Ancient small-school football rivalry in the south spreads to all sports

With the first gridiron feud between these two Virginia schools starting in 1883, the fact that the rivalry has not ended even after 125 years goes on to prove that this small-school rivalry is probably the oldest in the South.

While the college students from Hampden-Sydney celebrated their 24-10 victory in the 100th game over rivals Yellow Jackets from the near Randolph-Macon College, they displayed their joy in the same fashion as their seniors had in 1994. Sawing off a piece of one of their goal posts’ and keeping it with themselves, the HSC students paraded with whatever else was left of the aluminum structure along the hill surrounding Hundley Stadium and then threw it into the Chalgrove Lake. While in 1994 the triumph saw the school erecting a plaque at the foot of the lake, the sawed off piece of goal post which the players had retained with themselves started a tradition among the Tigers who touched it before every home game until in 2000 when the goalpost mysteriously disappeared.

HSC’s 1993 defeat by RMC in what was a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first football game played between them in1893, made their victory in this recent 100th match all the more memorable for HSC. In ’93, the then RMC president Ladell Payne announced the seven days preceding the HSC football game as "Beat Hampden-Sydney Week." For these reasons, it is no surprise that the upcoming 114th meeting between these two schools separated by just 78 miles has now become famous as "The Game."

While the rivalry started at the football field, it has now penetrated deeper. "It goes across all sports. It goes back to the fact that both schools are very similar to each other. We used to both be all-male [Hampden-Sydney still is; Randolph-Macon went co-ed in 1972]; academically we're similar [both are liberal arts schools with enrollments of just over 1,100 students]; and both are [close to] Richmond,” commented HSC’s athletic director and AD Joe Bush, who coached the football team to victory in the 100th game.

While the football war has been over a century old, the last decade saw the rivalry gaining national attention due to their success on the basketball court. Both were in the top-10 rankings. 1993 saw the HSC Tigers beat other teams to the top rank and win the national title game. While they returned to the final four in 2003, Randolph-Macon which was ranked at eighth position knocked out the Hampden-Sydney squad in the 2004 match.

"In basketball, both of us have been national players the last 10 to 12 years, both have been in the top 10," remarked ninth-year Macon head hoops coach Mike Rhoades, who guided the Yellow Jackets to four NCAA tournaments and has earned the team a .704 winning percentage since his arrival. "In the 2003 game at our place, we were ranked No. 1 and Hampden-Sydney was ranked No. 3. The game was sold out two weeks prior. We had to put in what I call 'Gucci rows' for alums who wanted to sit in the first two rows. We won the game and earned the top seed in the [Old Dominion Athletic Conference] tournament, then beat them in the finals on a tip-in."

While every rivalry’s on-field scraps adds to its airs, small riots among team supporters take away its dignity. The Tigers-Yellow Jackets rivalry however, has taken a more classy tone in the last few years.

"There used to be a lot of shenanigans," Bush said. "But the last six, seven years it's been more respectful."

With Sydney and Macon students taking to activities like blood drives and coin drives, more peaceful battles precede up to The Game.

"It's mostly really classy," said Rhoades. "But when the ball goes up? You talk about going at each other's throats. And it doesn't matter if it's in basketball, football, lacrosse or the debate teams."

With former game-week traditions like "Running of the Football", which was a sort of relay where the football was carried on foot between campuses and handed off as baton at the midway point between the two schools, the games and rivalries have not fallen to cheap tactics by either schools, living up to the glory of good sportsmanship.

"At the end of the day, each school has a significant amount of respect for one another," added former HSC lacrosse All-American Chris Schaaf. "But it is very easy to put that behind us as soon as the whistle blows."