Columbia–Cornell football rivalry

The Columbia–Cornell football rivalry is the American college football rivalry between the Columbia Lions and the Cornell Big Red,^[1][2][3] the two Ivy League teams in New York State. In 2010, the game was named the Empire State Bowl and the teams began competing for the Empire Cup. Since 2018, it has been the final game on each team's schedule.

SportFootball

First meetingNovember 26, 1889
Cornell, 20–0

Latest meetingNovember 22, 2025
Columbia, 29-12

Next meetingNovember 21, 2026
New York, NY

Quick facts Sport, First meeting ...

Cornell-Columbia football rivalry

Columbia Lions Cornell Big Red
Sport	Football
First meeting	November 26, 1889 Cornell, 20–0
Latest meeting	November 22, 2025 Columbia, 29-12
Next meeting	November 21, 2026 New York, NY
Trophy	Empire Cup
Statistics
Meetings total	112
All-time series	Cornell leads, 66–43–3
Trophy series	Columbia leads, 9–6
Largest victory	Cornell, 56–0 (1922)
Longest win streak	Cornell, 12 (1977–1988)
Current win streak	Columbia, 5 (2021–present)

Close

110km
68miles

Cornell

Columbia

   

Locations of Columbia and Cornell

In 2024, for the first time, the game had implications for the Ivy championship. Columbia beat Cornell 17–9^[4] in New York to share the conference title with Dartmouth and Harvard.^[5]