The 1919 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Robert Zuppke, compiled a 6–1 record, won the Big Ten championship, and was selected retroactively as the national champion by the Billingsley Report and Boand System, and as a co-national champion by the College Football Researchers Association, Parke H. Davis, and Jeff Sagarin (using his alternate ELO-Chess methodology).
The 1919 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach John Wilce, also compiled a 6–1 record and led the conference in scoring defense (1.7 points allowed per game).
Chicago led the Big Ten in scoring offense with 29.3 points per game.
On October 4, 1919, the Big Ten football teams played seven non-conference games, resulting in five wins, one loss, and a tie.
No Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games during the 1919 season.
The following players were selected as first-team players on the 1919 All-Big Ten Conference football team by at least two of the following five selectors: E. C. Patterson in Collier's Weekly (ECP),[3] Frank G. Menke (FM),[3] the International News Service (INS),[3] or Walter Eckersall (WE).
[4] It also includes players listed as members of the 1919 "All-Conference Team" as published in the "ESPN Big Ten Football Encyclopedia" (BTFE).