Capital Cup

For other uses, see South's Oldest Rivalry (disambiguation).

Coined as the "Oldest Rivalry in the South", the Capital Cup is one of the longest-running college football rivalries in the United States. Contested yearly between the University of Richmond Spiders and College of William & Mary Tribe, only three rivalries in NCAA Division I have more games played: Lafayette–Lehigh, Princeton–Yale, and Harvard–Yale.

Capital Cup

Richmond Spiders William & Mary Tribe
First meeting	November 19, 1898 Richmond, 15–0
Latest meeting	November 18, 2023 Richmond, 27–26
Next meeting	November 23, 2024
Trophy	Capital Cup (current) I-64 Trophy (former)
Statistics
Meetings total	134
All-time series	Richmond, 65–64–5 (.504)[a]
Largest victory	Richmond, 48–0 (1907, 1916)
Longest win streak	William & Mary, 15 (1939–1954)
Current win streak	Richmond, 1 (2023–present)

45km
30miles

William & Mary

Richmond

  

Locations of Richmond and William & Mary

History

The Capital Cup is one of the oldest collegiate American football rivalries, played between the University of Richmond Spiders and the College of William & Mary Tribe. The yearly contest is the fourth-most-played game in Division I college football, and through the 2023 match-up has been played 134 times. Though starting six years later than what is more commonly called the South's Oldest Rivalry between Virginia and North Carolina, this rivalry between Richmond and William & Mary was more often played twice per year in its early days instead of just once. In 1905, it was played three times. Played nearly continuously since 1898, there have only been four years that the game did not occur: 1900, 1902, 1943, and 2020.^[1][2] The game had until recently been dubbed the I-64 Bowl, from 1984 though 2008.^[1] Beginning in 2009, however, the game was officially renamed the Capital Cup, for which a new trophy was created.^[3] The Capital Cup name was chosen to honor the entire 119-game history of the rivalry between the two schools and the status of the two cities as two of the historic capitals of the Commonwealth of Virginia.^[3] The match-up is typically played as the final regular season game for both teams, but for many years used to be played on Thanksgiving Day.^[1]

The November 21, 2009, game marked the 119th meeting between the schools.^[4] The Richmond win placed the all-time record at 59–55–5, remaining in favor of William & Mary.^[b] The Richmond Spiders won this inaugural Capital Cup by a final score of 13–10, simultaneously giving Richmond a share of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Football Conference season championship. Placekicker Andrew Howard converted a game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired. Then, in 2010, William & Mary clinched a share of the conference with the Capital Cup win. The Tribe had to beat Richmond and have Villanova upset Delaware in order to share the championship with Delaware, and both of those results occurred.

With CAA Football not playing in fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spiders and Tribe did not meet during a calendar year for the first time since 1943. Instead, the two teams were scheduled to meet twice in the spring of 2021 as part of a pared-down schedule of conference games,^[5] although the second meeting ended up being canceled due to COVID-19 related protocols.^[6]

Trophy

The I-64 Trophy was the trophy that went to the winner of the annual William & Mary versus Richmond football game from 1984 through 2008.^[1][3][7] Both Division I schools participate in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). The name for the trophy came from Interstate 64, which connects the schools through the short distance between Richmond and Williamsburg. The I-64 Trophy was replaced in 2009 with the Capital Cup, which honors the entire history of the rivalry between the two schools and the status of the two cities as the last two capitals of the Commonwealth of Virginia.^[3]

