This is a list of rivalry games in college football. The list also shows any trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry between the teams.
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Rivalries involving more than two teams SeriesTrophyTeamsFirst meetingBeehive BootBYU, Utah, Utah State (previously Weber State)1971Commander-in-Chief's TrophyAir Force, Army, Navy1972Florida CupFlorida, Florida State, Miami (FL)2002Battle for the Michigan MACMichigan MAC TrophyCentral Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan2005Northwest ChampionshipOregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State1903Tri-State Big ThreeOld IronsidesPenn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia1900Sacred Cod TrophyBoston College, Boston University, Holy Cross1954Tobacco RoadDuke, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest1924
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
Rivalries involving more than two teams SeriesTrophyTeamsFirst meeting Big Three Harvard, Princeton, Yale 1877 Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin (previously Austin Peay) 2007
Rivalries involving FBS and FCS teams 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. Most of these began when both teams competed in the same (sub)division.
In this list, the FCS team is in italics.
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division III
Notes
Rivalries involving more than two teams SeriesTrophyTeamsFirst meeting Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium C-B-B Trophy Bates, Bowdoin, Colby 1892 Little Three Amherst, Wesleyan, Williams 1899
Longest continuous NCAA college football rivalries
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. More recently, other longstanding rivalries were terminated by the conference realignments of the early 2010s and early 2020s, or were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
SeriesContinuoussince Series nickname / TrophyNCAA Div.First meeting Series leader Notes Lehigh–Lafayette 1897 The Rivalry FCS 1884 Lafayette Most played series in college football. No game played in calendar 2020 due to COVID-19, but played in April 2021 as part of the Patriot League's rescheduled spring 2021 season. Minnesota–Wisconsin 1907 Paul Bunyan's Axe FBS 1890 Wisconsin Most played series in FBS North Carolina State–Wake Forest 1910 NC State–Wake Forest rivalry FBS 1895 NC State Kansas–Kansas State 1911 Sunflower Showdown FBS 1902 Kansas Iowa State–Kansas State 1917 Farmageddon FBS 1917 Iowa State Longest never interrupted series in FBS North Carolina–Virginia 1919 South's Oldest Rivalry FBS 1892 North Carolina
Note: 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). The NCAA does not explain how it selects only some interrupted rivalries to count as "continuous."
Longest interrupted NCAA college football rivalries 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. Six are rivalries interrupted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SeriesContinuousyearsLengthNCAA Div.First meeting Notes / reason for interruption North Dakota State–South Dakota State (Dakota Marker) 1903–2025 118 years FCS 1903 Ended by North Dakota State's move to the Mountain West Conference/FBS Oklahoma–Oklahoma State 1910–2023 114 years FBS 1910 Ended by Oklahoma's move to the Southeastern Conference. Clemson–South Carolina 1909–2019 111 years FBS 1896 Interrupted in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic North Dakota–North Dakota State (Nickel Trophy) 1894–2003 110 years Div II/FCS 1894 Interrupted in 2004 due to North Dakota State's reclassification to Division I, resumed annual games in 2019 before being interrupted again in 2026 due to North Dakota State's move to the Mountain West Conference/FBS Wabash–DePauw 1911–2019 109 years Div. III 1890 Interrupted in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic Nebraska–Kansas 1906–2010 105 years FBS 1892Longest continuous series in FBS before interruptionEnded by Nebraska's move to the Big Ten Michigan–Ohio State 1918–2019 102 years FBS 1897 Interrupted in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic Dartmouth–Cornell 1919–2019 101 years FCS 1900 Interrupted in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic Penn–Cornell 1919–2019 101 years FCS 1893 Interrupted in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic Purdue–Indiana 1920–2019 100 years FBS 1891 Interrupted in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic Texas–Texas A&M 1915–2011 97 years FBS 1894 Ended by Texas A&M's move to the SEC; resumed in 2024 with Texas' move to the SEC Oklahoma–Kansas 1903–1997 95 years FBS 1903Longest continuous series in FBS until annual play ended in 1997Ended by advent of Big 12 divisional playAnnual play resumed in 2011 with end of Big 12 divisional play, and ended again with Oklahoma's 2024 move to the SEC Missouri–Kansas 1919–2011 93 years FBS 1891 Ended by Missouri's move to the SEC Missouri–Iowa State 1919–2011 93 years FBS 1896 Ended by Missouri's move to the SEC Nebraska–Iowa State 1921–2010 90 years FBS 1896 Ended by Nebraska's move to the Big Ten Duke–Georgia Tech 1933–2022 90 years FBS 1933 Rivalry pre-dates Georgia Tech's admission into the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 1983. Ended by changes to the ACC's scheduling format effective in 2023. Nebraska–Kansas State 1922–2010 89 years FBS 1911 Ended by Nebraska's move to the Big Ten Nebraska–Missouri 1922–2010 89 years FBS 1892 Ended by Nebraska's move to the Big Ten Ohio State–Illinois 1914–2002 89 years FBS 1902 Ended by Big Ten's change to non-round robin scheduling Presbyterian–Newberry 1919–2006 88 years Div. II 1913 Ended by Presbyterian's move to Division I
See also Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (top team in the Northeast) College rivalry#United States List of black college football classics
Notes
References
Further reading