| Cornell Big Red football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1887; 138 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Nicki Moore | ||
| Head coach | Dan Swanstrom 1st season, 4–6 (.400) | ||
| Stadium | Schoellkopf Field (capacity: 25,597) | ||
| Field surface | Artificial turf | ||
| Location | Ithaca, New York, U.S. | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Ivy League | ||
| All-time record | 659–561–34 (.539) | ||
| Claimed national titles | 5 (1915,1921,1922,1923,1939) | ||
| Conference titles | 3 (1971,1988,1990) | ||
| Rivalries | Colgate (rivalry) Columbia (rivalry) Dartmouth (rivalry) Penn (rivalry) | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 16 | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Carnelian red and white[1] | ||
| Fight song | "Give My Regards to Davy" | ||
| Website | CornellBigRed.com | ||
TheCornell Big Red football team representsCornell University inNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Division IFootball Championship Subdivision (FCS)college football competition as a member of theIvy 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 theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
In 1869, the first intramural football on the Cornell campus took place, although it did not resemblethe 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 toCleveland to playMichigan. 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 againstUnion College, losing 24–10. The following year, Cornell recorded their first win by beatingPalmyra, 26–0, and went on to finish the season with a 4–2 record.[2] In 1889, Cornell played the University of Michigan Wolverines inBuffalo, 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 coachCarl 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 theCarlisle Indians football team.[2]
In1901, 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 rivalPenn 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.
In1915, Cornell won all nine of its games. They handedHarvard their first loss in 50 consecutive games, 10–0.Gil Dobie took over as head coach in1920. 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 defeatedPenn State, 21–6, in1938 to begin a school record unbeaten streak of 16 games. The Big Red compiled an 8–0 record in1939 for its fifth national championship. The possibility of aRose Bowl invitation that season was rebuffed by the university administration. The unbeaten streak came to an end in1940 with the infamousFifth Down Game.[2] After the game, Cornell voluntarily forfeited toDartmouth when review of film showed the Big Red had inadvertently used fivedowns.[4] TheESPN College Football Encyclopedia named the game, and Cornell's honorable concession, the second greatest moment in college football history.[5]
In1951, Cornell beat defendingBig Ten and Rose Bowl championMichigan, 20–7. Between 1969 and 1971, running backEd 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 theHeisman Trophy voting behindPat Sullivan ofAuburn. That same season, Cornell finished 6–1 to secure a share of the Ivy League conference championship for the first time. Following the1981 season, the Ivy League was reclassified toDivision I-AA, today known as theFootball 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 in1988 with Penn and shared with Dartmouth in1990.[2] Beginning in 2018, Cornell has played New York State Ivy League rival, theColumbia Lions, in their final game. The victor is awarded theEmpire Cup.
The Ivy League announced that no sports would be played in the 2020 season because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[7] The Big Red returned to Schoellkopf in September 2021 to playVirginia Military Institute, its first game after a 665-day hiatus.[8]
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 |
Cornell has wonthree Ivy League championsnips, all shared.
| 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 |
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.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The following Cornell Big Red football players have been selected byNFL teams in the annualNFL Draft:
Numerous undrafted players have also played in the NFL.[17]Pete Gogolak became the first soccer-style kicker in pro football in 1964; the most recent isJacksonville Jaguars wide receiverBryan Walters.
In 2025,Hunter Nourzad '22, playing for theKansas City Chiefs andJalyx Hunt '23, playing for thePhiladelphia Eagles, faced each other inSuper Bowl LIX.[18]Derrick Harmon '84 returned kicks and rushed for 20 yards inSuper Bowl XIX.
Cornell football, as well as the rest of the Ivy League Conference, currently[when?] has a deal withESPN 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+.[19]
Announced schedules as of February 18, 2025.[20]
| 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|
| atAlbany | atColgate |
| Colgate | |
| Bucknell |
He played 17 games over a three-year span at Cornell
Nourzad becomes the first Big Red to be selected in the draft since 2013 when JC Tretter was picked
