Hampden–Sydney vs. Randolph–Macon rivalry

The Randolph-Macon vs.Hampden–Sydney rivalry is a sports rivalry between the Hampden–Sydney College Tigers and the Randolph–Macon College Yellow Jackets. The college football rivalry between the NCAA Division III schools, often known simply as "The Game", dates to 1893 and has been called the oldest small-school rivalry in the Southern United States. The rivalry now crosses all sports, with the men's basketball series in particular gaining national attention.

Randolph–Macon vs. Hampden-Sydney rivalry

Sport	Football & Basketball
Teams	Hampden–Sydney Tigers Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets
First meeting	1893
Latest meeting	November 16, 2024 Randolph–Macon 27, Hampden–Sydney 6
Next meeting	November 15, 2025
Trophy	The Game Ball
Statistics
Meetings total	128
All-time series	Randolph–Macon leads 59–58–11
Largest victory	Hampden–Sydney, 62–0 (1917)
Longest win streak	Randolph–Macon, 11 (2014–Present)
Current win streak	Randolph–Macon, 11 (2014–Present)

75km
50miles

Randolph–Macon

Hampden–Sydney

  

Locations of Hampden–Sydney and Randolph–Macon

Football

The college football rivalry between Hampden–Sydney College and Randolph–Macon College dates to 1893. The game was played on Hampden–Sydney's campus, as the previous year President Richard McIlwaine had banned the team from traveling to keep them from "vicious temptations and surroundings"; Randolph–Macon was one of the only teams willing to travel to Hampden–Sydney without potential reciprocation. Randolph–Macon won the game 12–6.^[1] Since then, the two teams have met 126 times (no games were played in 1943 and 1944) in what has been called the South's oldest small-school rivalry.^[1][2] Hampden–Sydney's longest streak without losing is 14 games, from 1915 through 1926. Randolph–Macon's longest streak without losing is 11 games, from 2014 to 2024. Hampden–Sydney has won 8 of the top 10 largest point-differential games with the widest margin being by 62 points and the lowest being 32; Randolph–Macon has won by over 30 points twice—in 1997 by 31 and in 2019 by 42.^{[nb 1]} Since 2011, the Yellow Jackets have won 13 games and the Tigers 1. Randolph–Macon leads the series 59–58–11 with Randolph-Macon winning the most recent matchup on November 16, 2024, to extend its current winning streak in the series to eleven games.

Known to fans simply as "The Game", it is by far the highest profile matchup on either team's schedule. It is played in November as the final game of each team's regular football season.^[3] It often decides the champion of the ODAC. Being only 78 miles from each other and within an hour of Richmond, Virginia, the two NCAA Division III non-scholarship schools overlap in their recruiting pool, heightening the rivalry particularly in Richmond, where thousands of alumni from both colleges reside. The year-round nature of the rivalry has led fans to consider "The Game" the highlight of the schedule.^[1][2]

On November 24, 2020, the 1984 football victory over Hampden Sydney was voted by Randolph Macon alumni and fans as the greatest football game in the history of Randolph Macon dating back to 1891. In this game, Randolph Macon’s defense forced five turnovers which allowed the explosive and record breaking offense to score 31 points in a 31-10 victory. This win allowed Randolph Macon Macon to advance to the NCAA playoffs for the first time in the school’s history finishing the regular season ranked #5 in the nation and #1 in the NCAA South Region.  ^[4][5] During the historic 1984 season, Randolph Macon wide receiver Keith Gilliam broke the all time NCAA record by having nine consecutive receptions for touchdowns.^[6]

