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. 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. As of 2024, Cornell leads the series 90–46–4. 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.
| First meeting | May 5, 1898 Hobart 2, Cornell 1 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | February 27, 2024 Cornell 23, Hobart 7 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 139 |
| All-time series | Cornell: 90–46–4 |
| Largest victory | Cornell, 20–2 (1968) |
| Longest win streak | Cornell, 12 (2004–2016) |
| Current win streak | Cornell, 3 (2018–Present) |
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.
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.