The 1961 Indiana Collegiate Conference football season was the season of college football played by the seven member schools of the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) as part of the 1961 college football season.

The 1961 Butler Bulldogs football team, in their 21st year under head coach Tony Hinkle, defeated all six conference opponents to win the conference championship and compiled a perfect 9–0 overall record.^[1]

The 1961 Valparaiso Crusaders football team, in their 16th year under head coach Emory Bauer, compiled a 7–2 record (5–1 in conference games) and finished in second place in the ICC.

The 1961 Butler Bulldogs football team represented Butler University of Indianapolis as a member of the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) during the 1961 college football season. In their 21st year under head coach Tony Hinkle, the Bulldogs compiled a perfect 9–0 record (6–0 against ICC opponents), won the ICC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 251 to 65.^[2]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	Bradley*	Butler Bowl Indianapolis, IN	W 34–23	6,950	[3]
September 30	Ball State	Butler Bowl Indianapolis, IN	W 48–6	7,450	[4]
October 7	at Wabash*	Crawfordsville, IN (Iron Key)	W 34–7	2,150	[5]
October 14	at DePauw	Greencastle, IN (Old Gold Day)	W 12–6	5,000	[6]
October 21	Saint Joseph's (IN)	Butler Bowl Indianapolis, IN	W 27–7	9,000	[7]
October 28	at Indiana State	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 26–0	1,000–1,100	[8]
November 4	Valparaiso	Butler Bowl Indianapolis, IN (rivalry)	W 14–2	11,200	[9]
November 11	at Evansville	Evansville, IN	W 30–7	1,000	[10]
November 18	Washington University*	Butler Bowl Indianapolis, IN	W 26–7		[11][12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

^[13]

The 1961 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University of Valparaiso, Indiana, as a member of the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) during the 1961 college football season. In their 16th year under head coach Emory Bauer, the Crusaders compiled a 7–2 record (5–1 in conference games) and finished in second place in the ICC.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	at Wheaton	McCully Field Wheaton, IL	L 13–35		[14]
September 23	Hope	Valparaiso, IN	W 14–6		[15]
September 30	at Saint Joseph's (IN)	Rensselaer, IN	W 16–6		[16]
October 7	Indiana State	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	W 20–6	4,500	[17]
October 14	Washington University	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	W 29–0	4,594	[18]
October 21	at Evansville	Evansville, IN	W 29–18		[19]
October 28	Ball State	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	W 28–20		[20]
November 4	at Butler	Butler Bowl Indianapolis, IN (rivalry)	L 2–14	11,200	[21]
November 11	DePauw	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	W 35–14	3,447	[22]
Homecoming

The 1961 Evansville Purple Aces football team represented Evansville College (now known as the University of Evansville) as a member of the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) during the 1961 college football season. In their eighth year under head coach Paul Beck, the Purple Aces compiled a 4–5 record (3–3 in conference games) and finished in third place in the ICC.

The 1961 DePauw Tigers football team represented DePauw University of Greencastle, Indiana, as a member of the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) during the 1961 college football season. In their third year under head coach Tommy Mont, the Tigers compiled a 5–4 record (2–4 in conference games) and tied for fourth place in the ICC.

The 1961 Ball State Cardinals football team was an American football team that represented Ball State College (later renamed Ball State University) in the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) during the 1961 college football season. In its sixth season under head coach Jim Freeman, the team compiled a 2–5–1 record and finished in a three-way tie for fourth place out of seven teams in the ICC.^[37]

^[43]

The 1961 Indiana State Sycamores football team represented Indiana State College (now known as Indiana State University) of Terre Haute, Indiana, as a member of the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) during the 1961 college football season. In their fifth year under head coach Bill Jones, the Sycamores compiled a 2–6 record (2–4 in conference games) and finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the ICC.

The 1961 Saint Joseph's Pumas football team represented Saint Joseph’s College of Collegeville, Indiana, as a member of the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) during the 1961 college football season. In their first year under head coach Ed Dwyer, the Pumas compiled a 1–7 record (1–5 in conference games) and finished in last place in the ICC.