The 1915 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the ''Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book'' listing

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach a ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, Oklahoma, and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

as having been selected

national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...

in later years. Only Cornell (named by four major selectors) and Pittsburgh (named by one) claim national championships for the 1915 season.

Conference and program changes

Conference establishments

* The

Southwest Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

, later known as the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

, began its first season of play in 1915. The league had eight founding members in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, Oklahoma, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. *The

Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) is a college athletic conference that operates in the NCAA's Division III. The conference was founded in 1915 and it consists of twelve small private schools that are located i ...

, now a Division III conference, began football play in 1915.

Membership changes

Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl was played for the first time since its inception on January 1, 1902, following the 1901 season.

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

defeated

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

, 14–0. The game has been played annually ever since.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

Independents

Minor conferences

Minor conference standings

Awards and honors

All-Americans

The consensus

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

team included:

Statistical leaders

* Team scoring most points: Vanderbilt, 514 to 38. * Player scoring most points: Jerry DaPrato, Michigan Agricultural, 185 * Player scoring most touchdowns: Jerry DaPrato, Michigan Agricultural, 34 * Player scoring most goals after touchdown: F. Parke Geyer, Oklahoma, 56 * Player scoring most field goals: William T. Van de Graaff, Alabama, 11 * Longest punt:

Fritz Shiverick Francis T. "Fritz" Shiverick (c. 1896 – 1936) was an American football quarterback and halfback. He played for Cornell University in 1915, 1916 and 1919, and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1916. He was posthumously inducted ...

, Cornell, 86 yards, inclusive of roll of ball * Longest run from kickoff: John Barrett, Washington & Lee, 101 yards * Longest punt return:

James DeHart James DeHart (August 25, 1893 – March 4, 1935) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Washington and Lee University from 1922 to 1925 and again from 1931 to 1932 and at Duke University from 1926 to 1930, compi ...

, Pittsburgh, 105 yards * Longest run from scrimmage: Dave Tayloe, North Carolina, and John R. Georgetown, 90 yards each

References

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