10 Oldest College Football Rivalries

Updated Jul. 31, 2024 4:08 p.m. ET

The first college football game was officially played in 1869, and it didn’t take long for rivalries to form. Take a look at this list of the 10 oldest rivalries in college football, across the FBS and FCS:

Oldest CFB Rivalries

  1. Yale v. Princeton (1873)
  2. Yale vs. Harvard (1875)
  3. Princeton v. Penn (1876)
  4. Princeton v. Harvard (1877)
  5. Yale v. Brown (1880)
  6. Harvard v. Dartmouth (1882)
  7. Lafayette v. Lehigh (1884)
  8. South Dakota St. v. South Dakota (1889)
  9. Cornell v. Columbia (1889)
  10. Penn v. Cornell (1893)
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What is the oldest rivalry in college football?

The Yale-Princeton rivalry is the oldest in college football history. These two teams have been playing each other since 1873. 

What is the most-played rivalry in college football?

The most played rivalry in college football has been played each year since 1884. Famously known as "The Rivalry", Lafayette and Lehigh have met 159 times.