Cornell Big Red football

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Cornell Big Red football
AmericanFootball current event.svg 2024 Cornell Big Red football team
Cornell "C" logo.svg
First season 1887; 138 years ago
Athletic director Nicki Moore
Head coach Dan Swanstrom
1st season, 4–6 (.400)
Stadium Schoellkopf Field
(capacity: 25,597)
Field surfaceArtificial turf
Location Ithaca, New York, U.S.
NCAA division Division I FCS
Conference Ivy League
All-time record65956134 (.539)
Claimed national titles5 (1915, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1939)
Conference titles3 (1971, 1988, 1990)
Rivalries Colgate (rivalry)
Columbia (rivalry)
Dartmouth (rivalry)
Penn (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans16
Current uniform
Cornell big red football unif.png
ColorsCarnelian red and white [1]
   
Fight song"Give My Regards to Davy"
Website CornellBigRed.com

The Cornell Big Red football team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. It is one of the oldest and most storied football programs in the nation. The team has attained five national championships and has had seven players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Contents

History

19th century

In 1869, the first intramural football on the Cornell campus took place, although it did not resemble the modern sport and there were 40 players per side. In 1874, the university president and co-founder, Andrew Dickson White, disallowed a team of Cornell students from traveling to Cleveland to play Michigan. White said, "I refuse to let 40 of our boys travel 400 miles merely to agitate a bag of wind." [2]

On November 12, 1887, Cornell played its first intercollegiate game against Union College, losing 24–10. The following year, Cornell recorded their first win by beating Palmyra, 26–0, and went on to finish the season with a 4–2 record. [2] In 1889, Cornell played the University of Michigan Wolverines in Buffalo, New York, shutting out Michigan in a 66–0 victory. [3]

In 1892, Pop Warner first played the game, and the Cornellians finished the season with a 10–1 record under head coach Carl Johanson, often referred to as the "Father of Cornell football". Two years later, in 1894, Warner rose to become the team's captain. After college, Warner began his coaching career and returned to Cornell in 1897. That year, he led the team to a 5–3–1 record. The following season, Cornell compiled a 10–2 record. Warner then moved on to coach the Carlisle Indians football team. [2]

20th century

The 1904 Cornell Big Red football team coached by Pop Warner (not pictured) Cornell's 1904 Varsity Football Team.jpg
The 1904 Cornell Big Red football team coached by Pop Warner (not pictured)

In 1901, under first-year coach Ray Starbuck, the Cornellians outscored their opponents 324–38 and won 11 games for the only time in school history. Pop Warner returned as head coach from 1904 to 1906, during which time his teams posted a 21–8 record. [2]

Cornell began playing Ivy League rival Penn in 1893. They have played 129 times since, in every year except 1918 and 2020, making this game the sixth-most played college football contest in the nation.

In 1915, Cornell won all nine of its games. They handed Harvard their first loss in 50 consecutive games, 10–0. Gil Dobie took over as head coach in 1920. In his first season, the Cornellians posted a 6–2 record, but in each of the subsequent three years they finished 8–0. Cornell was awarded the national championship for each of those three seasons by at least one selector. In those seasons, Cornell outscored its opponents, 1,051 points to 71. [2]

Cornell defeated Penn State, 21–6, in 1938 to begin a school record unbeaten streak of 16 games. The Big Red compiled an 8–0 record in 1939 for its fifth national championship. The possibility of a Rose Bowl invitation that season was rebuffed by the university administration. The unbeaten streak came to an end in 1940 with the infamous Fifth Down Game. [2] After the game, Cornell voluntarily forfeited to Dartmouth when review of film showed the Big Red had inadvertently used five downs. [4] The ESPN College Football Encyclopedia named the game, and Cornell's honorable concession, the second greatest moment in college football history. [5]

