1917 Denver Pioneers football team

American college football season

1917 Denver Pioneers football

RMC co-champion

Conference| Rocky Mountain Conference
Record| 9–0 (6–0 RMC)
Head coach|

* John Fike (3rd season)

Home stadium| Union Park

Seasons

<- 1916

1918 ->

1917 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
Denver $  | 6  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 0  | - | 0
Utah Agricultural | 4  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 0  | - | 1
Colorado | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 2  | - | 0
Colorado Mines | 2  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 3  | - | 0
Colorado College | 2  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 3  | - | 0
Utah | 2  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0
Wyoming | 1  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0
Montana State | 0  | - | 1  | - | 2 |  |  | 0  | - | 2  | - | 2
Colorado Agricultural | 0  | - | 7  | - | 1 |  |  | 1  | - | 7  | - | 1

* $ - Conference champion

The 1917 Denver Pioneers football team represented the University of Denver as a member of the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) during the 1917 college football season. In their third season under head coach John Fike, the Pioneers compiled a perfect 9–0 record (6–0 against conference opponents), shared the RMC championship with Utah Agricultural, and outscored opponents by a total of 226 to 45.[1]

At the end of the season, both Denver and Utah Agricultural were undefeated against RMC opponents. A game between the two teams was proposed to determine an undisputed conference champion, but Denver's faculty ruled against the game. Denver officials claimed the title and asserted that the Utah Aggies "have a right to claim nothing more than a tie for the honors."[2][3]

The 1917 team compiled the only perfect season in the program's history.[4]

## Schedule[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Source

|
|
|
|

October 6| Camp Logan*| Denver, CO| W 45–0|
October 13| Montana State| Denver, CO| W 33–7|
October 20| Colorado| Denver, CO| W 7–0|
October 27| at Colorado Agricultural| Fort Collins, CO| W 10–6|
November 3| at Wyoming| Laramie, WY| W 18–0|
November 10| at Kendall*|

* Association Park
* Tulsa, OK

| W 20–19| [5]
November 17| Colorado Mines|

* Union Park
* Denver, CO

| W 51–0| [6]
November 24| at Colorado Teachers*| Greeley, CO| W 14–6|
November 29| Colorado College| Denver, CO| W 28–7|

* *Non-conference game

## References[edit]

1. ^ "1917 Denver Pioneers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
2. ^ "Denver 'U' Cancels Game with Aggies". The Salt Lake Telegram. December 1, 1917. p. 10 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ In games against three common conference opponents (Colorado, Wyoming, and Colorado A&M), Utah State won by a total margin of 120 points; Denver defeated the same three opponents by a total margin of only 31 points.
4. ^ "Denver Pioneers School History". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
5. ^ "One Point Gives Denver University Victory Over Kendall Collegians". Tulsa Daily World. November 11, 1917. p. 12 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Denver University Defeats Miners, 51-0". Salt Lake Telegram. Salt Lake City, Utah. United Press. November 18, 1917. p. 8. Retrieved September 25, 2023 - via Newspapers.com .

* v
* t
* e

Denver Pioneers football

Venues|

* DU Stadium (1926–1960)

Bowls & rivalries|

* 1946 Sun Bowl
* 1947 Alamo Bowl

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960

* v
* t
* e

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football champions

Pre-divisional era|

* Colorado (1909)
* Colorado College & Colorado (1910)
* Colorado (1911)
* Colorado Mines (1912)
* Colorado (1913)
* Colorado Mines (1914)
* Colorado Agricultural (1915)
* Colorado Agricultural (1916)
* Denver (1917)
* Colorado Mines (1918)
* Colorado College & Utah (1919)
* Colorado Agricultural (1920)
* Colorado (1921) & Utah Agricultural
* Utah (1922)
* Colorado (1923)
* Colorado (1924)
* Colorado Agricultural (1925)
* Utah (1926)
* Colorado Agricultural (1927)
* Utah (1928)
* Utah (1929)
* Utah (1930)
* Utah (1931)
* Utah (1932)
* Colorado A&M, Denver, & Utah (1933)
* Colorado, Colorado Agricultural, & Colorado Teachers (1934)
* Colorado & Utah State
* Utah State (1936)
* Colorado (1937)
* Montana State (1938)
* Colorado Mines (1939)
* Colorado College (1940)
* Colorado College (1941)
* Colorado Mines (1942)
* No league play due to World War II (1943–1944)
* Colorado College (1945)
* Montana State (1946)
* Montana State (1947)
* Colorado State–Greeley (1948)
* Colorado College (1949)
* Colorado College (1950)
* Colorado Mines (1951)
* Idaho State (1952)
* Idaho State (1953)
* Montana State (1954)
* Idaho State (1955)

NAIA Division I|

* Montana State (1956)
* Idaho State (1957)
* Colorado College & Colorado Mines (1958)
* Idaho State (1959)
* Adams State (1960)
* Adams State (1961)
* Adams State (1962)
* Western State (1963)
* Western State (1964)
* Western State (1965)
* Western State (1966)
* Adams State (1967)
* Adams State (1968)
* Colorado State–Greeley (1969)
* Pittsburg State (1970)
* Northern Colorado (1971)
* Adams State (1972)

NCAA Division II|

* Western State (1973)
* Western State (1974)
* Western State (1975)
* Western State (1976)
* Western State (1977)
* Western State (1978)
* Western State (1979)
* Adams State & Southern Colorado (1980)
* N.M. Highlands (1981)
* Mesa State (1982)
* Mesa State (1983)
* Fort Lewis (1984)
* Mesa State (1985)
* Mesa State (1986)
* Mesa State (1987)
* Mesa State (1988)
* Adams State (1989)
* Mesa State (1990)
* Western State (1991)
* Western State (1992)
* Fort Hays State (1993)
* Western State (1994)
* Fort Hays State & Western State (1995)
* Chadron State (1996)
* Western State (1997)
* Chadron State & Western State (1998)
* Chadron State & N.M. Highlands (1999)
* Mesa State (2000)
* Chadron State (2001)
* Chadron State & Nebraska–Kearney (2002)
* Mesa State (2003)
* Colorado Mines (2004)
* Nebraska–Kearney (2005)
* Chadron State (2006)
* Chadron State (2007)
* Chadron State (2008)
* Nebraska–Kearney (2009)
* Colorado Mines & Nebraska–Kearney (2010)
* CSU Pueblo (2011)
* CSU Pueblo (2012)
* CSU Pueblo (2013)
* CSU Pueblo & Colorado Mines (2014)
* Mesa State (2015)
* Mesa State, Colorado Mines & CSU–Pueblo (2016)
* CSU Pueblo & Mesa State (2017)
* CSU Pueblo & Colorado Mines (2018)
* Colorado Mines (2019)
* No season (2020)
* Colorado Mines & Western Colorado (2021)
* Colorado Mines (2022)
* Colorado Mines (2023)

National championships in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties