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Xavier University Football Collection

 Collection
Identifier: XUA-82

Scope and Content

This collection documents the highlights of the intercollegiate football team at Xavier as well as several attempts to revive an intercollegiate football team after it was discontinued in 1973. The collection includes various publications, programs, photographs, correspondence, press releases, studies of the financial viability of the football program, and reports. Seven scrapbooks are also included.

Dates

  • Creation: 1901-1994
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1919-1974

Creator

Restrictions on Access

There are no restrictions on access.

Biographical / Historical

Xavier University, then St. Xavier College, first established an intercollegiate football team in 1901. In 1921, Corcoran Field, a $40,000 football stadium, was dedicated to support the increasingly popular intercollegiate football team. Coach Joseph A. Meyer (tenure 1920-1935) played a notable role in the team's success. Starting in 1935, the football team experienced somewhat of a decline which was further exacerbated by World War II and the regulations which limited participation in intercollegiate athletics. From 1943-1946, there were no intercollegiate athletics including football due to difficulties related World War II. However, intercollegiate football returned to Xavier in 1946, and was thriving by 1949. In 1950, Xavier's football team won the Salad Bowl. However, by 1961, the Board of Trustees was already starting to question the expense associated with the football team. By 1971, the Board of Trustees noted significant financial losses associated with the football team and a significant decline in support for the football team. After the 1973 football season, it was determined that the intercollegiate football team at Xavier should be discontinued because it was no longer financially viable. Several attempts were made in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s to revisit this issue and revive an intercollegiate football team at Xavier, but with no success. Corcoran Stadium was demolished in 1988.

Extent

9.75 Linear Feet (16 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This is a collection containing photographs, correspondence, articles, programs, financial reports and attendance reports pertaining to the intercollegiate football team from Xavier University. This collection documents the highlights of the intercollegiate football team which existed through 1973 as well as several investigations into the feasibility of reviving an intercollegiate football team during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Statement of Arrangement

This collection is arranged into 5 series:

  1. Series I: Media Guides and Press books
  2. Series II: Programs
  3. Series III: General correspondence, Events, Rosters, Newspaper Articles
  4. Series IV: Discontinuation & Post-Discontinuation
  5. Series V: Scrapbooks

Separated Material

5 boxes of scrapbooks (7 scrapbooks total) are shelved separately with oversized materials.

Processing Information

This collection was reprocessed into its current arrangement and description as part of a major University Archives reprocessing project that began in 2012-2013. This reprocessing project was largely an effort to disband a record group system, developed in the late 1970s, used to arrange university records. The record group scheme had been established by the first University Archivist, Lee Bennish, SJ, and chiefly organized materials by originating office and organizational structure. After Bennish’s tenure, oversight of the archives changed several times and resulted in a lack of adherence to the record group scheme for new acquisitions. The 2012-2013 processing project also sought to incorporate records for which little acquisition or contextual information existed. The project staff primarily reorganized records into subject-based collections. Occasionally subjects coincided with offices of origin (e.g. Subject, Presidents; Office, Office of the President; Collection, Xavier University President’s Office). This subject-based arrangement makes it difficult to identify or describe the collections by office of origin but administrative project records do indicate transfers and connections between original record groups and 2012-2013 collections. During the project, records were rehoused in archival folders and boxes, and new finding aids were created using the OhioLINK Finding Aid Creation Tool.

As of 2017, University Archives no longer employs the 2012-2013 system of arranging collections by subject.

The collection was processed by Elizabeth Govan in 2015. In 2019 July, scrapbooks were rehoused and boxes relabeled by A. Ryckbost.

Title
Xavier University Football Collection
Status
Edited Full Draft
Author
Elizabeth Govan
Date
2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the University Archives and Special Collections, Xavier University Library Repository

Contact:
3800 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati Ohio 45207 US
513-745-4821