<Tr> <Th> Mascot </Th> <Td> Phil the Phoenix </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> athletics.uchicago.edu </Td> </Tr> <P> The Chicago Maroons football represents the University of Chicago in college football . The Maroons, which play in NCAA Division III, are football - only member of the Midwest Conference starting with the 2017 season . From 1892 to 1939, the Maroons were a major college football power . The University of Chicago was a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the Maroons were coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg, one of the game's pioneers, for 41 seasons . In 1935, halfback Jay Berwanger became the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, later known as the Heisman Trophy . Nonetheless, in the late 1930s, university president Robert Maynard Hutchins decided that big - time college football and the university's commitment to academics was not a good fit . The University of Chicago abolished its football program in 1939 and withdrew from the Big Ten in 1946 . Football returned to the University of Chicago in 1963 in the form of a club team, which was upgraded to varsity status in 1969 . The Maroons began competing in Division III in 1973 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Year </Th> <Th> Division </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1937--1939 </Td> <Td> NCAA (Major College) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1940--1962 </Td> <Td> No team </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1963--1968 </Td> <Td> Club team </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1969--1972 </Td> <Td> NCAA College Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1973--present </Td> <Td> NCAA Division III </Td> </Tr> </Table>

When did the university of chicago leave the big ten