  | |
| First meeting | November 13, 1875 Hamilton Park New Haven, CT Harvard 4, Yale 0 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | November 23, 2024 Harvard Stadium Boston, MA Yale 34, Harvard 29 |
| Next meeting: | November 22, 2025 Yale Bowl New Haven, CT |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 140 meetings |
| All-time series | 71–61–8: Yale leads |
| Largest victory | Yale: won 54-0 (1957) |
| Current win streak | Yale, 3 (2022-present) |
| Longest win streak | Harvard: 9 wins (2007–2015) |
The Harvard–Yale football rivalry is renewed annually with The Game, an American college football match between the Crimson football team of Harvard University and the Bulldogs football team of Yale University.
Though the winner does not take possession of a physical prize, the matchup is usually considered the most important and anticipated game of the year for both teams, regardless of their season records. The Game was scheduled annually as the last contest of the year for both teams; as the Ivy League did not participate in postseason play for football, The Game is often the final outing for each team's graduating seniors. Some years, the rivalry carries the additional significance of deciding the Ivy League championship.
The weekend of The Game includes more than just the varsity matchup; the respective Yale residential college football teams compete against "sister" Harvard house teams the day before. The Game is third among most-played NCAA Division I football rivalries. Yale leads the series 71–61–8.
"Harvard and Yale generally duke it out in the academic arena", but geographic proximity, the history of Yale's founding and social competition between the respective student and alumni bodies animate the athletic rivalry.
Former Harvard football head coach Joe Restic, who held the position for 23 seasons, quipped regarding his relationship with retired Yale football head coach and National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame member Carm Cozza, who held the position for 32 seasons: "Each year, we're friends for 364 days and rivals for one." The athletic rivalry is historically the second in American intercollegiate athletics, with Rutgers vs Princeton being the first, having played the first ever college football game.
The signature Harvard fight song, "Ten Thousand Men of Harvard", names Yale in the famous final stanza. The song is sung in the Harvard football locker room after a victory regardless of the opponent. The song is among six Harvard fight songs that mention Yale. "Down the Field" is Yale's signature fight song and Harvard is the named foe. The song is among five that mention Harvard. Two of the songs, "Bingo, That's the Lingo" and "Goodnight, Harvard", have been sung substituting Princeton for Harvard when appropriate. Cole Porter composed the former and Douglas Moore the latter.
The football rivalry is among the most admired rivalries on the American athletic scene. The schools and the rivalry established the template for American college football. The Game is the most prominent athletic contest between the schools and has accounted for many of either rival's best-publicized athletic feats. Sports Illustrated (College Edition) rated the athletic rivalry sixth-best among American athletic collegiate rivalries behind, in order, Alabama–Auburn, Duke–North Carolina, UCLA–USC, Army–Navy and Cal–Stanford. The football rivalry was ranked 8th among Athlon Sports's top 25 rivalries in the history of college football.
Game results[]
1875-1904[]
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 13, 1875 | Yale | Harvard | 4–0 |
| 2 | November 18, 1876 | Yale | Yale | 1–0 |
| 3 | November 23, 1878 | Harvard | Yale | 1–0 |
