The Capital Cup: Exploring One of College Football's Oldest Rivalries

College football is steeped in tradition, and at the heart of that tradition lie the intense rivalries that ignite passions and define seasons. Among these storied clashes, the Capital Cup stands out as one of the oldest and most fiercely contested. Played between the University of Richmond Spiders and the College of William & Mary Tribe, this yearly contest holds a special place in the annals of college football history.

A Legacy of Gridiron Battles

The Capital Cup is one of the oldest collegiate American football rivalries. Through the 2024 match-up, it has been played 135 times, making it the fourth-most-played game in Division I college football. Although the South's Oldest Rivalry between Virginia and North Carolina started six years earlier, the Richmond-William & Mary rivalry distinguished itself by often being played twice a year in its early days, and even three times in 1905.

A Closer Look at the Rivalry's History

The November 21, 2009, game marked the 119th meeting between the schools. The Richmond win placed the all-time record at 59-55-5, remaining in favor of William & Mary. In its inaugural year, the Richmond Spiders won the Capital Cup by a final score of 13-10, simultaneously giving Richmond a share of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Football Conference season championship. Placekicker Andrew Howard converted a game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired.

The following year, in 2010, William & Mary clinched a share of the conference title with their own Capital Cup victory. A break in the annual tradition occurred when CAA Football did not play in the fall of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This marked the first time since 1943 that the Spiders and Tribe did not meet during a calendar year.

The I-64 Trophy

From 1984 through 2008, the winner of the annual William & Mary versus Richmond football game was awarded the I-64 Trophy. The name for the trophy came from Interstate 64, which connects the schools through the short distance between Richmond and Williamsburg. Both Division I schools participate in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).

The Oldest Rivalries in College Football

To put the Capital Cup in perspective, it's helpful to consider some of the other oldest rivalries in college football. The first college football game was officially played in 1869, and it didn’t take long for rivalries to form. Here are some of the oldest rivalries in college football, across the FBS and FCS:

Yale vs. Princeton (1873)
Yale vs. Harvard (1875)
Princeton vs. Penn (1876)
Princeton vs. Harvard (1877)
Yale vs. Brown (1880)
Harvard vs. Dartmouth (1882)
Lafayette vs. Lehigh (1884)
South Dakota St. vs. South Dakota (1889)
Cornell vs. Columbia (1889)
Penn vs. Cornell (1893)

Yale-Princeton rivalry is the oldest in college football history. These two teams have been playing each other since 1873. The Yale-Princeton rivalry is the oldest in college football, dating back to 1873. Princeton's third-oldest college football rivalry with an Ivy League opponent is the Princeton-Penn series. As you can tell, Princeton takes part in a lot of the oldest rivalries.

Other Notable Rivalries

The rivalry between Lafayette and Lehigh isn't the oldest one in college football, dating back to 1884. But the game known as "The Rivalry" is the most-played rivalry across both the FCS and the FBS. These two teams have played 159 times. The final Ivy league rivalry in the 15 oldest in college football is the Cornell-Columbia game.

Navy vs. Army and Navy have been meeting since 1890. Every season, the Badgers and the Gophers play for one of the stranger rivalry trophies in college football - Paul Bunyan's Axe. The Gophers and the Hawkeyes have been meeting in this rivalry since 1891. This rivalry between the Boilermakers and Hoosiers began in 1891, and also boasts a somewhat strange trophy.

Continuous Series

Following are the longest active continuously-played series in NCAA college football. Many historic series were interrupted by World War I, the 1918 flu pandemic and World War II. The NCAA also lists as "continuous" the following rivalries interrupted by gaps during war years: North Carolina-Virginia (1910-1916, 1919-current); Mississippi-Mississippi State (1915-1942, 1944-current); Auburn-Georgia (1919-1942, 1944-current); Tennessee-Kentucky (1919-1942, 1944-current). Other rivalries were also interrupted during war years, for example: Harvard-Yale (1897-1916, 1919-1943, 1945-present); Princeton-Yale (1876-1916, 1919-1943, 1945-present); Miami-Cincinnati (1909-1942, 1945-present); and Oregon-Oregon State (1912-1942, 1945-present).

Read also: Ranking of Oldest Universities

Following are the NCAA Division I and II series that continued for the most consecutive seasons before being interrupted. Eight of the eighteen series on this list are defunct rivalries from the old Big Eight Conference.

Rivalries in a Changing Landscape

Upheaval within the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conferences has threatened some cherished rivalries, while rekindling others.

Rivalry Games in College Football

This is a list of rivalry games in college football. This list is restricted to rivalries whose participants are currently in different Division I football subdivisions, and have played one another while in different subdivisions. The list only shows games that have an associated Wikipedia article for either the name of the game or the trophy. Other series have been played more times than games listed here that have no Wikipedia article. The rivalry began between Pomona and Occidental Colleges. The rivalry began between Pomona and another Claremont College, Claremont McKenna. As noted previously, Pomona now operates a joint athletic program with another Claremont College, Pitzer College, as Pomona-Pitzer. This is the year the rivalry began. The 2020 game, which was intended to be the last in the rivalry, was not held due to COVID-19.

King's and Wilkes first meeting was in 1946 and had played nine more times before the establishment of the trophy.

Examples of Rivalry Games

Here are some examples of rivalry games:

Northwestern State-Stephen F. Stephen F. Sgt.
Catawba vs. St.
Mount St.
St.
St.
St.
The Game (Hampden-Sydney vs.

Maine Maritime suspended its football program in 2020 due to financial impacts from COVID-19.

Trophies and Traditions

Many rivalry games are celebrated with unique trophies and traditions that add to the intensity and pageantry of the contests. These symbols of victory become highly coveted and represent the hard-fought battles between the rival schools.

Anchor-Bone Classic
Key to the City Matchup
Battle For The Sledge
Chile Bowl
The Coal Bowl
Coastal Classic
Miner's Cup
Admiral's Cup
Baird Brothers Trophy
"The Claw"
Battle for the Drum
The Battle of Sixth Street
The Book of Knowledge
Bridge Bowl
Bronze Turkey Game
Centennial Cup
Cereal Bowl
Cranberry Bowl
Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Game
Gate City Soup Bowl
Goal Post Game
Fight for the Hammer
Keystone Cup
The Ugliest Rivalry Trophy In The Nation
Lincoln Trophy
Little Brass Bell
Bucket Battle
Bucket win
Old Red Lantern
Rocking Chair
Paint Bucket
Pynchon SAW Trophy
Smudge pot trophy
Battle for the Mug
Regents Cup game
"The Trophy"
'Victory Bell'
Wagon Wheel
Wooden Shoes Rivalry
Sunflower Showdown
Farmageddon

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