Game results

Hampden–Sydney victories

Randolph–Macon victories

Ties

No. Date Location Home team Score 1 1893 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 12–6 2 1896 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 24–0 3 1898 unknown Hampden–Sydney 18–6 4 1900 unknown Hampden–Sydney 11–0 5 1901 unknown Hampden–Sydney 22–6 6 1902 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 36–0 7 1902 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 5–0 8 1903 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 12–0 9 1906 Ashland Randolph–Macon 6–0 10 1907 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 11–5 11 1908 Petersburg[7] Randolph–Macon 5–0 12 1909 Ashland Randolph–Macon 8–5 13 1910 Ashland Randolph–Macon 10–3 14 1911 Richmond[8] Randolph–Macon 6–2 15 1912 unknown Randolph–Macon 3–0 16 1913 unknown Hampden–Sydney 13–0 17 1914 Ashland Randolph–Macon 21–0 18 1914 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 6–0 19 1915 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 26–0 20 1915 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 6–0 21 1916 Hampden–Sydney Tie 14–14 22 1916 Richmond[9] Tie 0–0 23 1917 Boulevard Park[10] Hampden–Sydney 33–0 24 1917 Petersburg[10] Hampden–Sydney 62–0 25 1918 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 28–7 26 1919 Mayo Island Park[11] Hampden–Sydney 19–14 27 1919 Lynchburg[12] Hampden–Sydney 10–0 28 1920 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 28–0 29 1921 Mayo Island Park[13] Hampden–Sydney 21–0 30 1923 Mayo Island Park[14] Hampden–Sydney 25–6 31 1924 Mayo Island Park[15] Tie 0–0 32 1925 Mayo Island Park[16] Hampden–Sydney 26–0 33 1926 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 19–0 34 1927 Petersburg[17] Randolph–Macon 6–0 35 1928 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 39–6 36 1930 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 6–0 37 1931 Ashland Randolph–Macon 7–0 38 1932 Hampden–Sydney Tie 0–0 39 1933 Ashland Randolph–Macon 21–20 40 1934 Hampden–Sydney Tie 0–0 41 1935 Ashland Randolph–Macon 14–6 42 1936 Petersburg[18] Randolph–Macon 21–7 43 1937 Petersburg[19] Randolph–Macon 3–0 44 1938 Richmond Randolph–Macon 9–7 45 1939 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 12–0 46 1940 Lynchburg[20] Hampden–Sydney 27–7 47 1941 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 14–0 48 1942 Hampden–Sydney Tie 6–6 49 1945 Hampden–Sydney Tie 7–7 50 1946 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 6–0 51 1947 Ashland Randolph–Macon 13–7 52 1948 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 20–6 53 1949 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 22–15 54 1950 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 21–13 55 1951 Ashland Tie 20–20 56 1952 Richmond Tie 26–26 57 1953 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 20–12 58 1954 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 23–0 59 1955 Ashland Randolph–Macon 7–6 60 1956 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 27–7 61 1957 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 26–19 62 1958 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 23–20 63 1959 Richmond Tie 0–0 64 1960 Richmond Randolph–Macon 10–7 65 1961 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 13–6 No. Date Location Home team Score 66 1962 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 36–0 67 1963 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 14–7 68 1964 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 20–0 69 1965 Ashland Randolph–Macon 7–0 70 1966 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 15–14 71 1967 Randolph-Macon Randolph–Macon 24–14 72 1968 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 36–8 73 1969 Randolph-Macon Randolph–Macon 22–19 74 1970 Hampden-Sydney Hampden–Sydney 14–6 75 1971 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 17–13 76 1972 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 35–10 77 1973 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 21–0 78 1974 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 7–3 79 1975 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 23–19 80 1976 Hampden–Sydney[21] Randolph–Macon 28–23 81 1977 Ashland[22] Hampden–Sydney 35–7 82 1978 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 27–14 83 1979 Ashland Randolph–Macon 9–7 84 1980 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 16–15 85 1981 Ashland Tie 10–10 86 1982 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 6–3 87 1983 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 24–20 88 1984 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 31–10 89 1985 Ashland Randolph–Macon 12–7 90 1986 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 21–7 91 1987 Ashland Randolph–Macon 25–18 92 1988 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 23–10 93 1989 Ashland Randolph–Macon 21–14 94 1990 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 28–7 95 1991 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 29–28 96 1992 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 26–22 97 1993 Ashland Randolph–Macon 17–10 98 1994 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 24–10 99 1995 Ashland Randolph–Macon 35–14 100 1996 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 20–10 101 1997 Ashland Randolph–Macon 49–18 102 1998 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 45–42 103 1999 Ashland Randolph–Macon 33–7 104 2000 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 26–17 105 2001 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 38–26 106 2002 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 7–0 107 2003 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 53–21 108 2004 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 50–16 109 2005 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 50–17 110 2006 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 46–21 111 2007 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 31–13 112 2008 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 31–21 113 2009 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 34–27 114 2010 Hampden–Sydney Hampden–Sydney 31–28 115 2011 Ashland Randolph–Macon 48–34 116 2012 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 41–31 117 2013 Ashland Hampden–Sydney 28–26 118 2014 Hampden–Sydney Randolph–Macon 24–10 119 2015 Ashland Randolph–Macon 14–9 120 2016 Hampden-Sydney Randolph–Macon 48–23 121 2017 Ashland Randolph–Macon 56–28 122 2018 Hampden-Sydney Randolph–Macon 48–35 123 2019 Ashland Randolph–Macon 45–3 124 2020 Hampden-Sydney Randolph–Macon 28–0 125 2021 Ashland Randolph–Macon 37–14 126 2022 Hampden-Sydney Randolph–Macon 38–17 127 2023 Ashland Randolph–Macon 49–10 128 2024 Hampden-Sydney Randolph–Macon 27–6 Series: Randolph–Macon leads 59–58–11

