[2] Kennedy enrolled at the University of Chicago where he played football for head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg from 1896 to 1899.
[1] At the end of the 1897 season, his teammates elected him as the captain of the 1898 Chicago Maroons football team.
[1] At the time of his election as team captain, the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote: "In guarding the men who carry the ball and in breaking up the interference of the opposing team he is unsurpassed in the West, and is a hard man to stop when he himself advances the ball.
[4] Several additional letters were received, raising questions about Kennedy's past, including his baseball record.
[4] The University of Chicago concluded that Kennedy was eligible, and he was selected by Walter Camp as a second-team All-American quarterback in 1898.
[5] In February 1899, Caspar Whitney renewed the controversy over Kennedy's eligibility in an article published in Harper's Weekly.
[3] The 1899 Chicago Maroons defeated Notre Dame (23–6), Cornell (17–6), Purdue (44–0), Northwestern (76–0), Minnesota (29–0), and Brown (17–6), and played to ties against Iowa (5–5) and Penn (5–5).
[8] Kennedy served three stints at the head football coach at Albion College—from 1904 to 1905, 1908 to 1912, and 1915 to 1920—leading his teams to a record of 57–23–8 and five Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championships in 14 seasons.