In the United States, college rivalries are a prominent aspect of intercollegiate sports. These rivalries are characterized by a long-standing history of competitiveness that extends beyond the athletes on the field, often affecting the larger communities associated with the institutions.[1]
The list below categorizes rivalries within sports conferences. Notably, some rivalries, such as the Indiana–Kentucky rivalry, occur between schools from different conferences.
California vs. Stanford – Will become an ACC rivalry when the two schools join in 2024. First played in 1892, and most famous for the surreal ending to their 1982 matchup.
Battle of Bristol (Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech) – first played in 1897, currently holds the record for most attended football game 156,990 in attendance at Bristol Motor Speedway. September 10, 2016
Governor's Cup (Louisville vs. Kentucky) – first played in 1912, but the modern football rivalry did not begin until 1994. The 1994 meeting was the first between the teams in 70 years.
Basketball is typically the focus of sports rivalries in the America East Conference, though schools find themselves in rivalries across all sports, including baseball and lacrosse. Notable rivalries include:
University at Albany and Stony Brook University – This was a conference rivalry until Stony Brook left the AmEast for the all-sports CAA in 2022. Their football rivalry, known as the Empire Clash, has been a conference matchup since 2013, when both schools joined CAA Football.
Stony Brook University and University of Vermont, mostly in men's basketball, due to the successes these two teams have had in the 2010s. It became a non-conference matchup when Stony Brook joined the all-sports CAA in 2022.
Big East rivalries
The Big East Conference, founded as a basketball conference, is a league of 11 Division I schools, with only University of Connecticut playing FBS–level football. The conference, while centered in the northeast, is also geographically diverse, stretching from Nebraska to New England. Current rivalries include:
Butler Bulldogs and Xavier Musketeers – among the most successful Division I men's basketball programs in the 21st century, the two schools were founding members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference,[3] and were also two of the three Midwestern schools invited to join the Big East at its relaunch in 2013.
DePaul Blue Demons and Marquette Golden Eagles – originally Division I independents, both joined Conference USA and the original Big East at the same time, and are among the "Catholic 7" that formed the current Big East after breaking away from the former members of the conference who all sponsored Division I Football Bowl Subdivision-level football. One of several sports rivalries involving teams from Chicago and Milwaukee, alongside the Brewers–Cubs rivalry and (by proxy) the Bears–Packers rivalry. The rivalry reached its zenith in the late 1970s, when both DePaul and Marquette were national powers. However, the rivalry has, as of late, heavily favored Marquette, with the Milwaukee school winning approximately four out of every five meetings since the early 1990s.
Georgetown Hoyas and St. John's Red Storm' — these two "Catholic 7" schools, neither of which plays Division I FBS football (Georgetown plays in Division I FCS, and St. John's has no football program), had their basketball teams rise to prominence in the 1980s, having numerous meetings that impacted the NCAA Championship as well as the Big East title. Both teams were known for their charismatic coaches, John Thompson at Georgetown and Lou Carnesecca at St. John's. Rivalry has declined in recent years. This rivalry has also influenced other sports, as the two schools' baseball teams opened Citi Field on March 29, 2009 with the third game of a three-game series that started at Georgetown. The Hoyas won the game, and the series.
Georgetown Hoyas and Villanova Wildcats — these two Division I FCS football schools share an intense rivalry in basketball, stemming from Villanova's defeat of John Thompson's Hoya team in the 1985 NCAA championship game. The rivalry takes on a religious tone as Augustinian (Villanova) versus Jesuit (Georgetown). Jokes about the opposing orders fly back and forth during the week preceding Villanova–Georgetown. In recent years the rivalry has undergone somewhat of a revival, with both teams enjoying success in the regular season and recent NCAA tournaments. This rivalry continues in the reconfigured Big East.[4]
Providence Friars and Villanova Wildcats — the two smallest schools in the original Big East battle each year. The rivalry is also elevated by the Catholic orders which run the schools; Providence's Dominicans and Villanova's Augustinians.
St. John's Red Storm and Seton Hall Pirates – two local "Catholic 7" schools battle every year in basketball. New York vs New Jersey bragging rights are on the line as well as competing for many local basketball recruits in the area.
- Non-conference
Notre Dame–UConn women's basketball rivalry – a rivalry that started in the 1990s when both schools were members of the original Big East, intensified in the 2000–01 season with three pivotal matchups (one of which became the focal point of a published book, Bird at the Buzzer), and became nationally significant in the 21st century, especially after UConn's rivalry with Tennessee went on a 13-year hiatus. Notre Dame was responsible for more than half of UConn's losses from 2011 to 2019 (8 out of 15).
Tennessee–UConn women's basketball rivalry – the women's basketball rivalry between the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers and the University of Connecticut Huskies is one of the fiercest rivalries in college basketball, and perhaps the only one to reach national consciousness out of the women's game. This rivalry was halted in 2007 due to a falling-out between the schools' head coaches (respectively Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma), and did not resume until 2020 (four years after Summitt's death).
Big Ten rivalries
The 14 universities part of the Big Ten Conference, most of which are located in the Midwestern United States, have more rivalries than other universities in the conference. These include;
Northwestern University and University of Illinois – competed for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk from 1945 through 2008. Because of NCAA rules regarding Native American imagery, the trophy has been retired, with the schools competing for the new Land of Lincoln Trophy from 2009 onward. It will be one of the 12 "protected" rivalry games in Big Ten football once Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC join the conference in 2024.
Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State University – there is no trophy, but these teams play every year in the Big Ten through the 2023 season, after which it will be played twice in a four-year cycle. The first meeting between these two teams dates back to the early 1900s. Due to recent scandals with both programs, Ohio State vacated their 2010 victory due to the tattoo scandal. Some of these games can lead to conference championships and decide the college playoffs
University of Iowa and University of Nebraska – Heroes Trophy; also a protected post-2023 rivalry.
University of Michigan and Ohio State University[5] – ESPN calls the Michigan–Ohio State rivalry the greatest sports rivalry of the 20th century.[6] According to legend, its history can be traced back to the Toledo War. The rivalry between the two schools is simply known as "The Game", no trophy is awarded to the winner of the game. Also a protected post-2023 rivalry.
Texas Tech University and Texas Christian University (TCU) – one of the biggest rivalries in the Big 12. Both athletic directors have stated that they were in a rivalry. Every year these two teams play for the Saddle Trophy. Texas Tech and TCU are definitely each others biggest rivals making this one of the most prolific rivalries in college football. It has once again become an annual matchup as TCU has joined the Big 12 Conference with Texas Tech.
University of Kansas and University of Missouri – The Border War includes all athletic events between the two schools. The rivalry ostensibly traces its roots to the 1850s, when skirmishes – widely known as "border wars" – between the two states marked the beginning of the Civil War. Before Missouri's departure for the SEC, this was the oldest continuous football rivalry west of the Mississippi, and the second oldest in Division I FBS history.
University of Oklahoma and University of Nebraska – this rivalry was once one of the most storied rivalries in the history of college football, highlighted by the 1971 "Game of the Century" between #1 Nebraska and #2 Oklahoma.[10] However, the rivalry diminished somewhat after the creation of the Big 12 in 1996 placed the two teams in different divisions, meaning that the game was no longer played annually. It ended for the time being once Nebraska joined the Big Ten.[11] The rivalry has temporarily resumed, with Oklahoma hosting Nebraska in 2021 and Nebraska hosting Oklahoma in 2022.[12]
William & Mary and Hampton University, the latter of which joined both sides of the CAA in July 2022. Both schools are located on the Virginia Peninsula, the core of the northern portion of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
United States Naval Academy and Princeton University, a traditional rivalry seen now most evidently in Lightweight Rowing, compete annually for the Murtaugh Cup and Waterpolo where both schools commonly play each for the League Championship. Navy defeated Princeton for the 2009 and 2008 Championship.
United States Military Academy and Yale University, the proximity of these two institutions and the success of their football programs earlier in the century led to a bitter rivalry.
Cornell University and Colgate University, primarily in football and hockey. Colgate's sports teams were named the "Red Raiders" in response to Cornell's "Big Red". Colgate and Cornell have played 119 football games against one another and 127 hockey since 1958; Cornell leads both series.
Cornell University and University of Pennsylvania – football rivalry dating to 1893; with 122 games, it is the 5th most played college football game. The only year Cornell and Penn did not play was in 1918. For a time played on Thanksgiving; since 1995, the winner has been awarded the Trustees Cup. Penn leads in the series 71–46–5. The Cornell–Penn series is the 2nd longest uninterrupted series played (since 1919).
The Pac-12 Conference currently falls neatly into six regional pairings, leading to strong rivalries. Three of these pairs are cross-state rivals, one pair is within the same metropolitan region (San Francisco Bay Area), and one pair vies for bragging rights within the same city (Los Angeles). However, the Pac-12 is all but certain to fold, at least in its current form, in 2024, with four members joining the Big Ten Conference, four joining the Big 12 Conference, and two joining the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Oregon: University of Oregon and Oregon State University – (all sports) in the Oregon–Oregon State football rivalry.[14] This is the seventh-longest rivalry game in college football history. The alumni association of the winning school receives the Platypus Trophy, a wooden trophy that had been lost for more than 40 years before being rediscovered in 2005. The rivalry is likely to become intermittent in the future, with Oregon moving to the Big Ten and Oregon State being one of the two Pac-12 schools that has yet to announce its departure.[14]
Washington: University of Washington and Washington State University – (all sports). The winner of the annual football game between the two schools wins the Apple Cup. This rivalry has the same future status as the Oregon rivalry, with Washington joining the Big Ten and Washington State in conference limbo.
Rocky Mountains: University of Colorado and University of Utah. The Rumble in the Rockies in football was one of the most prominent rivalries from the early to mid-20th century. It was discontinued after 1962, but was revived in 2011 when the two schools were reunited in the Pac-12. The rivalry will carry over to the Big 12 from 2024.
University of Oregon and University of Washington – (football) a rivalry between the two of the four programs in the Pacific Northwest described as one of the "most temperamental cross-state rivalries".[15] Both will move together to the Big Ten in 2024, and their football rivalry is another of the Big Ten's "protected" matchups.
University of Arizona and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (basketball and softball) – In the mid-1990s, Arizona and UCLA, as the two strongest basketball teams in the Pac-10, often clashed for dominance in the conference and for the conference championship. As in softball in the 1990s the two teams combined for nine of the ten championships awarded. And both combine for 19 national championships of 34 contended. The two will be separated in 2024, with Arizona in the Big 12 and UCLA in the Big Ten.
Stanford University and University of Southern California (USC) – two of the major private universities in California and the only two private schools in the Pac-12, these two schools are highly competitive in most sports. Recent football upsets of the long successful Trojans (24–23 Stanford in 2007, the biggest point-spread upset in NCAA football history and an end to USC's 6-year home winning streak and 55–21 in 2009, the most points ever scored against the Trojans in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum) have led to a rekindling of the long-standing rivalry. However, the schools will be separated in 2024, with Stanford in the ACC and USC in the Big Ten.
