| Sport | College football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | November 11, 1895 Delaware, 10–6 |
| Latest meeting | November 23, 2024 Villanova, 38–28 |
| Trophy | Battle of the Blue Trophy |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 58 |
| All-time series | Villanova leads, 35–22–1 |
| Trophy series | Villanova leads, 16–2 |
| Largest victory | Delaware, 49–7 (1974) |
| Longest win streak | Villanova, 8 (2012–2019) |
| Current win streak | Villanova, 3 (2021–present) |
TheBattle of the Blue is an annualcollege football rivalry game between theUniversity of DelawareFightin' Blue Hens andVillanova UniversityWildcats. The first game was played between the two teams in 1895 and was played annually from 1964 to 1980, when Villanova dropped football. The rivalry resumed when Villanova restarted its football program in 1988. Beginning in 2007, the annual Delaware–Villanova game became known as Battle of the Blue. As part of this concept, the winning team gets to keep theBattle of the Blue Trophy at its institution for the year and is responsible for bringing the trophy to the following installment of the rivalry game. The trophy consists of a football with a Villanova logo and the Wildcat shade of blue on one side and the Blue Hen logo and the Delaware shade of blue on the other side. The ball sits in a wooden platform and the scores of each game are engraved on the base of the trophy. Villanova had possession of the trophy for the first four years, until Delaware won in 2011.
Three times within the first four years of the rivalry's existence, one of the teams went on to reach theNCAA Division I Football Championship. In 2007, the Wildcats upset #9 Delaware 19–14 to claim the first Battle of the Blue Trophy.Delaware would later reach the FCS National Championship game before falling to theAppalachian State Mountaineers 49–21. In 2009,Villanova would win their first-ever appearance in the national championship, defeating theMontana Grizzlies 23–21. The 2010 meeting marked the first time the game had gone into overtime, with the Wildcats securing another upset win over the #1-rankedDelaware team on a recovered fumble. Once again, however, Delaware would reach the national championship, but would lose toEastern Washington, 20–19.
In 2011, the Battle of the Blue was the first American football game to be played at the venue now known asSubaru Park inChester, Pennsylvania, in whichDelaware beatVillanova to earn the trophy for the first time.[1]
On November 27, 2023, it was announced that the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football program had accepted an invitation to move up to the FBS Subdivision and would joinConference USA prior to the 2025 football season.[2] There are no future meetings scheduled.
| Delaware victories | Villanova victories | Tie games |
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