The University of Chicago Archery Team has a rich history stretching back over 100 years (with several breaks in between). The first known UChicago archers started shooting around 1900, only a few years after the founding of the University. The photo below on the left shows archers shooting around 1900. There are no known records of the club members or their participation in regional archery shoots, but it is possible that they worked with the Chicago Archery Club, which had been formed in 1878. There are no records again until photographs taken in the mid-1930s, which again show various UChicago female archers. The second photograph is from 1935 and the third and fourth are from 1936.
The last remaining photograph from the pre-atomic world is from 1945, shown on the right. It depicts four female archers with longbows, presumably discussing soemthing during practice. After this period of UChicago Archery, the sport was no longer practiced at the University according to records the team has found. The exact final date is unknown, but was presumably some time in the late 1940s. Campus would not see archery again for nearly 70 years.
In the early 2000s, the University of Chicago Archery Organization was reformed by student Daniel Arking. In the following years, UChicago Archery was built back up into one of the largest collegiate archery organizations in the midwest. In 2010, the organization established the Archery Team and recruited a professional coach to lead practice. Organization membership has now reached more than 50 club members and an additional 20 team members. Below are recent photos of UChicago Archery.
