Stadium Size, Football Droppers, and Deemphasizers: Marquette

This series reviews the program history and stadium sizes of colleges that dropped or deemphasized football. Click here for the series introduction. The schools included in the review are listed below.

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Marquette football began in 1892. It fielded teams through all the war years before succumbing to the budget concerns caused, in their view, by televised college and pro football. Fans who once might have jumped on the trolley to see a football game opted to stay home rather than watch the local team lose another game.

Marquette football had moments in the sun, notably in the 1920s and 1930s under Frank Murray. Their 1936 team went 7-2, including a loss to TCU and Sammy Baugh in the 1936 Cotton Bowl. Marquette's Ray Buivid finished third in the Heisman voting that year, one play ahead of Sammy Baugh.

The Golden Avalance played at Marquette Stadium, built in 1924 just west of campus. The stadium seated 24,000 the day it opened and 24,000 the day it closed, while many of its high-profile competitors increased its capacity over the years.

The west side of Marquette Stadium sits empty on a dreary day following the announced program closure. Miller Brewery is seen in the background. (1961 Marquette yearbook)