Abraham Lincoln never attended college, but he has connections to many colleges. There are statues of him on numerous campuses including in Morris Library at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and at Illinois College. There are colleges named for him. And now there is a football bowl game in his honor.
Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, is the only remaining site of a Lincoln-Douglas debate. The October 7, 1858 event between the two candidates for the Illinois Senate seat is depicted in a display in the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Two years earlier, in 1856, Lincoln spoke at Eureka College on behalf of John Charles Fremont, the Republican candidate for President.
The Knox and Eureka football teams played each other for the first time on October 14, 1893 and have met 22 times since then, including the pre-season game several years ago at which one of my sons tore an ACL. The Lincoln Bowl is the beginning of a new tradition that harkens back to the rich heritage of both colleges.
Knox College will host the Lincoln Bowl in even-numbered years and Eureka in odd-numbered years. The official trophy is a bronze bust of Lincoln presented by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, the Foundation’s former chairman and current board member, donated the bust. The trophy will remain with the winner for the year. The first Lincoln Bowl on Saturday September 1, 2012 was won by Eureka College in a 62-55 victory.
Both colleges also claim other presidential connections. Ronald Reagan graduated from Eureka College; he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon chapter. Knox’s 2005 commencement speaker was then Senator, now President, Barack Obama.
My right guard and tackle. Miss those days.
..every single day of my life
Oh yeah Willits, those were the days, running the Triple. You were the ideal Fullback for that man, had we just pulled out a couple of those close ones, our team would be remembered different (not just as the 6th best Rushing Offense in Division III).
Knox vs. Eureka. Always have mixed emotions when I look back. On one hand, our offense tended to put up some big numbers against, but on the other hand, one season ended there too. Good to see they are playing for something now!