In 1951, Cornell beat defending Big Ten and Rose Bowl champion Michigan, 20–7. Between 1969 and 1971, running back Ed Marinaro broke numerous NCAA records with a career total of 1,881 yards and 24 touchdowns. His senior year, he finished as runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Pat Sullivan of Auburn. That same season, Cornell finished 6–1 to secure a share of the Ivy League conference championship for the first time. Following the 1981 season, the Ivy League was reclassified to Division I-AA, today known as the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Cornell moved to Division I-AA play with the rest of the league. [6] Cornell twice more attained the Ivy League title, shared in 1988 with Penn and shared with Dartmouth in 1990. [2] Beginning in 2018, Cornell has played New York State Ivy League rival, the Columbia Lions, in their final game. The victor is awarded the Empire Cup.

21st century

The Ivy League announced that no sports would be played in the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [7] The Big Red returned to Schoellkopf in September 2021 to play Virginia Military Institute, its first game after a 665-day hiatus. [8]

Conference affiliations

Championships

National championships

Cornell has won five (1915, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1939) national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors. [9] [10] :111–112 Cornell claims all five championships. [11] [12] [13]

YearSelectorsCoachRecord
1915 Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis Al Sharpe 9–0
1921 Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis Gil Dobie 8–0
1922 Helms, Parke DavisGil Dobie8–0
1923 Sagarin Gil Dobie8–0
1939 Litkenhous, Sagarin Carl Snavely 8–0

Conference championships

YearConferenceCoachOverall recordConference record
1971 Ivy League Jack Musick 8–16–1
1988Ivy League Maxie Baughan 7–2–16–1
1990Ivy League Jim Hofher 7–36–1

Rivalries

Cornell's cheerleaders at the Cornell-Penn game at Franklin Field on November 19, 2019 Cornell University cheerleaders at Cornell-Penn game, 2019.jpg
Cornell's cheerleaders at the Cornell-Penn game at Franklin Field on November 19, 2019

Cornell has several rivalries in football, most significantly the Penn Quakers. The rivalry between the two schools is the sixth most played rivalry in college football history. They play for the Trustees' Cup. The series is led by Penn with a record of 77–47–5.

Notable players

Consensus All-Americans

Players in the NFL Draft

Kevin Boothe Kevin Boothe.JPG
Kevin Boothe
Ed Marinaro Ed Marinaro "Hill Street Blues" (1981 NBC press photo).jpg
Ed Marinaro
JC Tretter J.C. Tretter Browns vs Giants AUG21 (cropped).jpg
JC Tretter

The following Cornell Big Red football players have been selected by NFL teams in the annual NFL Draft:

Key

BBackK Kicker NT Nose tackle
C Center LB Linebacker FB Fullback
DB Defensive back P Punter HB Halfback
DE Defensive end QB Quarterback WR Wide receiver
DT Defensive tackle RB Running back G Guard
E End T Offensive tackle TE Tight end
YearRoundPick in roundOverall pickPlayerTeamPosition
2024394 Jalyx Hunt a Philadelphia Eagles LB [14]
2024524159 Hunter Nourzad b Kansas City Chiefs C [15]
2013425122 JC Tretter Green Bay Packers T
200667176 Kevin Boothe Los Angeles Raiders T
1997418114 Seth Payne Jacksonville Jaguars DT
1997427123 Chad Levitt Oakland Raiders RB
1984924248 Derrick Harmon San Francisco 49ers RB
1974926234 Bob Lally Miami Dolphins LB
19741422360 Mike Phillips Cincinnati Bengals T
197222450 Ed Marinaro Minnesota Vikings RB
19691023257 John Sponheimer Kansas City Chiefs DT
1967911222 Pete Larson Washington Redskins RB
1964811109 Gary Wood New York Giants QB
1956187212 Stan Intihar Green Bay PackersE
1956282327 Bill DeGraaf Pittsburgh Steelers B
1955133148 Len Oniskey Washington RedskinsT
1954288333 John Gerdes Philadelphia Eagles T
1951264307 Jeff Fleischmann St. Louis Cardinals B
194981081 Bob Dean Philadelphia EaglesB
1949186177 Hillary Chollet Los Angeles Rams B
1949253244 Paul Girolamo New York Yanks B
19475429 Frank Wydo Pittsburgh SteelersT
19469272 Al Dekdebrun New York YanksB
1946256236 Chick Davidson Green Bay PackersT
1945224223 Walt Kretz New York YanksB
1945227226 Chick Davidson Washington RedskinsT
1944257259 Joe Martin Washington RedskinsB
1944302309 Howard Blose Brooklyn Dodgers B
194110787 Walt Matuszczak New York GiantsB
194111494 Nick Drahos Los Angeles RamsT
1941174154 Kirk Hershey Los Angeles RamsE
1941222204 Mort Landsberg Pittsburgh SteelersB
1940214194 Vince Eichler Green Bay PackersB
193910484 Bill McKeever Philadelphia EaglesT
193911393 Sid Roth Los Angeles RamsG [16]
^a Hunt transferred to the Houston Christian Huskies in 2022
^b Nourzad transferred to the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2022