Additional non-conference rivalries involving Pac-12 schools (the most famous of which is arguably Notre Dame–USC) can be found in other sections of this article.
SEC rivalries
Home of the biggest football teams, the Southeastern Conference, (SEC), naturally includes the biggest rivalries which can be vital in deciding playoff position and even national championships. These include:
University of Kentucky and University of South Carolina – while these two SEC schools have significant rivalries in other sports, this matchup is most significant in men's soccer, as these are the only two SEC members that field varsity soccer teams for men. The teams have been conference rivals since 2005—first in Conference USA, and starting with the 2022 season in the Sun Belt Conference. The men's soccer rivalry is known as the SEC Derby.
University of Tennessee (UT) and University of Kentucky (UK) – a border war, UT has dominated UK over the last quarter century in football and UK in men's basketball. In addition to the important ball games, blood banks in the home cities of each university[18](Lexington, Kentucky and Knoxville, Tennessee) compete to see who can raise the most units of blood. This is known informally as the Blue-Orange Crush. The football game is traditionally known as "The Battle for the Beer Barrel," named for the orange and blue barrel that the winning team once received.
University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University – Brigadier General Robert Neyland, the coach who brought a winning tradition to the University of Tennessee, was originally brought in to "beat Vandy", as Vanderbilt dominated the series in the early part of last century. In 2005, Vanderbilt beat the University of Tennessee for the first time in over two decades – one of the then-longest streaks in the NCAA.[citation needed]
Boston College – a game between the only two Catholic colleges that have Football Bowl Subdivision football programs. They compete for the Ireland Trophy. The rivalry has also been dubbed "The Holy War". This is one of several rivalries that have been revived on an intermittent basis following Notre Dame's 2013 entry into the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC); while Notre Dame remains an independent in football, it has agreed to play five games per season against ACC schools, and to play all other ACC members at least once every three years. The first game under this new arrangement was won by Notre Dame at Fenway Park in 2015.
Michigan State University – a series that includes one of several "Games of the Century", the 1966 matchup that ended in a 10–10 tie. The teams play for the Megaphone Trophy. The game will be played less often in the future, due both to Notre Dame's new ACC commitments and the Big Ten increasing its conference schedule to nine games in 2016.
Northwestern University – a rivalry that had its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s and even featured a Shillelagh trophy much like the ones that go to the winner of the Notre Dame–USC and Notre Dame–Purdue games. This rivalry game has been played infrequently in recent years.
Purdue University – The Shillelagh Trophy. To be played less often in the future for the reasons mentioned in the Michigan State discussion.
University of Miami – initially an easy win for the Irish, became a rivalry that was at its peak in the 1980s and often held national title implications. This is another rivalry that was revived following Notre Dame's arrival in the ACC; the first game under the new deal was in 2016, with the next matchup expected to be in 2025. See also: Catholics vs. Convicts.
University of Michigan – a game between two of the winningest college football programs of all time. This rivalry went on hiatus after the 2014 season due to Notre Dame's ACC commitments.
United States Military Academy (Army) – a rivalry held almost every year from an initial meeting in 1913 to the 1950s, in the era when the two were among the top schools in the nation, the two now play infrequently, with the most recent game occurring in 2016 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
United States Naval Academy (Navy) – a rivalry which Notre Dame has dominated. Navy won this game in 2007 for the first time since 1963, and again in 2009, 2010, and 2016, somewhat reversing the lopsided nature of the rivalry the previous four decades. It is one of the longer-running series in college football and is always hard-fought on both sides. Before Navy became a football-only member of the American Athletic Conference in 2015, the two schools were the longest-standing independents in Division I FBS. The rivalry is officially scheduled through the 2026 season, and is expected to continue indefinitely.
University of Pittsburgh – longtime rivals that shared Big East Conference affiliations (except in football) and ACC affiliations when both schools joined the ACC in 2013. Many of Notre Dame's most famed talents such as Joe Montana, Lou Holtz and Johnny Lujack hail from the Pittsburgh area. The "public vs. private" aspect as well as always having opposing team members that have played with or against each other since grade school has given the contest a unique distinction of dividing neighborhoods or even families during a fall Saturday. This rivalry will be played once every three years as part of Notre Dame's agreement to play five ACC schools per season.
Georgia Tech – played on and off since the early mid-20th Century as a North vs. South rivalry of sorts. Following Notre Dame's arrival in the ACC, the rivalry resumed in 2015 on a three-year rotation, with the next meeting expected to be in 2024.
Butler University and Valparaiso University – while this was an all-sports rivalry in the Horizon League from Valparaiso's arrival in 2007 to Butler's departure in 2012, it has its roots in football, in which the two schools first played in 1927 and have played annually since 1951. Currently, they are conference rivals in the Pioneer Football League. The current rivalry trophy, the "Hoosier Helmet", was created prior to the 2006 season to commemorate the football rivalry.[22]
Butler University and Xavier University[3] – Longtime Midwestern private-school rivals, they are two of the three Midwestern schools that were invited by the "Catholic 7" to join the reconfigured Big East Conference in 2013.
Drake University and University of Northern Iowa play for the DUNI Trophy. Members of the Missouri Valley Conference, they are rivals in almost all sports except football. While both operate FCS football programs, Drake plays in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League and UNI in the scholarship-granting and highly competitive Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Iowa and Nebraska
Drake University and Creighton University – former Missouri Valley Conference rivals play for the I-80 Trophy.[citation needed] The schools had been together in the MVC from 1928 until Creighton left in 1948, and again from Creighton's return in 1976 until 2013, when Creighton joined the new Big East.
