swimming | 2003 | [11] |
| Henry Crown Field House | Indoor track and field Racquetball Handball Basketball (1933–2003) | 1932 | [12] |
| Stagg Field | Football Soccer Outdoor track and field | 2013 | [13] |
| Venue | Sport(s) | Open. | Clos. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Gymnasium | Basketball | 1891 | 1904 | |
| Bartlett Hall | Basketball | 1904 | –[n 1] | [14] |
All championships listed here were won when the league was known as the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference, and only sponsored men's sports. The Midwest Conference was established in its current form in 1994 with the merger of the MCAC and Midwest Athletic Conference for Women.
Wave the Flag (For Old Chicago) is thefight song for the Maroons.[17] Gordon Erickson wrote the lyrics in 1929. The tune was adapted fromMiami University's "Marching Song" written in 1908 byRaymond H. Burke, a University of Chicago graduate who joined Miami's faculty in 1906.
The song is traditionally sung by the players at midfield after all home victories.[18]
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