Many of the programs you see here are very scarce; particularly those from the teens and 1920s.  The vivid images that appear on many of the covers reflect college football's premiere status as the activity of choice among the sporting public of the 1920s.  The Bentley Historical Society offers the following description of 1920s era college football programs:  During the late teens and the twenties, "college life" came to be identified with the image of the fraternity man, the raccoon coat, a certain jazz age sophistication, and above all, by a fierce loyalty to alma mater's football team. Much of that sensibility is reflected in the finest program cover art from the period - not surprisingly, since most of the covers were produced by students who also contributed artwork to campus humor and literary magazines.

Illinois 1920	Marquette 1935	Notre Dame 1943	Iowa 1926	Purdue 1933
Minnesota 1930	Chicago 1928	Bradley/NDSU 1931	Marquette 1936	Chicago 1936
Iowa 1941	Ohio State 1942	Indiana 1926	Iowa 1927	Notre Dame 1942

Many 1930s covers featured the vivid colors of H. Alonzo Keller's football action paintings. Lon Keller was one of the best known sports illustrators of the day and his work was featured on the programs of many teams. He also designed the logo of the New York Yankees.

South Dakota State 1934	Illinois 1943	Purdue 1937		Purdue 1931	Minnesota 1923
			Camp Grant 1942
Pennsylvania 1930	Ohio State 1933	Marquette 1941	Coe College 1932	Minnesota 1928	South Dakota State 1916
Marquette 1938	Purdue 1939	Indiana 1940	South Dakota 1921	Minnesota 1938	Marquette 1932

Reid Winsey, Carl Grubert, and Dick Abert were the creative minds behind many of the covers of the 1920s and 30s.  Each was enrolled in art education during his time on campus.  Some programs from the 1910s and early 1920s resembled line-up cards or single-fold pamphlets, usually indicating that a "lesser" opponent was Wisconsin's foe. 

Top

Notre Dame 1935	Marquette 1943		Minnesota 1919	Chicago 1930	Michigan 1923
		Cornell 1926

Colgate 1929	Illinois 1932		Minnesota 1921	Northwestern 1937	Missouri 1942ri
		Carleton 1922
Pittsburgh 1938	Marquette 1933	Haskell (KS) 1916	Indiana 1939	Marquette 1940	South Dakota State 1935

Top

Many of the programs from the early to mid 1920s depicted players in black and white action photos on the cover of what was titled the Wisconsin Athletic Review.  This was a publication produced by the Athletic Department that contained team line-ups and pictures, as well as a recap of events from various Wisconsin teams.  The homecoming game typically received special attention, as was customary for most universities at the time. 

Notre Dame 1929	Marquette 1942	Kansas 1926	Northwestern 1943	Indiana 1938
Minnesota 1926	Syracuse 1941	Minnesota 1942	Iowa 1929	South Dakota State 1937
Purdue 1929	Indiana 1941	Ohio State 1931	Purdue 1941	Minnesota 1932

War era program covers leveraged the immense popularity of college football to promote American patriotism and support for the troops during WWII.  Programs from the 1943 season are particularly hard to find because of low attendance at games during the heart of the war effort.  Of course, a roster that lost star players such as Crazylegs Hirsch, Dave Schreiner, Mark Hoskins, and Marlin Harder from the 1942 season, resulting in a dismal won-loss record in '43 didn't help attendance either. 

Top

Illinois 1934	Northwestern 1940	Minnesota 1917	Minnesota 1940	Marquette 1934	Iowa 1939
Purdue 1935	Texas 1939	Marquette 1939	Cincinnati 1936	So. Dakota State 1936	Minnesota 1936