Men's basketball

While the football matchup has the most history, the rivalry has extended across all sports in which the schools compete, and since the 1990s the men's basketball series has gained national attention. Since that time both schools have been national Division III contenders, with both ranked in the top ten in multiple years. As such, the games often have championship implications for one or both teams. In 2003 the #1 Yellow Jackets beat the #3 Tigers in a game that sold out weeks prior; in 2007 Hampden–Sydney derailed Randolph–Macon's postseason hopes with a playoff victory after being swept in the regular season. Both teams were in the top ten in 2004 when the #8 Yellow Jackets upset the undefeated, first-ranked Tigers.^[2] In 2021, #1 ranked Randolph-Macon defeated Hampden-Sydney 79-65, but the return contest was cancelled due to COVID-19. The Yellow Jackets finished the season with a 12-0 record, an ODAC championship, and the #1 ranking in the final D3Hoops.com poll. The following season, Randolph-Macon defeated Hampden-Sydney twice, en route to a perfect 16-0 ODAC record. The Yellow Jackets won the ODAC tournament and the Division III national championship with a 33-1 overall record, the first national title in school history. Since the 2023-2024 season, Hampden-Sydney Basketball has seen extensive growth, winning two of the last three meetings between the rivals, losing by just 2 points. This loss would be their last until the 2024 NCAA Division III tournament, in which they were bested by just 8 points. ^[23]

Notes

1. Hampden–Sydney won 62–0 (62) in 1917; 36–0 (36) in 1962; 36–0 (36) in 1902; 33–0 (33) in 1917; 50–16 (34) in 2004; 50–17 (33) in 2005; 39–6 in 1928 (33); and 53–21 (32) in 2003. Randolph–Macon won 49–18 (31) in 2003.

References

1. Castrodale, Jelisa (November 12, 2010). "Small Schools, But Maybe Biggest Rivalry". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
2. Preston, Chris (July 8, 2008). "Oldest small-school football rivalry in the south now 'goes across all sports'". ESPN. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
3. Hampden–Sydney Sports Information (November 14, 2009). "Week Eleven: #15 Hampden–Sydney @ Randolph–Macon College (11/14/09)". Hampden–Sydney College. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
4. "Fans Vote 1984 H-SC Win as Top Game". Randolph-Macon. November 24, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
5. "Randolph-Macon". Randolph-Macon. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
6. "Keith Gilliam '87". Randolph-Macon. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
7. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
8. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
9. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
10. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
11. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
12. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
13. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
14. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
15. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
16. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
17. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
18. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
19. "Kaleidoscope". Archive.org. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
20. Virginia E. Young (November 23, 1940). Randolph-Macon College. Arcadia. p. 85. ISBN 9780738587141. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
21. "Record of the Hampden-Sydney Alumni Association". Archive.org. 1976. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
22. "Record of the Hampden-Sydney Alumni Association". Archive.org. 1977. Retrieved July 18, 2016.