Eastern Michigan University, Central Michigan University, and Western Michigan University – intrastate rivalry. Winner of head-to-head round-robin receives the Michigan MAC Trophy for football and men's basketball
Creighton University and University of Nebraska–Lincoln – Battle between schools that were long the only two Division I schools in the state of Nebraska. This rivalry is exacerbated by the fact that one is a private and Catholic school and the other is the primary public university in the state. Also, Omaha and Lincoln represent the two largest cities in Nebraska, separated by only roughly 50 miles (80km). Primarily a basketball rivalry, although baseball has become a heated sport of contention within the last ten years.[citation needed]
University of Nebraska at Kearney and University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha) – Mostly a football and wrestling rivalry. Both schools were almost always in the top five in Division II wrestling. The football teams played for the Nebraska Bell, a trophy that was introduced to the Football rivalry in 2002. Omaha has the series 25–8 over Kearney.[citation needed] However, the football rivalry ended after the 2010 season when Omaha dropped football, and the all-sports rivalry went dormant in 2011 when Omaha moved to Division I in all sports.
The Dakotas
North Dakota State University and South Dakota State University – These two interstate rivals play for the Dakota Marker trophy in football, representing markers that were placed along the ND/SD border after they were split apart in 1889. The Dakota Marker rivalry was announced after both teams entered Division I sports in 2004, playing the first Dakota Marker Game. They played for the FCS national title in the 2022 season, with SDSU winning. While the Marker is only a football trophy contested within the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the rivalry exists in other sports, with both schools also being members of The Summit League.
University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University – These schools have played for the Nickel Trophy for football since 1894. They played for it until North Dakota State made the move to Division I FCS in 2004. North Dakota currently leads the series 62–46–3. The football rivalry resumed in 2015 with a game at NDSU in Fargo, and annual play resumed in 2019. The rivalry was rekindled in non-football sports in 2018 when UND and NDSU were reunited in the Summit League, and became a conference rivalry in football in 2020 when UND joined NDSU in the MVFC.
University of Cincinnati and Xavier University – two schools located 3 miles (4.8km) apart from each other, one public, the other Catholic, makes for a vicious college basketball rivalry. The game has been historically known as the Crosstown Shootout. The 2011 game was marred by a bench-clearing brawl, which led to an official renaming of the rivalry game as the Crosstown Classic. After three years without significant incidents at the neutral U.S. Bank Arena in downtown Cincinnati, the rivalry returned to campus sites in 2015, and the "Crosstown Shootout" name returned.
University of Wisconsin–Madison and Marquette University – this rivalry is fought in most sports, but most intense is men's basketball, where the two schools meet annually, and have played each other over 125 times.
Northeastern rivalries
New Jersey
Rutgers University and Seton Hall University, a rivalry played out solely between the two institutions' men's basketball teams. Long a conference rivalry in the original Big East, it continued even after the conference's 2013 split (with Rutgers moving to the Big Ten a year later). The two schools have agreed to continue the men's basketball series through the 2020–21 season.
Princeton University and Rutgers University, Despite their long-standing football rivalry dating back to the first intercollegiate football game in 1869, these two schools have not met on the gridiron since 1980. They continue to compete in every other sport. The two universities also continue this rivalry off the field in one of the longer running intercollegiate prank wars, the Rutgers–Princeton Cannon War.
Long Island University (LIU) and St. Francis College (St. Francis Brooklyn), primarily a basketball rivalry between two schools in Brooklyn less than a half-mile apart. The rivalry was also known as the Battle of Brooklyn. The two men's basketball teams first played in 1928, when LIU consisted solely of what is now that institution's Brooklyn campus. In 1975, by which time LIU had added what is now the Post campus in Nassau County, New York, the Brooklyn campus and St. Francis formalized their rivalry, holding an annual game. Both were members of the Northeast Conference from its formation in 1981 through 2023, after which St. Francis Brooklyn shut down its athletic program, and played two regular-season games each season in basketball, although only one of the two games was officially designated as a "Battle of Brooklyn" matchup. While the schools were rivals in all sports that both sponsored, the "Battle of Brooklyn" name was officially applied only to the men's basketball, women's basketball, and men's soccer rivalries. The women's basketball rivalry was brought under the "Battle of Brooklyn" umbrella in 1993–94, under the same conditions as the men's basketball rivalry; men's soccer officially became a "Battle of Brooklyn" in 2013–14. The rivalry took its final form in the 2019–20 school year, when LIU merged the athletic programs of its two main campuses—the NCAA Division I LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and Division IILIU Post Pioneers—into a single Division I athletic program competing as the LIU Sharks. The men's rivalry remained a geographic "Battle of Brooklyn" in some sports (including basketball) but not in others, as some sports of the unified LIU program (including basketball) are based in Brooklyn and others (including soccer) at Post. St. Francis Brooklyn would drop sports after the 2023 spring semester.
Manhattan University and Fordham University; primarily a basketball rivalry between these two Catholic schools in The Bronx. Also known as the Battle of the Bronx. Its 100th basketball game was played on November 28, 2007.
