The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest was a

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the varsity teams of colleges ...

from 1892 to 1893 in the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Four universities were members: the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. The conference was formed to compete in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. It only survived for two seasons before disbanding due to financial problems throughout the league. The four schools came together again, along with

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, to found the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives a couple of years later, known today as the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Formation

The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest (IAAN) was formed in April 1892 at a meeting in Chicago among representatives the Universities of Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin. An application by

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

to join the IAAN was rejected, though tentative plans were made to include the newly-organized

when it was ready to field athletic teams. The IAAN's jurisdiction covered football, baseball, track athletics, and lawn tennis. The impetus for the IAAN came from Ralph Stone, a student delegate from Michigan who was appointed as the organization's first president.Manuscript titled "From the Old Scrap Book," by Ralph Stone, Ralph Stone papers, Bentley Historical Library, Box 1.

1892 football season

The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest's inaugural season of competition kicked off on October 15 with a 10-6 Michigan win at Wisconsin. Michigan then traveled to Minnesota for a game two days later. Michigan was a heavy favorite to win, but Minnesota dominated the game. The final score was 14–6, with Michigan's points being scored just before the end of the game. October 29 saw Northwestern beat Michigan in a close game by a score of 10–8. The same day, Minnesota traveled to Wisconsin and won their game 32–4. However, the game was a close 8–4 at halftime before Minnesota pulled away in the second half. Northwestern went to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

on November 8 to play a game for conference supremacy. Both teams were undefeated in conference play - a Minnesota win would clinch the conference title and a Northwestern win would put them in a dominating position, needing to win only one of its last two games to win the conference. The game was a hard-fought contest, and was tied, 6–6, at halftime. In the second half, Minnesota's defense stopped Northwestern on downs only six yards from the end zone and then immediately drove down the field to take the lead. Northwestern scored almost immediately on a series of runs, but Minnesota managed another score to retake the lead. Northwestern drove down the field but was stopped at Minnesota's ten-yard line, ending the game. Minnesota's 16–12 win sealed the first Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest conference championship.

Standings

1893 football season

The conference's second (and final) season of football kicked off on October 28 with a Minnesota visit to Michigan. Minnesota won the game, 34–20, and then moved on to Evanston to play Northwestern two days later; they won that game, 16–0. Wisconsin traveled to

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

and beat Michigan, 34–18, on November 4. These events set up a situation similar to the previous year: Minnesota and Wisconsin were both undefeated in conference play and met on November 11 to decide the conference title. The game was expected to be a close one, and the game started out that way with no points being scored until Minnesota crossed the goal line twenty minutes into the game. Minnesota scored one more time before halftime giving them a comfortable, if not secure, lead. The second half, however, was completely one-sided. When Minnesota scored with five minutes left to take a 40–0 lead, Wisconsin requested that the game be called and Minnesota agreed. With that win, Minnesota had clinched its second consecutive Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest title. Financially, the 1893 season was a disaster for the league—low revenues received by visiting teams being the primary cause. A meeting was held in Chicago and the teams all agreed to disband the league.

Standings

References

{{reflist Sports in the Midwestern United States Defunct NCAA Division I conferences 1892 establishments in the United States 1893 disestablishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 1892 Sports leagues disestablished in 1893