Wabash is defined by its history of tradition, and few events exemplify the dynamic role tradition plays here than the Monon Bell football game against arch-rival DePauw University.
“One of the most important traditions during this week is obviously the game itself,” said Dean of Students Thomas Bambrey.
The first game was in 1890, and it is the oldest college rivalry west of the Alleghenies. Wabash and DePauw have missed only five years between 1890 and 2006, and the current standing favors Wabash: 52-51-9.
The Monon Bell, from which the game derives its name because the winner keeps the bell until it loses a game, was introduced in 1932, and a number of Monon Bell traditions center around the Bell itself.
When Wabash is in possession of the bell, it hangs above the entrance of the Allen Center.
During the week before the game, especially when Wabash possesses the bell, the pledge classes and freshmen independents guard the campus and the Bell with different fraternities guarding different days. All freshmen will guard campus Friday night before the game.
Students from both Wabash and DePauw have stolen the Bell has been stolen about 8 times in both creative and comical ways, one instance when a Wabash student posing as a Mexican dignitary to ascertain the location of the Bell and DePauw students stealing the Bell from themselves by burying it in their north endzone.
Guarding the campus is a “great experience in uniting fraternities and independent men across campus,” said Sphinx Club President Robert Van Kirk Delta Tau Delta.
It also fits in with the “Wabash tradition of students taking responsibility for both themselves and the college,” said Dean Bambrey.
Another big tradition during this time of year is the Monon Chapel, during which members of the faculty, football team, and Sphinx Club, as well as alumni rally the students before the big game.
Other traditions include Bleed for the Bell, a contest to see who gives the most pints of blood; Bell concerts, in which the Wabash glee club and the DePauw choir performed together; and Monon Bell Debates, during which the two schools’ debate teams competed.
Some years when Wabash wins the Bell, senior football players travel around to each dorm and fraternity and drink beer out of the bell to celebrate the victory. Following a Wabash victory, the Bell will be rung continuously from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.
The Wabash-DePauw Stag Dinner is another light-hearted tradition during which the Presidents and/or Deans from both schools go to Indianapolis and grill for each other while mocking each other at the same time.
Last year the rivals competed in intramural football and rugby games, and some Wallies donned what some refer to as the Monon Mohawk or the Bell-Hawk, a tradition repeated this year. This year’s Monon Keg rugby game will be at the Wabash practice football field Friday afternoon.
Bambrey summed up the role the Bell Game plays at Wabash: “Those of us who have had the chance to see it year to year know it’s incredibly important to Wabash. It’s also a community event. Everyone who has any connection knows about it and comes to it or watches it on television. There’s lots of excitement. Some of it is about the game; others feel the energy of renewing old acquaintances and renewing the feel for the college. We really just want people to be positive and enjoy themselves and enjoy the great rivalry. There’s nothing quite like it anywhere around the country. People know this is special.”