| 4 | November 8, 1879 | Yale | Tie | 0–0 |
| 5 | November 20, 1880 | Harvard | Yale | 1–0 |
| 6 | November 12, 1881 | Yale | Tie | 0–0 († Yale win) |
| 7 | November 25, 1882 | Harvard | Yale | 1–0 |
| 8 | November 29, 1883 | New York, NY | Yale | 23–2 |
| 9 | November 22, 1884 | Yale | Yale | 52–0 |
| 10 | November 20, 1886 | Harvard | Yale | 29–4 |
| 11 | November 24, 1887 | Yale | Yale | 17–8 |
| 12 | November 23, 1889 | Yale | Yale | 6–0 |
| 13 | November 22, 1890 | Yale | Harvard | 12–6 |
| 14 | November 21, 1891 | Springfield, MA | Yale | 10–0 |
| 15 | November 19, 1892 | Springfield, MA | Yale | 6–0 |
| 16 | November 25, 1893 | Springfield, MA | Yale | 6–0 |
| 17 | November 24, 1894 | Springfield, MA | Yale | 12–4 |
| 18 | November 13, 1897 | Harvard | Tie | 0–0 |
| 19 | November 19, 1898 | Yale | Harvard | 17–0 |
| 20 | November 18, 1899 | Harvard | Tie | 0–0 |
| 21 | November 24, 1900 | Yale | Yale | 28–0 |
| 22 | November 23, 1901 | Harvard | Harvard | 22–0 |
| 23 | November 22, 1902 | Yale | Yale | 23–0 |
| 24 | November 26, 1903 | Harvard | Yale | 16–0 |
| 25 | November 19, 1904 | Yale | Yale | 12–0 |
1905-1931[]
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | November 25, 1905 | Harvard | Yale | 6–0 |
| 27 | November 24, 1906 | Yale | Yale | 6–0 |
| 28 | November 23, 1907 | Harvard | Yale | 12–0 |
| 29 | November 21, 1908 | Yale | Harvard | 4–0 |
| 30 | November 20, 1909 | Harvard | Yale | 8–0 |
| 31 | November 19, 1910 | Yale | Tie | 0–0 |
| 32 | November 25, 1911 | Harvard | Tie | 0–0 |
| 33 | November 23, 1912 | Yale | Harvard | 20–0 |
| 34 | November 22, 1913 | Harvard | Harvard | 15–5 |
| 35 | November 21, 1914 | Yale | Harvard | 36–0 |
| 36 | November 20, 1915 | Harvard | Harvard | 41–0 |
| 37 | November 25, 1916 | Yale | Yale | 6–3 |
| 38 | November 22, 1919 | Harvard | Harvard | 10–3 |
| 39 | November 20, 1920 | Yale | Harvard | 9–0 |
| 40 | November 19, 1921 | Harvard | Harvard | 10–3 |
| 41 | November 25, 1922 | Yale | Harvard | 10–3 |
| 42 | November 24, 1923 | Harvard | Yale | 13–0 |
| 43 | November 22, 1924 | Yale | Yale | 19–6 |
| 44 | November 21, 1925 | Harvard | Tie | 0–0 |
| 45 | November 20, 1926 | Yale | Yale | 12–7 |
| 46 | November 19, 1927 | Harvard | Yale | 14–0 |
| 47 | November 24, 1928 | Yale | Harvard | 17–0 |
| 48 | November 23, 1929 | Harvard | Harvard | 10–6 |
| 49 | November 22, 1930 | Yale | Harvard | 13–0 |
| 50 | November 21, 1931 | Harvard | Yale | 3–0 |
1932-1958[]
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | November 19, 1932 | Yale | Yale | 19–0 |
| 52 | November 25, 1933 | Harvard | Harvard | 19–6 |
| 53 | November 24, 1934 | Yale | Yale | 14–0 |
| 54 | November 21, 1935 | Harvard | Yale | 14–7 |
| 55 | November 21, 1936 | Yale | Yale | 14–13 |
| 56 | November 20, 1937 | Harvard | Harvard | 13–6 |
| 57 | November 19, 1938 | Yale | Harvard | 7–0 |
| 58 | November 25, 1939 | Harvard | Yale | 20–7 |
| 59 | November 23, 1940 | Yale | Harvard | 28–0 |
| 60 | November 22, 1941 | Harvard | Harvard | 14–0 |
| 61 | November 21, 1942 | Yale | Yale | 7–3 |
| 62 | December 1, 1945 | Yale | Yale | 28–0 |
| 63 | November 23, 1946 | Harvard | Yale | 27–14 |
| 64 | November 22, 1947 | Yale | Yale | 31–21 |
| 65 | November 20, 1948 | Harvard | Harvard | 20–7 |
| 66 | November 19, 1949 | Yale | Yale | 29–6 |
| 67 | November 25, 1950 | Harvard | Yale | 14–6 |
| 68 | November 24, 1951 | Yale | Tie | 21–21 |
| 69 | November 22, 1952 | Harvard | Yale | 41–14 |
| 70 | November 21, 1953 | Yale | Harvard | 13–0 |
| 71 | November 20, 1954 | Harvard | Harvard | 13–9 |
| 72 | November 19, 1955 | Yale | Yale | 21–7 |
| 73 | November 24, 1956 | Harvard | Yale | 42–14 |
| 74 | November 23, 1957 | Yale | Yale | 54–0 |
| 75 | November 22, 1958 | Harvard | Harvard | 28–0 |
