Welcome back to The Rival Rundown! If you’ve always wanted to give props to your school on CC, now’s your chance! Shoot us an email explaining what’s awesome and unique about your school (or what stinks about Rival U) at rivalrundown@collegecandy.com!
Ask any college student about the rivalry between their school and its arch nemesis, and they’ll tell you it’s gone on for-ev-errrr. While it may seem that way to most, to students at Lafayette College and Lehigh University, the seeming eternity of their rivalry is the closest approximation to truth in American college sports. Having met one another for 144 times in football since 1884 (only one year after standardized rules for the game were established), their rivalry is the most played in college football history. Still going at it after all these years, the annual game is often sold out months in advance. But you don’t have to travel to eastern Pennsylvania, where these schools are located, to learn more about “The Rivalry”– we’ve got the scoop!
1. Mascot Match-up
Lafayette: If you find yourself in Easton, PA, you’ll be quickly accustomed to all of the Lafayette Leopard pride. Go Leopards!
Lehigh: Lehigh athletics were known as the Engineers up until 1995, when the decision to assign a mascot, the Mountain Hawks, was made. Only last year, in 2008, was the Mountain Hawk given a name: Clutch!
Three credits to: Gotta go with Lafayette. How can you cheer for a team for hundreds of years without a mascot?
2. Athletic Assertiveness (in football, since 1884)
Lafayette: 76 wins
Lehigh: 63 wins
Three Credits to: Including the 5 tied games between them, Lafayette is the dominant team.
3. Notable Games
Lafayette: In 2005, Lafayette’s Jonathan Hurt caught a miracle 37-yard touchdown to earn them the win over Lehigh and their first at-large bid to the NCAA D1-AA playoffs!
Lehigh: In 1987, the last game was played in Lehigh’s Taylor Stadium. At the end of the game, fans stormed the field and literally tore the stadium apart, grabbing goal posts, seats, and all memorabilia that could be wrested from its halls.
Three credits to: Lafayette for the stunning victory and the playoff bid!
4. Acceptance Rate Agony (for the class of 2012)
Lafayette: 37.2%
Lehigh: 27.9%
Three credits to: When it comes to academics (and that’s the important part…right?) Lehigh has the edge!
And the diploma goes to: No bones about it, folks– it’s Lafayette all the way!



Justin says:
Thu, 12th Nov 200912:47 pm
So I can really tell that this article is biased, so i’m going to try to level the field a bit.
First of all, the only people who call it Lafayette-Lehigh are the people who go to Lafayette or live in Lafayette. Everyone else calls it Lehigh/Laf.
Second, up until 1995, our mascot was the Engineers, referring to the train engineers that worked on the trains going in and out of Bethlehem steel, so you can’t say that we didn’t have a mascot before 1995. So while we may have an identity crisis right now (since different generations root for different mascots), that just means we have two mascots while Lafayette only has one.
Third, it is true that Lafayette has more football wins than Lehigh, but Lehigh is still leading in wins vs Lafayette in overall sports, and that must be taken into account when judging the rivalry.
Lastly, not only is Lehigh better at academics, we’re also a much bigger party school. Our philosophy is study hard, play hard, and we have pretty much perfected it. I’d like to see you put that up against Lafayette.
Julia says:
Thu, 12th Nov 20091:42 pm
Also, how can you say that a play-off bid trumps a win that nearly TORE DOWN a stadium? (There’s even an engineer’s chant that ends: “hit ‘em with a log… naturally”)
Sara C - Fordham says:
Thu, 12th Nov 20093:07 pm
Hey Justin & Julia,
You both raise valid and interesting points and that’s what The Rival Rundown is all about: encouraging dialogue (and some wholesome competitive spirit) about different schools. It’s all in the name of fun.
However, I just want to clarify that this post is not “biased.” To be biased, the author (myself) would have to have a personal inclination towards (or opposition to) a particular school. I can honestly say that I do not, because I have no affiliations with either of these schools. I am not out to promote or demote either Lehigh or Lafayette.
Still, I think you are correct, Justin, in saying that Lehigh’s overall sports dominance should be taken into consideration. I will definitely be aware of that as I write further columns!
Antoin says:
Thu, 12th Nov 20099:36 pm
So
Lehigh is a University. Lafayette is a College.
Lehigh is on a Mountain. Lafayette is on a Hill.
Lehigh >> Lafayette
You can’t argue with the >>
Nothing against you Sara, but you’re either a Lehigh fan or a Lafayette fan.
Oxford students can be neutral though.
Natalie says:
Fri, 13th Nov 200912:15 am
Lafayette’s a /liberal arts/ college at that…
Sara,
you should write a piece about how Bucknell thinks they have a big “rivalry” with Lehigh AND Lafayette, but in reality, Lehigh and Lafayette are really only each other’s rivals.
Jessica says:
Fri, 13th Nov 20098:26 am
Woo! Thanks for covering the Rivalry. I guess no one from Lafayette has seen this article. Don’t want to get their hopes up for the big game
Frankie says:
Wed, 2nd Dec 20091:38 pm
I know its a bit late (since we won and everything), but I’d like to add that Lafayette’s win tally is higher because they had a football team for MANY years before Lehigh even thought of it. Lehigh only made a football team to play against Lafayette. Additionally, there were 2-3 games played per year until the 40s, and Lehigh did not get its first win until the third year of the program, since they were just starting out.
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