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Cornell Big Red football

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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.

Cornell Big Red football
2024 Cornell Big Red football team
First season1887; 137 years ago
Athletic directorNicki Moore
Head coachDan Swanstrom
1st season, 0–0 (–)
StadiumSchoellkopf Field
(capacity: 25,597)
Field surfaceArtificial turf
LocationIthaca, New York, U.S.
NCAA divisionDivision I FCS
ConferenceIvy League
All-time record655–555–34 (.540)
Claimed national titles5 (1915, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1939)
Conference titles3 (1971, 1988, 1990)
RivalriesColgate (rivalry)
Columbia (rivalry)
Dartmouth (rivalry)
Penn (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans16
Current uniform
ColorsCarnelian red and white[1]
   
Fight song"Give My Regards to Davy"
WebsiteCornellBigRed.com

History

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See also: List of Cornell Big Red football seasons

19th century

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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

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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

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The 2017 team after their October 21, 2017 win over Brown at Schoellkopf Field
 
The 2019 team (right) playing Penn at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, on November 9, 2019

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

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  • Independent (1887–1955)
  • Ivy League (1956–present)

Championships

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National championships

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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]

Year Selectors Coach Record
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 Davis Gil Dobie 8–0
1923 Sagarin Gil Dobie 8–0
1939 Litkenhous, Sagarin Carl Snavely 8–0

Conference championships

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Year Conference Coach Overall record Conference record
1971 Ivy League Jack Musick 8–1 6–1
1988 Ivy League Maxie Baughan 7–2–1 6–1
1990 Ivy League Jim Hofher 7–3 6–1

Rivalries

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Further information: Colgate–Cornell football rivalry, Columbia–Cornell football rivalry, Cornell–Dartmouth football rivalry, and Cornell–Penn football rivalry
 
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

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Consensus All-Americans

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Players in the NFL Draft

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As of 2024, 23 Cornell Big Red football players have been selected by NFL teams in the annual NFL Draft:

Key

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B Back K 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
Year Round Pick in round Overall pick Player Team Position
2013 4 25 122 JC Tretter Green Bay Packers T
2006 6 7 176 Kevin Boothe Los Angeles Raiders T
1997 4 18 114 Seth Payne Jacksonville Jaguars DT
1997 4 27 123 Chad Levitt Oakland Raiders RB
1984 9 24 248 Derrick Harmon San Francisco 49ers RB
1974 9 26 234 Bob Lally Miami Dolphins LB
1974 14 22 360 Mike Phillips Cincinnati Bengals T
1972 2 24 50 Ed Marinaro Minnesota Vikings RB
1969 10 23 257 John Sponheimer Kansas City Chiefs DT
1967 9 11 222 Pete Larson Washington Redskins RB
1964 8 11 109 Gary Wood New York Giants QB
1956 18 7 212 Stan Intihar Green Bay Packers E
1956 28 2 327 Bill DeGraaf Pittsburgh Steelers B
1955 13 3 148 Len Oniskey Washington Redskins T
1954 28 8 333 John Gerdes Philadelphia Eagles T
1951 26 4 307 Jeff Fleischmann St. Louis Cardinals B
1949 8 10 81 Bob Dean Philadelphia Eagles B
1949 18 6 177 Hillary Chollet Los Angeles Rams B
1949 25 3 244 Paul Girolamo New York Yanks B
1947 5 4 29 Frank Wydo Pittsburgh Steelers T
1946 9 2 72 Al Dekdebrun New York Yanks B
1946 25 6 236 Chick Davidson Green Bay Packers T
1945 22 4 223 Walt Kretz New York Yanks B
1945 22 7 226 Chick Davidson Washington Redskins T
1944 25 7 259 Joe Martin Washington Redskins B
1944 30 2 309 Howard Blose Brooklyn Dodgers B
1941 10 7 87 Walt Matuszczak New York Giants B
1941 11 4 94 Nick Drahos Los Angeles Rams T
1941 17 4 154 Kirk Hershey Los Angeles Rams E
1941 22 2 204 Mort Landsberg Pittsburgh Steelers B
1940 21 4 194 Vince Eichler Green Bay Packers B
1939 10 4 84 Bill McKeever Philadelphia Eagles T
1939 11 3 93 Sid Roth Los Angeles Rams G[14]

Numerous undrafted players have also played in the NFL.[15] Pete Gogolak became the first soccer-style kicker in pro football in 1964; the most recent is Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Bryan Walters.

Others

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  • Arthur Fazzin was captain of the team during the early 1940s. He later became an actor and game show host under the stage name Art Fleming.

Television

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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+.[16]

Future non-conference opponents

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Announced schedules as of June 21, 2023.[17]

2024
at Colgate
Albany
at Bucknell

References

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  1. ^ "Colors". Cornell University Brand Center. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 8 July 2020.
  8. ^ Snyder, Aaron (18 September 2021). "Football Drops Season Opener to Virginia Military Institute". Cornell Daily Sun. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 12 November 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. ^ "DraftHistory.com". www.drafthistory.com.
  15. ^ "Cornell Players/Alumni". Pro Football Reference. November 19, 2016.
  16. ^ "Ivy League Network".
  17. ^ "Cornell Big Red Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
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