Like many other war veterans at Granger College, William Waldo Winfield shares responsibility for the care of his baby boy "Boopkins" with his wife Sarah Jane, who also attends Granger. When Sarah Jane insists that Bill not go out for the football team, as playing would interfere with his babysitting duties, Professor Jason Hartley, the football coach, accuses Bill, his quarterback, of being henpecked. Also annoyed with Bill are his fellow football-playing, married friends, Joe Tascarelli, Tony Cresnovich, Eddie Koslowski and Pudge Flugeldorfer, whose wives take Sarah Jane's lead and ban their men from playing. The women's position, which is backed by Professor Sophia Boland, makes headlines in the college newspaper, and soon Sarah Jane is receiving telegrams from like-minded co-eds from around the country, urging her to stand firm. Similarly, Bill receives telegrams from dozens of male students, encouraging him to defy his wife. Inspired, Bill and the other men resolve to challenge their wives's authority, and later Bill announces to Sarah Jane that he is playing in a practice game that Saturday. Sarah Jane agrees, but insists that Bill do all the housework before going. On Saturday morning, Bill and the other men labor over baskets of dirty laundry supplied by their wives, aware that they must clean every item or risk Professor Boland filing a complaint against them at the dean's office. In desperation, Professor Hartley and the men take their laundry to a laundromat and finish in time for the kickoff. Professor Boland and the surprised wives show up at the game with their children, and during one play, Boopkins wanders onto the field looking for Bill. Bill, who shakes with parental responsibility whenever he thinks about Boopkins, is distracted by the baby's presence and is crushed by the defense. After Bill suffers a mild head injury, Sarah Jane and the other wives demand that all the fathers be pulled from the game, which Granger then loses. Later, Arnold Schultze, Bill's incompetent replacement, reveals to the men that Professor Hartley and Professor Boland were once engaged but, for the last twenty years, have fought bitterly with each other. Sure that the two professors still have feelings for each other, Bill invites them to dinner. Helped by Boopkins, the evening is a success until Bill accidentally spills the baby's bath water over his guests, who storm away, blaming each other. Sometime later, while Sarah Jane and the other wives are out of town attending a concert that has been arranged by Professor Boland, their husbands learn that Professor Hartley is losing his job because of Granger's poor showing in football. After Bill informs Sarah Jane over the phone about the coach's fate, Professor Boland rushes back to town and admits to Bill that she has been a meddlesome grouch. To save her former flame's job, Professor Boland then orders the men to the football field, where Granger is playing its last game against State. With Professor Boland and Schultze, the only non-family member Boopkins trusts, babysitting the children on the sidelines, the men rejoin their team, which is behind by twenty-seven points. Granger immediately begins scoring points, but when Schultze's two athletic brothers drag him away in disgust during the final seconds, Boopkins starts crying, distracting Bill. Bill rushes off to change Boopkins' diaper, and the referee repeatedly penalizes the team for delaying the game. Finally, Professor Boland charges into the locker room to retrieve Schultze from his brothers, and once Boopkins is reunited with Schultze, Bill returns to the game and runs for the game-winning touchdown. After the dean informs Professor Hartley that his job is now secure, the two professors celebrate with the team, their wives and their screaming children.