Lincoln Hall Project
Education’s New Dawn
Old-Fashioned Fun
No Drinking, but Lots of Dancing
Alcohol was abolished on campus and in town by the time Lincoln Hall was built, but by all accounts the U of I was still a rollicking place where students had plenty of activities on their social calendars.
Literary societies were popular, and student publications such as the Daily Illini, the Illio, and the Siren (a humor magazine written by women) were well-read. Theater, bands, and other performances were also popular (the Maypole Dance drew crowds of thousands, rivaling those of football games). Campus was in the grips of a “dancing craze,” according to one historian, with the waltz and two-step as the dances of choice at the numerous college, class, fraternity, sorority, and club balls. Students would also travel by train to spend a quiet afternoon picnicking in surrounding towns, parks, and fields. Some spent weekends hiking miles across the surrounding countryside.
Big-Time Sports
The U of I’s baseball, football, and track teams enjoyed a devout student following. By 1911, the Homecoming tradition was one year old, the U of I had been in the Big Ten conference for 15 years, and some of the biggest names in U of I’s sports history walked campus. There was George Huff, the legendary baseball coach after whom Huff Hall is named. In 1913, the year of Lincoln Hall’s dedication, the U of I hired a young coach named Robert Zuppke to turn around a foundering football program. He went on to win four national championships, and the field at Memorial Stadium is named in his honor.
By Dave Evensen