Game results

Richmond victories

William & Mary victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 November 19, 1898 Richmond Richmond 15–0 2 October 21, 1899 Richmond Richmond 14–0 3 November 9, 1901 Williamsburg Richmond 27–11 4 November 14, 1903 Richmond Richmond 24–0 5 November 4, 1904 Williamsburg William & Mary 15–6 6 October 11, 1905 Richmond Tie 0–0 7 October 21, 1905 Richmond William & Mary 4–0 8 November 11, 1905 Richmond Richmond 23–5 9 November 3, 1906 Williamsburg Richmond 24–0 10 November 28, 1906 Newport News Richmond 6–0 11 November 28, 1907 Newport News Richmond 48–0 12 November 21, 1908 Richmond William & Mary 21–18 13 November 20, 1909 Richmond William & Mary 15–0 14 November 19, 1910 Richmond William & Mary 18–6 15 November 11, 1911 Williamsburg William & Mary 3–0 16 November 9, 1912 Richmond Richmond 20–0 17 November 8, 1913 Newport News Richmond 20–13 18 November 22, 1913 Williamsburg Richmond 20–13 19 October 24, 1914 Williamsburg Richmond 7–3 20 November 21, 1914 Richmond Richmond 32–0 21 October 23, 1915 Williamsburg Richmond 28–0 22 November 20, 1915 Richmond Richmond 45–0 23 October 28, 1916 Richmond Richmond 48–0 24 November 18, 1916 Williamsburg Tie 0–0 25 October 13, 1917 Richmond Richmond 28–0 26 November 17, 1917 Williamsburg Richmond 19–0 27 November 30, 1918 Williamsburg Richmond 7–0 28 October 18, 1919 Williamsburg William & Mary 7–0 29 November 8, 1919 Richmond Richmond 17–0 30 November 27, 1919 Richmond Richmond 21–0 31 October 20, 1920 Norfolk Richmond 13–0 32 November 24, 1921 Richmond Richmond 17–7 33 November 30, 1922 Williamsburg Richmond 13–3 34 November 29, 1923 Richmond William & Mary 27–6 35 November 27, 1924 Richmond William & Mary 20–6 36 November 26, 1925 Richmond William & Mary 14–0 37 November 25, 1926 Richmond William & Mary 14–0 38 November 24, 1927 Richmond Tie 0–0 39 November 29, 1928 Richmond William & Mary 7–0 40 November 28, 1929 Richmond William & Mary 25–0 41 November 27, 1930 Richmond William & Mary 19–0 42 November 26, 1931 Richmond Richmond 6–2 43 November 24, 1932 Richmond Richmond 18–7 44 November 30, 1933 Richmond William & Mary 6–0 45 November 29, 1934 Richmond Richmond 6–0 46 November 27, 1935 Richmond Tie 6–6 47 November 26, 1936 Richmond Richmond 7–0 48 November 25, 1937 Richmond Richmond 6–0 49 November 24, 1938 Richmond Richmond 10–7 50 November 25, 1939 Richmond William & Mary 7–0 51 November 21, 1940 Richmond William & Mary 16–0 52 November 20, 1941 Richmond William & Mary 33–3 53 November 26, 1942 Richmond William & Mary 10–0 54 November 30, 1944 Richmond William & Mary 40–0 55 November 22, 1945 Richmond William & Mary 33–0 56 November 28, 1946 Richmond William & Mary 40–0 57 November 27, 1947 Richmond William & Mary 35–0 58 October 30, 1948 Williamsburg William & Mary 14–6 59 October 29, 1949 Richmond William & Mary 34–0 60 December 2, 1950 Williamsburg William & Mary 40–6 61 October 27, 1951 Richmond William & Mary 20–14 62 October 24, 1952 Williamsburg William & Mary 42–13 63 November 14, 1953 Richmond William & Mary 21–0 64 November 25, 1954 Richmond William & Mary 2–0 65 November 24, 1955 Richmond Tie 6–6 66 November 22, 1956 Richmond Richmond 6–0 67 November 28, 1957 Richmond Richmond 12–7 68 November 27, 1958 Richmond William & Mary 18–15 No. Date Location Winner Score 69 November 21, 1959 Richmond Richmond 20–12 70 November 24, 1960 Richmond Richmond 19–0 71 November 23, 1961 Richmond Richmond 36–18 72 November 22, 1962 Richmond Richmond 15–3 73 November 23, 1963 Richmond William & Mary 29–6 74 November 26, 1964 Richmond William & Mary 33–13 75 November 20, 1965 Williamsburg William & Mary 21–0 76 November 19, 1966 Richmond William & Mary 35–19 77 November 19, 1967 Williamsburg Richmond 16–7 78 November 23, 1968 Richmond Richmond 31–6 79 November 22, 1969 Williamsburg Richmond 28–17 80 November 21, 1970 Richmond William & Mary 34–33 81 November 20, 1971 Williamsburg Richmond 21–19 82 November 18, 1972 Richmond Richmond 20–3 83 November 17, 1973 Williamsburg Richmond 31–0 84 November 23, 1974 Richmond William & Mary 54–12 85 November 22, 1975 Williamsburg William & Mary 31–21 86 November 20, 1976 Richmond Richmond 21–10 87 November 19, 1977 Williamsburg William & Mary 29–13 88 November 18, 1978 Richmond Richmond 17–3 89 November 17, 1979 Williamsburg William & Mary 24–10 90 November 22, 1980 Richmond Richmond 26–14 91 November 21, 1981 Williamsburg William & Mary 35–21 92 November 20, 1982 Richmond William & Mary 28–17 93 November 19, 1983 Williamsburg William & Mary 24–15 94 November 17, 1984 Richmond Richmond 33–31 95 November 16, 1985 Williamsburg William & Mary 28–17 96 November 22, 1986 Richmond William & Mary 21–14 97 November 21, 1987 Williamsburg William & Mary 20–7 98 November 19, 1988 Richmond Richmond 24–19 99 November 18, 1989 Williamsburg William & Mary 22–10 100 November 17, 1990 Richmond William & Mary 31–10 101 November 23, 1991 Williamsburg William & Mary 49–7 102 November 21, 1992 Richmond William & Mary 34–19 103 November 20, 1993 Williamsburg William & Mary 31–17 104 November 19, 1994 Richmond William & Mary 21–20 105 November 11, 1995 Williamsburg William & Mary 27–7 106 November 16, 1996 Richmond William & Mary 28–13 107 November 15, 1997 Williamsburg William & Mary 10–7 108 November 21, 1998 Richmond Richmond 42–17 109 November 20, 1999 Richmond William & Mary 34–14 110 November 18, 2000 Williamsburg Richmond 21–18 111 November 17, 2001 Richmond William & Mary 23–20 112 November 23, 2002 Williamsburg Richmond 35–13 113 November 22, 2003 Richmond William & Mary 59–21 114 November 20, 2004 Williamsburg William & Mary 38–14 115 November 19, 2005 Richmond Richmond 41–7 116 November 18, 2006 Williamsburg Richmond 31–14 117 November 17, 2007 Richmond Richmond 31–20 118 November 22, 2008 Williamsburg Richmond 23–20OT 119 November 21, 2009 Richmond Richmond 13–10 120 November 20, 2010 Williamsburg William & Mary 41–3 121 November 19, 2011 Richmond William & Mary 25–23 122 November 17, 2012 Williamsburg Richmond 21–14 123 November 23, 2013 Richmond Richmond 31–20 124 November 22, 2014 Williamsburg Richmond 34–20 125 November 21, 2015 Richmond Richmond 20–9 126 December 5, 2015 Richmond Richmond 48–13 127 November 19, 2016 Williamsburg William & Mary 34–13 128 November 18, 2017 Richmond Richmond 27–20 129 November 17, 2018 Williamsburg Richmond 10–6 130 November 23, 2019 Richmond William & Mary 21–15OT 131 March 6, 2021 Richmond Richmond 21–14 132 November 20, 2021 Williamsburg Richmond 20–17 133 November 19, 2022 Richmond William & Mary 37–26 134 November 18, 2023 Williamsburg Richmond 27–26 Series: Richmond leads 65–64–5

