| 1897 Western Conference football season | |
| Sport: | Football |
| No Of Teams: | 7 |
| Season Champs: | Wisconsin |
| Season Champ Name: | Champion |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 1896 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1898 |
The 1897 Western Conference football season was the second season of college football played by the member schools of the Western Conference (later known as the Big Ten Conference) and was a part of the 1897 college football season.
Wisconsin, coached by Philip King, won its second consecutive conference championship with a record of 9–1 (3–0 against conference opponents). The Badgers' sole loss was against a team of Wisconsin alumni. The Badgers shut out eight opponents and outscored all opponents, 210 to 14. On defense, the team led the conference, allowing an average of 1.4 points per game. Pat O'Dea, an Australian who played fullback and excelled as a kicker, starred for the Badgers.
Chicago, coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg, finished in second place with an 11–1 record. On offense, Chicago led the conference with an average of 26.9 points per game. The most important game of the Western Conference season was played between Chicago and Wisconsin on November 13, 1897, at Marshall Field in Chicago. Wisconsin won the game, 23-8.[1]
Three Western Conference players from the 1897 season were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: O'Dea of Wisconsin; fullback Clarence Herschberger of Chicago; and end Neil Snow of Michigan.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wisconsin | Philip King | 9–1 | 3–0 | 21.0 | 1.4 | |
| 2 | Chicago | Amos A. Stagg | 11–1 | 3–1 | 26.9 | 5.7 | |
| 3 | Michigan | Gustave Ferbert | 6–1–1 | 2–1 | 21.0 | 3.9 | |
| 4 | Illinois | George Huff | 6–2 | 1–1 | 23.8 | 5.6 | |
| 5 | Purdue | William W. Church | 5–3–1 | 1–2 | 11.8 | 12.0 | |
| 6 | Northwestern | Jesse Van Doozer | 5–3 | 0–2 | 8.6 | 6.9 | |
| 7 | Minnesota | Alexander Jerrems | 4–4 | 0-3 | 14.0 | 9.6 |
PPG = Average of points scored per game
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[2]
Only 10 conference games were played during the 1897 season as follows:
Notable non-conference games during the 1897 season included the following:
No bowl games were played during the 1897 season.
An All-Western team was selected by The Northwestern, consisting of the following players:[5]
No Western Conference players were selected for the 1897 College Football All-America Team.