1959-1983[]
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76 | November 21, 1959 | Yale | Harvard | 35–6 |
| 77 | November 19, 1960 | Harvard | Yale | 39–6 |
| 78 | November 25, 1961 | Yale | Harvard | 27–0 |
| 79 | November 24, 1962 | Harvard | Harvard | 14–6 |
| 80 | November 23, 1963 | Yale | Yale | 20–6 |
| 81 | November 21, 1964 | Harvard | Harvard | 18–14 |
| 82 | November 20, 1965 | Yale | Harvard | 13–0 |
| 83 | November 19, 1966 | Harvard | Harvard | 17–0 |
| 84 | November 25, 1967 | Yale | Yale | 24–20 |
| 85 | November 23, 1968 | Harvard | Tie | 29–29 |
| 86 | November 22, 1969 | Yale | Yale | 7–0 |
| 87 | November 21, 1970 | Harvard | Harvard | 14–12 |
| 88 | November 20, 1971 | Yale | Harvard | 35–16 |
| 89 | November 25, 1972 | Harvard | Yale | 28–17 |
| 90 | November 24, 1973 | Yale | Yale | 35–0 |
| 91 | November 23, 1974 | Harvard | Harvard | 21–16 |
| 92 | November 22, 1975 | Yale | Harvard | 10–7 |
| 93 | November 13, 1976 | Harvard | Yale | 21–7 |
| 94 | November 12, 1977 | Yale | Yale | 24–7 |
| 95 | November 18, 1978 | Harvard | Yale | 35–28 |
| 96 | November 17, 1979 | Yale | Harvard | 22–7 |
| 97 | November 22, 1980 | Harvard | Yale | 14–0 |
| 98 | November 21, 1981 | Yale | Yale | 28–0 |
| 99 | November 20, 1982 | Harvard | Harvard | 45–7 |
| 100 | November 19, 1983 | Yale | Harvard | 16–7 |
1984-2008[]
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | November 24, 1984 | Harvard | Yale | 30–27 |
| 102 | November 23, 1985 | Yale | Yale | 17–6 |
| 103 | November 22, 1986 | Harvard | Harvard | 24–17 |
| 104 | November 21, 1987 | Yale | Harvard | 14–10 |
| 105 | November 19, 1988 | Harvard | Yale | 26–17 |
| 106 | November 18, 1989 | Yale | Harvard | 37–20 |
| 107 | November 17, 1990 | Harvard | Yale | 34–19 |
| 108 | November 23, 1991 | Yale | Yale | 23–13 |
| 109 | November 21, 1992 | Harvard | Harvard | 14–0 |
| 110 | November 20, 1993 | Yale | Yale | 33–31 |
| 111 | November 19, 1994 | Harvard | Yale | 32–13 |
| 112 | November 18, 1995 | Yale | Harvard | 22–21 |
| 113 | November 23, 1996 | Harvard | Harvard | 26–21 |
| 114 | November 22, 1997 | Yale | Harvard | 17–7 |
| 115 | November 21, 1998 | Harvard | Yale | 9–7 |
| 116 | November 20, 1999 | Yale | Yale | 24–21 |
| 117 | November 18, 2000 | Harvard | Yale | 34–24 |
| 118 | November 17, 2001 | Yale | Harvard | 35–23 |
| 119 | November 23, 2002 | Harvard | Harvard | 20–13 |
| 120 | November 22, 2003 | Yale | Harvard | 37–19 |
| 121 | November 20, 2004 | Harvard | Harvard | 35–3 |
| 122 | November 19, 2005 | Yale | Harvard | 30–243OT |
| 123 | November 18, 2006 | Harvard | Yale | 34–13 |
| 124 | November 17, 2007 | Yale | Harvard | 37–6 |
| 125 | November 22, 2008 | Harvard | Harvard | 10–0 |
2009-present[]
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 126 | November 21, 2009 | Yale | Harvard | 14–10 | ||||
| 127 | November 20, 2010 | Harvard | Harvard | 28–21 | ||||
| 128 | November 19, 2011 | Yale | Harvard | 45–7 | ||||
| 129 | November 17, 2012 | Harvard | Harvard | 34–24 | ||||
| 130 | November 23, 2013 | Yale | Harvard | 34–7 | ||||
| 131 | November 22, 2014‡ | Harvard | Harvard | 31–24 | ||||
| 132 | November 21, 2015 | Yale | Harvard | 38–19 | ||||
| 133 | November 19, 2016 | Harvard | Yale | 21–14 | ||||
| 134 | November 18, 2017 | Yale | Yale | 24–3 | ||||
| 135 | November 17, 2018 | Fenway Park | Harvard | 45–27 | ||||
| 136 | November 23, 2019 | Yale | Yale | 50–432OT | ||||
| 137 | November 20, 2021 | Yale | Harvard | 34–31 | ||||
| 138 | November 19, 2022 | Harvard | Yale | 19–14 | ||||
| 139 | November 18, 2023 | Yale | Yale | 23–18 | ||||
| 140 | November 23, 2024 | Harvard | Yale | 34–29 | ||||
| 141 | November 22, 2025 | Yale | ||||||
| Series: Yale leads 71–61–8 | ||||||||