Game MVPs

A Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award was established 2009, coinciding with the rivalry's renaming to Capital Cup.^[8]

Season	MVP	Team	Position	Notes
2009	Eric Ward	Richmond	Quarterback	Completed 24 of 36 passes (66.7%) for 221 yards
2010	Mike Callahan	William & Mary	Quarterback	Completed 17 of 22 passes (77.2%) for a career-high 331 yards and two touchdowns
2011	Jonathan Grimes	William & Mary	Running back	Attempted a then school-record 39 rushes for 205 yards and one touchdown
2012	Kendall Gaskins	Richmond	Fullback	Rushed for 73 yards and one touchdown and caught one 7-yard touchdown pass
2013	Seth Fisher	Richmond	Fullback	Rushed for a career-high 131 yards and two touchdowns
2014	Michael Strauss	Richmond	Quarterback	Completed 29 of 40 passes (72.5%) for 291 yards and two touchdowns
2015	Jacobi Green	Richmond	Running back	Attempted 36 rushes for 217 yards and one touchdown and caught one pass for 8 yards
2016	Kendell Anderson	William & Mary	Running back	Attempted school-record 42 rushes for 219 yards and two touchdowns
2017	Xavier Goodall	Richmond	Running back	Attempted 23 rushes for career-high 180 yards and two touchdowns
2018	Dale Matthews, Jr.	Richmond	Linebacker	Converted a 4th-and-4 on a fake punt; recorded an interception near the red zone
2019	Isaiah Jones	William & Mary	Linebacker	Recorded nine tackles (four TFLs), two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery
2020	Game played on March 6, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic which delayed the 2020 CAA Football season; no game MVP was awarded.[9]
2021	Tyler Dressler	Richmond	Linebacker	Recorded 11 tackles (0.5 TFLs) and two quarterback hurries
2022	Darius Wilson	William & Mary	Quarterback	Completed 9 of 13 passes (69.2%) for 227 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 42 yards and two touchdowns on six carries
2023	Kyle Wickersham	Richmond	Quarterback	Completed 14 of 21 passes (66.7%) for 152 yards and one touchdown while rushing for a team-high 72 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games
• List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I

Notes

1. During the early twentieth century, William & Mary and Richmond would occasionally play two or even three times per season since there were so few teams in the area. Thus it is not a mistake if the W-L column has identical years in them (the teams may have split the season 1–1, for example).
2. The 2008 game was the first in the history of the rivalry to be decided in overtime. Richmond would go on to win the 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship by defeating the Montana Grizzlies 24–7. It was the first team national championship for Richmond in any sport.

References

1. College Football Rivalries Q-R. Retrieved on November 27, 2008.
2. The Collegian – UR defeats W&M 23–20 Archived January 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on November 28, 2008.
3. Richmond, William & Mary Rename Football Rivalry As Capital Cup Archived June 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on November 11, 2009.
4. RichmondSpiders.com^{[permanent dead link]}. "...Saturday in the 118th meeting between long-time rivals at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg." Retrieved on November 28, 2008.
5. "CAA Football Announces Spring 2021 Conference Schedule". richmondspiders.com. University of Richmond Athletics. October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
6. "Football Game At William & Mary Cancelled, JMU Game Scheduled For April 17". richmondspiders.com. University of Richmond Athletics. April 9, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
7. Richmond Spiders Athletic Site^{[permanent dead link]}. "Up Next: The Spiders bring the 2008 regular-season to a close next Saturday with the I-64 Trophy on the line at William & Mary." Retrieved on November 28, 2008.
8. All-time results Archived June 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. University of Richmond Spiders football. Retrieved on November 12, 2009.
9. "Football Claims Capital Cup Win Over William & Mary". RichmondSpiders.com. March 6, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.