November 16, 1889 – On a blustery afternoon on Grinnell Field, Iowa College beats the Iowa Hawkeyes, 24-0. With that, Iowa College wins the first collegiate football game played west of Mississippi River.
In September 1889, State University of Iowa (SUI) student – Martin Sampson – led a meeting regarding the organization of a University football team, and it was this suggestion that earned Sampson the title of coach and captain of the new squad! In the following days, Iowa sent out a challenge to any team in the state of Iowa for a game of football. The one team to accept Iowa’s challenge was Iowa College in Grinnell. So, with the game date set for November 16, the preparations for the first collegiate football game played west of Mississippi River began.
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