Marist College and Siena College; many fans and sportswriters dubbed this match-up as "The Battle of I-87" because of the two-hour proximity of each school on Interstate 87 highway (coincidentally, the approximate distance between the two is 87.4 miles). It is said that no other two colleges in the Mid-Hudson Region have a hatred and distaste for one another than the Marist Red Foxes and Siena Saints. Although this rivalry exist in all sports, it is most heated during the basketball season. Whether it's held at McCann Field House or the Times Union Center, both school's visiting fans come in droves, so eventfully conflicts are bound to happen on the court or in the stands. In 2009, the two school's club-level ice hockey teams established the 87 Challenge Cup, an annual three game round-robin challenge for a replica I-87 road sign; both of the team's logos and winning years are engraved on the back. Siena leads that series, 2–1.
University at Albany (Albany) and Siena College (men's basketball) for the Albany Cup
University at Albany (Albany) and Stony Brook University – Like Albany–Binghamton, a New York public-school rivalry that mostly played out in the America East Conference until 2022, when Stony Brook joined the all-sports CAA. The two schools' football teams, which had played in separate conferences throughout their histories in that sport, became conference rivals in CAA Football in 2013.
SUNY New Paltz and Vassar College (men's rugby) contest the Hudson River Rivalry in the Tri-State Rugby Conference and formally the METNY Rugby Union. The schools also have a rivalry in men's volleyball, with both competing in the single-sport United Volleyball Conference.
Syracuse University and Cornell University, primarily in lacrosse. The two schools are separated by an hour and faced off in the classic 2009 NCAA lacrosse championship game.
Two of the three Catholic schools in the Big Five, Saint Joseph's and Villanova, have their own rivalry known as The Holy War.
The City 6 was the name applied to the combination of the Big 5 and Drexel before the latter became an official part of the Big 5. Drexel and Penn have their own rivalry, the Battle of 33rd Street. This is geographically the closest rivalry in NCAA Division I; the schools' basketball arenas are separated by about 0.3 miles/500 m.
University of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania State University – a traditional football rivalry for both schools, the teams have not played each other since 2000. This football rivalry was renewed in 2016, with the teams playing a four-game series through 2019. The rivalry continues to exist in other sports and between alumni and fans.
University of Pittsburgh and Villanova University is an intraconference basketball rivalry that has existed since both schools were members of the Eastern 8.
Cheyney University and Lincoln University – the two oldest black colleges or HBCU in America. The schools compete in everything athletic or academic. Two teams compete annually in the heated thanksgiving weekend Basketball game. The reinstatement of Lincoln's football program will add more fire to the rivalry.[citation needed]
Franklin & Marshall College and Dickinson College – the "Conestoga Wagon Cup" – the winner historically received a Conestoga Wagon that was passed between the two schools; however, in 2000 when Franklin & Marshall won the game, the Wagon was retired to the Franklin & Marshall College Alumni Sports and Fitness Center. The game is still played each year close to Homecoming.
Summit University and Keystone College – This rivalry is the biggest game for the two colleges due to closeness of location and the friendly relations of the schools makes the games in all sports so competitive. There is no football at these schools. They are a 20-minute drive separating campuses.
Summit University and Cairn University – These teams are the premier NCCAA teams in the nation fighting it out for top dog in Men's and Women's Soccer. There is no football at these schools. The games are wild and rough with all to play for. They are blood boiling games. The schools passionately dislike each other.
New England
The Battle of Whitney Avenue– a college hockey series between ECAC Hockey members Quinnipiac and Yale. The schools met in the 2013 National championship game.
The Baseball Beanpot, an annual rivalry tournament which began in 1989. The participants are the same as in the hockey Beanpot, except that Boston University, which has no baseball program, is replaced by UMass.
Green Line Rivalry – Boston College vs. Boston University – One of the best known and fierce rivalries in NCAA Hockey, but also included football before BU terminated its football program in 1962 – Has been called the greatest rivalry in all of sports[28]
Merritt Parkway Melee – a rivalry between Quinnipiac University and Fairfield University, two schools in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) separated by about 30 miles on Connecticut's Merritt Parkway, the most intense matchups coming in women's volleyball where the two teams have met in the MAAC Championship in 2022 and 2023 with each side winning once
University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University – known as the Backyard Brawl. The football version of the rivalry ended for the time being after the 2011 season, with WVU moving to the Big 12 and Pitt announcing its future departure for the ACC. The men's basketball rivalry resumed in the 2017–18 season; the football rivalry resumed in 2022 and continues through 2025, and is also scheduled from 2029–2032.
Syracuse University and Georgetown University traditional basketball rivals, dating to pre-Big East. The rivalry temporarily ended in 2013 when Syracuse left the original Big East for the ACC and Georgetown broke away with the rest of the "Catholic 7" to form the current Big East. The schools resumed their men's basketball series in the 2015–16 season.[29]
University of Pittsburgh vs Syracuse University is a longstanding annual eastern and intraconference rivalry in both football, played continuously since 1955, and basketball. This remains a conference rivalry in the ACC; their football matchup was one of several "protected" cross-divisional rivalries in that sport (i.e., guaranteed to be held annually) until the ACC eliminated its football divisions after the 2022 season. The ACC has not announced whether Pitt and Syracuse will be permanent opponents in its new football scheduling model.
Penn State University and West Virginia University, a northeastern football rivalry that has been played infrequently since Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference.
Princeton University and Syracuse University – the two teams have clinched 14 NCAA men's lacrosse div. I champions in last two decades; two powerhouses ties NCAA div. I championship series, 2–2.
Syracuse University and Johns Hopkins University, a major NCAA men's lacrosse rivalry. The two schools combine for 20 national titles and have a heated rivalry against each other.
Appalachian State University and Georgia Southern University – these two schools, with roots as teachers' colleges and similar enrollments, have an annual football rivalry that was one of the most intense at the FCS level, with the two combining for nine FCS national titles. From 1993 to 2013, this was an annual matchup in the SoCon; both schools joined FBS and the Sun Belt in 2014.
