Monon Bell Classic to be Seen Nationally on AXS TV for 11th Year

July 28, 2015

"AXS TV -- cable's premier music performance and entertainment event channel -- announced today the rollout of its fall premiere dates for new and returning series," begins a Monday announcement. Its fall "sports highlights include the 122nd Monon Bell Classic, with DePauw University and Wabash College continuing one of college football’s oldest rivalries live on Saturday, November 14 at 1pE," it adds.

Read more here.

This will mark the 11th year that AXS TV has presented the battle for the Bell live and in high definition. The network has televised the previous nine DePauw-Wabash contests (2006-14) and also covered the 2003 game.

Launched by entrepreneur Mark Cuban, AXS TV is dedicated to providing the best in music programming and festivals, comedy performances, current events and mixed martial arts promotions. AXS TV is a partnership between Mark Cuban, AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and CBS. For more information, visit www.axs.tv.

DePauw and Wabash first met on the gridiron in 1890. In 1932, a locomotive bell from the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad Company, also known as the Monon Line, was donated and became the winner's trophy each year.

In the all-time series, Wabash holds a 59-53-9 lead. Since the Monon Bell entered the rivalry in 1932, Wabash leads, 40-37-6.

All 121 games to date are commemorated in video vignettes known as "Monon Memories." Created by Ken Owen '82, executive director of media relations at DePauw, the clips can be found here and on YouTube.

To date, eighteen contests in the historic series have been captured on DVD. Available are the DVDs of the 1977, 1993, 1994 and 2000-14 Monon Bell Classics (supplies of past games are extremely limited; the 2008 package is a two-disc set including all 115 "Monon Memories" produced to that date). Order them here. (at left: the front cover of the 2007 Monon Bell DVD)

The Monon Bell was voted Indiana's best college sports rivalry by fans of ESPN, and is noted in the DVD collection, ESPNU Honor Roll: The Best of College Football, as one of the nation's best annual clashes. The Monon Bell was featured on CBS' Sunday Morning and has twice been spotlighted in Sports Illustrated. The annual DePauw-Wabash clash is also detailed in Rites of Autumn: The Story of College Football, a book by Richard Whittingham. Indianapolis Monthly listed experiencing the game among "50 Things Every Hoosier Must Do."

In November 2013, ESPN's College GameDay included the Monon Bell in a look at great college football rivalries.