The 1917 Big Ten Conference football season was the twenty-second season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1917 college football season. Michigan's return brought membership up to ten schools, and this was the first year the Western Conference was referred to as the "Big Ten".
Season overview
Ohio State repeated as conference champions with a 4-0 league record, 8-0-1 overall.
Minnesota came in second at 4-1 (3-1 Big Ten) while Northwestern and Wisconsin tied for third at 3–2 in Big Ten play.
Illinois and Chicago tied for fifth with league records of 2–2–1. At 5-2 (1-2 Big Ten), Indiana came in seventh.
Michigan (0–1), Iowa (0–2), and Purdue (0–4) went winless in conference play.
^Paul Purman (November 29, 1917). "East, West, South Give Stars To The Times-Tribune All-American Football Team For 1917 Season". Waterloo Times-Tribune.
^Paul Purman (November 29, 1917). "East, West, South Give Stars To The Sentinel All-American Football Team For 1917 Season". The Fort Wayne Sentinel.
^"East, West, South Give Stars To The Sheboygan Press All-American Team For 1917 Season". Sheboygan Press. November 30, 1917.
^"The East, West and South Give Greatest Stars To The News Special All-American Football Team For 1917 Season". Des Moines Daily News. November 29, 1917.
^"Purman's 1917 'All-American' Team". The Daily Alaska Dispatch. December 11, 1917.
^"Captain Hauser Picked for Team: Paul Purnam, Special Writer, Gives Tackle Position to Gopher Captain". The Duluth News Tribune. December 4, 1917.
^"East, West, South Give Stars to Purman's All-American Team". Albuquerque Morning Journal. December 3, 1917.
^"East West South Give Stars to the Herald All American Football Team for 1917 Season". Grand Forks Herald. November 30, 1917.
^""All" Teams Picked By Walter Eckersall". Lincoln Daily Star. December 16, 1917.
^"Football Award Winners"(PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2017.