The oldest football rivalry west of the Alleghenies, and you know how far east the Allegheny Mountains are, this match-up began in November, 1890.

DePauw University and Wabash College, two west-central Indiana schools that once were connected by the Monon Railroad, have faced each other 126 times with Wabash holding a 62-55-9 lead. Since the Monon Bell entered the rivalry in 1932, Wabash leads the series, 43-39-6.  In 2021, Wabash hosts the game on its Crawfordsville campus.

The Monon (pronounced MOE-non) Bell football game has the Monon Bell as the winner’s prize. A train bell, from the engine of one of the old Monon Trains, the bell is painted half gold, representing one of DePauw’s colors, and half red, one of Wabash’s colors. The competition was voted Indiana’s best football rivalry by ESPN fans, but it’s more than a game. During the week before the annual contest, which is the last game of the season for both schools, each has numerous events and shared functions including concerts, debates and a blood drive.