Today's Tidbit... Make Room for Daddy

Football borrowed many elements of its terminology from the military, but few would think that “Dad's Day” also originated in the military. Dad's Day came into relatively wide usage during WWI when many military camps held Dad's Days for fathers to visit their sons. Soldiers drafted into the National Army during WWI typically underwent their initial training at camps within their state or region, making it easy for some Dads to attend those events. Dad's Days also occurred in Europe, with soldier sons writing their fathers on the designated days.

Following WWI, the first Dad's Day in which fathers were encouraged to visit a college campus came in 1920 at the University of Illinois. Illinois had been the birthplace of homecoming in 1910, so it was only natural that the organizing Illini would pioneer Dad's Day. Period articles indicate that campus fraternities encouraged Dads to attend social events and the home football game before the Illini took the activity campus-wide.

The 1920 event opened campus buildings for tours, saw several thousand dads attend the Ohio State-Illinois football game, and put on a feed and faculty meet-and-greet at the University Annex.

Scenes from the first Dad’s Day at Illinois (1922 Illinois yearbook)