Belmont University and Tennessee State University – a Nashville rivalry created by conference realignment, with Belmont joining Tennessee State in the OVC. This became a non-conference matchup with Belmont's 2022 move to the MVC.
The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute (VMI) – (football) The Military Classic of the South "The Battle for the Silver Shako". The schools had been together in the Southern Conference from The Citadel's arrival in 1936 until VMI's departure in 2003. They were reunited when VMI rejoined the SoCon in 2014.
Clemson University and University of Georgia – a rivalry between nearby schools that had national title implications in the early 1980s, but has been played less often since the SEC went to an eight-game conference schedule.[citation needed]
Duke University and University of Maryland – this is a recent rivalry, sparked because of Maryland's increased competitiveness in NCAA basketball. The two teams have long been competitive in basketball, and Maryland is known for its visceral hatred of Duke.[32] However, Maryland's 2014 departure for the Big Ten ended the rivalry for the time being.
East Carolina University and North Carolina State University – Two of the largest universities in the state of North Carolina. "The Battle for the Barrel" is a trophy which ECU currently holds as the victor of the most recent game in 2016.
University of Florida and Florida State University[5] – Heated rivalry between two college football powerhouses. The battles between Bobby Bowden and Steve Spurrier provided some of the rivalry's most memorable games. In the mid-1990s, this game almost always had national championship implications.[citation needed]
Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Florida International University (FIU) – A Miami-area rivalry that plays itself out annually in football's Shula Bowl and conference basketball games. It was a conference rivalry from 1993 to 1998 in the TAAC (now the ASUN); the two schools were reunited for football in 2005 and other sports in 2006 when FAU joined the Sun Belt. The two schools moved together to C-USA in 2013, but FAU joined the American Athletic Conference in 2023. They remain conference rivals in men's soccer, as both schools joined The American for that sport in 2022, and FIU remains an American Conference affiliate.
Furman University and Wofford College – the oldest football rivalry in South Carolina, involving SoCon members located in the two main cities of Upstate South Carolina (respectively Greenville and Spartanburg). In modern times, this has effectively become a crosstown rivalry, as the two cities are now at the core of the state's largest metropolitan area.
Georgia Southern University and Georgia State University – An in-state rivalry, both schools lay claim to the initialism "GSU". Although the football rivalry is still relatively young, both schools have shared an intense rivalry in other sports, particularly men's basketball, since the 1970s. The rivalry further intensified in 2014 when Southern joined State in the Sun Belt Conference, and State hired the athletic director of Southern's rival Appalachian State for its vacancy in that position.
Jackson State University and Southern University – the Boombox Classic is the annual match-up between JSU and SU. The name is a reference to the two schools' marching bands – JSU's being the "Sonic Boom of the South" and SU's being "The Human Jukebox".
University of Kentucky and Indiana University, locally significant in football and nationally important in men's basketball, sometimes referred to in football as the Bourbon Barrel Trophy. See Indiana–Kentucky rivalry. The basketball rivalry ended for the time being in 2012 when the two schools could not agree on the location for the games (though the teams have played in the NCAA tournament twice since the last regular-season game in 2011).
University of Maryland and North Carolina State University – Hostility has increased in the football rivalry during recent years. Also, has a tradition of competitive basketball, including what has been called the greatest college basketball game ever played, the 1974 ACC Championship game.[34] Another rivalry that ended with Maryland's move to the Big Ten.
University of Maryland and University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) – historically dominated by Maryland, this budding lacrosse rivalry was intensified in the 2007 NCAA men's lacrosse tournament when the Retrievers upset the Terrapins in College Park. It heated the following year when tournament committee chairman and Terrapins head coach Dave Cottle set up UMBC to travel far from their fanbase to avoid playing them in the tournament, sparking accusations in the lacrosse world of using politics to avoid a matchup.
Northwestern State University and Stephen F. Austin State University – a heated rivalry that played out in the Southland Conference from 1987, when both schools joined, through 2019, with the winner receiving the largest trophy in all of college football, Chief Caddo. The future of the rivalry is in doubt—in the 2020–21 school year, with football dramatically affected by COVID-19, NSU played in spring 2021 and SFA in fall 2020, and in July 2021, SFA left the Southland to join the Western Athletic Conference (it now plays football in the United Athletic Conference).
Old Dominion University and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) — The Old Dominion–VCU men's basketball rivalry between the two Virginia public institutions is said to be one of the best rivalries in basketball in the mid-majors.[35] It was once an in-conference CAA rivalry, but became inter-conference after VCU's 2012 move to the A-10; ODU moved to C-USA in 2013 and rejoined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022.
Rhodes College and Sewanee: The University of the South – The longest-running (continuously played) college football rivalry in the South, starting in 1899. Since 1954 the winner of this game has been awarded the Orgill Trophy.
University of Richmond and The College of William & Mary – known as the "Oldest Rivalry in the South",[36] this is the fourth oldest rivalry in college football, with the Tribe first battling the Spiders in 1890. The Tribe is up all-time, 59–52–5
Virginia Tech and Radford University – The rivalry is heated for every sport in which the two New River Valley schools compete, but in soccer one of the largest trophies in the nation is contested when they play annually for "The New River Rock".[citation needed]
Washington College and Salisbury University – a storied Division III men's lacrosse rivalry, highlighted by the annual War on the Shore for the Charles B. Clark Cup, played alternately in Chestertown, Maryland, (home of Washington College) and Salisbury, Maryland. The 2006 War on the Shore was held at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The rivalry is also present to a lesser extent in all sports, as the two schools are the only Division III institutions on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
These rivalries involve Texas schools that are not currently members of the Big 12 Conference. In two of these rivalries, both sides involved were members of the old Southwest Conference, four of whose schools were founding members of the Big 12. Another rivalry involves an old SWC team against an Oklahoma rival.