Numerous undrafted players have also played in the NFL. [17] Pete Gogolak became the first soccer-style kicker in pro football in 1964; the most recent is Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Bryan Walters.

Big Red Players in the Super Bowl

In 2025, Hunter Nourzad '22, playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and Jalyx Hunt '23, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, faced each other in Super Bowl LIX. [18] Derrick Harmon '84 returned kicks and rushed for 20 yards in Super Bowl XIX.

Others

Television

Cornell football, as well as the rest of the Ivy League Conference, currently[ when? ] has a deal with ESPN in which ESPN agreed to a long-term relationship to showcase Ivy League events through a variety of ESPN platforms, including at least 24 events annually on ESPN’s linear networks and more than 1,100 annually on ESPN+, one of ESPN's earliest conference partners after launching ESPN+. [19]

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of February 18, 2025. [20]

20252026
at Albany at Colgate
Colgate
Bucknell

See also

References

  1. "Colors". Cornell University Brand Center. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cornell Football History, Cornell University, retrieved March 13, 2009.
  3. Wolverines Worsted.," The Cornell Daily Sun - 18 November 1889.
  4. Part II: The Fifth Down Game Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine , The Cornell Daily Sun, November 8, 2007.
  5. Beano Cook's top 10 moments in college football, ESPN, October 6, 2006.
  6. New York Times – 2006-11-17
  7. West, Jenna. "Ivy League to Postpone Fall Athletics, No Date Set for Return". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  8. Snyder, Aaron (September 18, 2021). "Football Drops Season Opener to Virginia Military Institute". Cornell Daily Sun. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  9. Christopher J. Walsh (2007). Who's #1?: 100-Plus Years of Controversial National Champions in College Football. Taylor Trade Pub. pp. 119–120. ISBN   978-1-58979-337-8.
  10. 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  11. Cornell University — Football Champions — 1915, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1939 (Trophies). Schoellkopf Field: Cornell University. August 17, 2015. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  12. "Ncaa Team Champions".
  13. "Cornell University - FB_RecordBook" (PDF). www.cornellbigred.com. p. 3.
  14. Fran Duffy & Chris McPherson (April 27, 2024). "Eagles select OLB Jalyx Hunt with the 94th overall pick". Philadelphia: Philadelphia Eagles. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2025. He played 17 games over a three-year span at Cornell
  15. "Nourzad Selected By Chiefs in 2024 Draft". Ithaca, New York: Cornell Athletics. April 27, 2024. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2025. Nourzad becomes the first Big Red to be selected in the draft since 2013 when JC Tretter was picked
  16. "DraftHistory.com". www.drafthistory.com.
  17. "Cornell Players/Alumni". Pro Football Reference. November 19, 2016.
  18. Newcomb, Melissa (January 28, 2025). "Former Big Red Teammates Are on Opposite Sides at Super Bowl LIX". Cornell University. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  19. "Ivy League Network".
  20. "Cornell Big Red Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 18, 2025.