Here is something to ponder! The first three winners are from schools that doesn’t have football, University of
or Chicago or deemphasize football (Yale).
The 1935 Chicago Maroons football team was an American football team that represented the University of Chicago in the Big Ten Conference (Big Ten) during the 1935 college football season. In their third season under head coach Clark Shaughnessy, the Maroons compiled a 4–4 record (2–3 against Big Ten opponents), finished in sixth place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 110 to 102.[1][2]
In December 1935, Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger became the first recipient of a trophy from the Downtown Athletic Club intended to honor “the most valuable player east of the Mississippi.”[3] John Heisman was then the club’s athletic director,[4] and after Heisman’s death in October 1936 the trophy was expanded to become a national honor and named the Heisman Trophy.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935_Chicago_Maroons_football_team