Rice University and University of Tulsa – Competed for the Williams Trophy. The rivalry went dormant when Tulsa joined The American in 2014, but is likely to resume on at least a semi-regular basis with Rice's 2023 arrival in that conference.
Adams State University and Western Colorado University – The Adams State Grizzlies and the Western Colorado Mountaineers are fierce rivals at the NCAA Division II level. In the sport of football, the two schools meet every year to compete for the Colorado Classic Trophy.
United States Air Force Academy (Air Force) and Colorado College – Men's ice hockey and women's soccer. Air Force, located just outside the city of Colorado Springs, and Colorado College, located within the city limits, are not rivals in most sports, since Air Force is a member of NCAA Division I and CC is a member of the non-scholarship Division III. However, CC is one of a small number of Division III schools with special permission from the NCAA to award scholarships in two sports as a Division I member, and therefore competes alongside Air Force on an even footing in those sports. In men's ice hockey, the two schools have a long-standing rivalry known as the Battle for Pikes Peak; in women's soccer, CC is a single-sport member in Air Force's home league, the Mountain West Conference (MW).
Boise State University and California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) – primarily a football rivalry, with the teams playing for the Milk Can. The Milk Can game had been a regular conference rivalry in the WAC and later in the MW. but it is no longer an annual matchup. When the MW expanded to 12 football members in 2013, the two teams were placed in separate divisions (with no protected cross-division games). The end of the MW's divisional split in 2023 did not reinstate the annual rivalry; they were not designated as annual opponents, meaning that future (conference) games will only be held once every three years.
Boise State University and University of Idaho – an all-sports rivalry that lost some of its edge when Boise State left the WAC for the MW in 2011, and still more when Idaho returned to FCS football in 2018.
Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego – The two most successful programs in the California Collegiate Athletic Association from 2000 to 2020, the period in which UCSD (now in the Division I Big West Conference) was a CCAA member. They were fierce rivals in all sports before UCSD's Division I move.
University of Denver and Colorado College – (ice hockey) Battle for the Gold Pan Played between the superpowers of college hockey in the State of Colorado. Played since 1949. Widely considered to be the most heated and longstanding rivalry in college hockey, it is one of the sport's most played rivalries in the United States with over 300 games between the two school (of which nearly 30 games were in the playoffs, and 40 games required overtime). Both schools were charter members of the WCHA in 1951, and became charter members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2011, which started play in 2013.
Gonzaga University and Eastern Washington University – a longtime men's basketball rivalry, but much less competitive since the rise of Gonzaga's program to national prominence in the 21st century. Gonzaga is in the city of Spokane, and EWU is in nearby Cheney.
Gonzaga University and University of Washington – an emerging, though intermittent, men's basketball rivalry. The winning school could claim bragging rights as best in the state. Has been on hold as neither program is willing to agree to restart the rivalry after Gonzaga's rise to prominence.
University of Hawaiʻi and California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) – All sports. Both were members of the WAC from 1992 to 2012, but have now separated, with Hawaiʻi leaving for the Big West and Fresno State to the MW. In football, however, it is still a conference rivalry, as Hawaiʻi football joined the MW alongside Fresno State. When MW football split into divisions in 2013, Fresno State and Hawaiʻi were placed in the same division, ensuring annual matchups through 2022, after which the MW eliminated its football divisions. The football teams will now play once every three years (barring possible out-of-conference games).
University of Hawaiʻi and Brigham Young University – Football and volleyball. BYU has a significant following in Hawaiʻi—the school has a branch campus in Hawaiʻi, and the LDS Church also operates a temple near BYU's Hawaiʻi campus. The football version has been off-and-on since the MW broke away from the WAC in 1999, separating the two schools. In men's volleyball, it was long a conference rivalry in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation before Hawaiʻi's primary home of the Big West Conference launched a men's volleyball league in the 2018 season (2017–18 school year); the two teams squared off for the national title in 2021.
University of Idaho and The University of Montana, with the football teams playing for the Little Brown Stein. The rivalry between border-state schools, both current members of the Big Sky Conference, has its roots in football. The schools first played in football in 1903, and regularly played until Idaho moved to what is now Division I FBS in 1996. The all-sports rivalry lost some of its edge at that time, as Idaho also left the Big Sky, not returning until 2014. With Idaho reverting to FCS football and rejoining Big Sky football in 2018, the football rivalry has once again become an annual affair.
San José State University and California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) – very even rivalry in both football and basketball for over 70 years. For most of the rivalry's history, it has been a conference matchup, with the two schools playing in five different leagues – the CCAA, WCC (briefly), PCAA/Big West, WAC, and since 2013 the MW. When the MW eliminated its football divisions in 2023, the schools were designated as permanent opponents, guaranteeing annual games in that sport for the immediate future.
Saint Mary's College of California and Gonzaga University – Men's basketball rivalry that has become quite heated as Saint Mary's became the only consistent challenger to Gonzaga's WCC conference title streak in the late 2000s.
