William Arthur Ganfield (September 3, 1873, in

Dubuque County, Iowa Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,266, making it the eighth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Dubuque. The county is named for Julien Dubuque, the first Eur ...

– October 18, 1940, in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

) was a figure in American

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

and served as president of

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...

from 1915 to 1921 and later president of ''Carroll College'' (now called

Carroll University Carroll University is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Established in 1846, Carroll was Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning. History Prior to its esta ...

) from 1921 until his retirement in 1939. Ganfield was a supporter of athletic programs at both schools. He was president at Centre College during the school's

1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game The 1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game was a regular-season college football game played on October 29, 1921, at Harvard Stadium in Allston, Massachusetts. The contest featured the undefeated Centre Praying Colonels, representing Centre Colleg ...

, when Centre scored a victorious upset over national favorite

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. As of 2006, the game is still considered by ESPN as one of the greatest college football upset victories of all time. Ganfield continued his support of football as college president at Carroll. He boasted that within four years' time the school would be beating the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

in football. In his first year as college president, the team fell far short of that mark with one win for the season and was outscored by 119 to 14 and left fans and the school administration sorely disappointed under head coach C.C. Boone. By 1925, the school had a perfect 8–0 season under head coach Norris Armstrong. , the school has never played the "Badgers" in football.Carroll College/University
Football season-by-season results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganfield, WIlliam Arthur 1873 births 1940 deaths People from Dubuque County, Iowa People from Danville, Kentucky People from Waukesha, Wisconsin Presidents of Centre College Carroll University