Cornell–Hobart lacrosse rivalry

The Cornell–Hobart rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Cornell Big Red, which represent Cornell University, and the Hobart Statesmen, which represent Hobart College.^[4][3] It is one of the oldest rivalries in college lacrosse; the inaugural game in the series was played on May 5, 1898, with Hobart prevailing by a score of 2–1.^[4][1] The game is the oldest ongoing college lacrosse series. The Johns Hopkins–Maryland lacrosse rivalry began in 1895, but the teams only played 7 times before 1924.^[5]

FirstmeetingMay 5, 1898
Hobart 2, Cornell 1^[1]

LatestmeetingFebruary 24, 2026
Cornell 19, Hobart 8

NextmeetingTBD

Totalmeetings142

Quick facts First meeting, Latest meeting ...

Cornell–Hobart lacrosse rivalry

Cornell Big Red
First meeting	May 5, 1898 Hobart 2, Cornell 1[1]
Latest meeting	February 24, 2026 Cornell 19, Hobart 8
Next meeting	TBD
Statistics
Total meetings	142
All-time series	Cornell: 92–46–4[2][3]
Largest victory	Cornell, 20–2 (1968)
Longest win streak	Cornell, 12 (2004–2016)
Current win streak	Cornell, 7 (2018–present)

Close

In 1995, Hobart promoted its team from Division III to Division I to preserve the lacrosse rivalry with Cornell and a similar one with the Syracuse Orange. In 2008, the continuation of the series was put in jeopardy when the Hobart Board of Trustees decided to reclassify its lacrosse program back to the Division III level on April 26. After an emotional reaction from the alumni community, however, the decision was reversed on May 1. The following day, Cornell played the first night game at Hobart's Boswell Field, in which the #8 Big Red beat the Statesmen by a score of 15 to 7.^[6]

Like Cornell, Hobart has never awarded athletic scholarships, and could not after the men's lacrosse program moved to Division I in 1995 due to NCAA policy. Unlike Johns Hopkins, which was grandfathered, Statesmen lacrosse is one of only five Division III programs to compete in Division I without athletic scholarships.