UC Davis and Sacramento State – the two programs compete in all sports for the annual Causeway Cup, and specifically in the Causeway Classic (football) for the Causeway Carriage and Causeway Trophy. In most sports, it is a non-conference rivalry, with UC Davis in the non-football Big West and Sacramento State in the football-sponsoring Big Sky. In two sports, football and men's soccer, it is a conference matchup—UC Davis is a football member of the Big Sky and Sacramento State is a men's soccer member of the Big West (the Big Sky sponsors women's soccer but not men's).
UC Irvine and California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State) – Black and Blue Rivalry Series: The two Southern California schools compete in various sports such as baseball, basketball and volleyball to accumulate points for every victory. The school with the most points at the end of the year wins a surfboard.
UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly – Blue–Green Rivalry: Battle for the Central Coast with an emphasis on sustainability. The most intense has become the competition in men's soccer, where the matchup has featured 5 of the top 15 attended regular season soccer matches in NCAA history, all of which have happened since 2007. Women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, and baseball also are heated matchups.[44]
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and University of Nevada – in the Battle for Nevada (football) for the Fremont Cannon. This became a conference rivalry in 2012 when Nevada joined UNLV in the MW. Both schools were also placed in the same division when the MW expanded to 12 football members, and were designated as permanent rivals when the MW eliminated its football divisions.
Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University (all sports, particularly basketball). With both universities separated by less than four miles, this rivalry is known as the UCCU Crosstown Clash. Initially, BYU dominated the rivalry in the early 2000s and mid 2010s, winning their basketball matchups in blowouts. However, Utah Valley defeated BYU 114–101 in Provo in November 2016 giving them their first win over BYU in program history. After BYU added three more blowout victories in 2017, 2018, and 2020, UVU defeated #12 BYU at home on December 1, 2021, resulting in their first win over a ranked opponent in school history. A year later on December 7, 2022, UVU blew out BYU 75–60 in Provo, giving them the largest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry.
Utah Tech University(formerly Dixie State) and Utah Valley University – The "Old Hammer Rivalry" involves two schools with roots as junior colleges, which were rivals at that level from the early 1970s before separately becoming four-year institutions in the early 21st century, and also joining separate NCAA divisions (Dixie in D-II and UVU in D-I). An added angle is that long before Dixie adopted the Utah Tech name in 2022, Utah Valley was known informally as "Utah Tech" from 1963 to 1987. With Dixie joining UVU in D-I and the Western Athletic Conference in 2020, the schools renewed their rivalry.[45]
Coppin State University and Morgan State University − separated by 5 miles, this traditional East vs. West Baltimore basketball is a traditional powerhouse HBCU and MEAC Rivalry Tabbed the "Battle of Baltimore".
Cheyney University and Lincoln University – the two oldest black colleges, or HBCUs, in America, both located in Pennsylvania and also two of the few such schools outside the South. The schools compete in everything athletic or academic. Men's and women's teams compete annually in the heated thanksgiving weekend basketball games. The reinstatement of Lincoln's football program will add more fire to the rivalry.[citation needed]
Central State University and Wilberforce University[citation needed] – Like Cheyney and Lincoln, these are also rare examples of HBCUs outside the South. This is also a crosstown rivalry, with both schools located in the small community of Wilberforce, Ohio. In addition, Central State began as a department within Wilberforce University before becoming a separate institution and a public school.
Grambling State University and Southern University – the Bayou Classic in football is the most famous HBCU rivalry, and for most of the last four decades has been the only such matchup televised annually by one of the country's four major over-the-air television networks. (In the mid-2010s, NBC moved the game from its main network to its cable/satellite NBCSN network before shutting down the latter network after the 2021 season.)
Norfolk State University and Hampton University – a now-dormant effective crosstown rivalry; both schools are located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area on opposite sides of the eponymous harbor. The football version is called the Battle of the Bay. The rivalry was interrupted when Hampton left the MEAC for the Big South Conference in 2018, but resumed a year later.
Virginia Union University and Virginia State University – another virtual crosstown rivalry, this one involving Division II schools in the CIAA. Virginia Union is a private university in the state capital of Richmond, while Virginia State is a public school in nearby Ettrick.
Florida A&M University and Southern University – Before FAMU joined Southern in the SWAC in 2021, their rivalry had been the oldest interconference rivalry in HBCU history, and still has a disputed claim as the oldest in HBCU history. Dates back to 1941 and was played consecutively for 55 yrs, which ended in 2001 because of a heated confrontation between Pete Richardson of Southern and Billy "Joe" Taylor of Florida A&M.[citation needed]
Xavier University of Louisiana and Dillard University – crosstown rivalry between two NAIA schools, both members of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, located in New Orleans. Since the two schools have been members of the GCAC since its formation in 1981, the men's and women's basketball teams play this Crosstown Classic game at least twice a year.
Religious schools
Baylor University and Texas Christian University (TCU) have one of the oldest rivalries between any two institutions, religious or otherwise. The two schools compete across the entire span of competitions that the Big 12 Conference sponsors. For instance, in FBS football TCU currently leads Baylor 59–53–7 across 115 games played since 1899. The rivalry became especially heated after the formation of the Big 12, with TCU supporters accusing Baylor of playing politics to keep TCU out of that conference. The rivals were reunited in the early 2010s conference realignment.
Tabor College (Kansas) and Bethel College (Kansas) – These two Mennonite Schools which are only a few miles apart find a friendly rivalry that stems from a denominational split in the 1860s. Their soccer teams compete in the Menno–Cup and Football teams compete in the Menno–Bowl every year.[citation needed]
Houghton University and Roberts Wesleyan University – these two former conference rivals, located within Western New York in the Genesee River Valley have a heated rivalry with the men's soccer game being the biggest draw for each school.
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