Capital Cup
Richmond Spiders
| |
First meeting | November 19, 1898 Richmond, 15–0 |
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Latest meeting | March 6, 2021 Richmond, 21–14 |
Trophy | Capital Cup (current) I-64 Trophy (former) |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 131 |
All-time series | Series Tied , 63–63–5 (.500)1 |
Largest victory | Richmond, 48–0 (1907, 1916) |
Longest win streak | William & Mary, 15 (1939–1954) |
Current win streak | Richmond, 1 (2021) |
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.
History[]
The Capital Cup is one of the oldest collegiate American football rivalries, played between the University of Richmond Spiders and College of William & Mary Tribe. The yearly contest is the fourth most played game in college football, and through the 2019 match-up has been played 130 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 three years that the game did not occur: 1900, 1902 and 1943.[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 historical 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.3 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 season championship. Place kicker 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 the Colonial Athletic Association not playing football in fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spiders and Tribe will not meet during a calendar year for the first time since 1943. Instead the two teams will meet twice in the spring of 2021 as part of a pared-down schedule of conference games.[5]
Trophy[]
The I-64 Trophy was a college football trophy that went to the winner of the annual College of William & Mary versus University of Richmond football game from 1984 through 2008.[1][3][6] 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 |
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Game MVPs[]
A Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award was established 2009, coinciding with the rivalry's renaming to Capital Cup.[7]
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 delaying the 2020 CAA football season; no game MVP information can be found.[8] |
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 Only Lafayette–Lehigh, Princeton–Yale, and Harvard–Yale have played more games.
- ^3 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[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d College Football Rivalries Q-R. Retrieved on November 27, 2008.
- ^ The Collegian – UR defeats W&M 23-20 Archived January 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on November 28, 2008.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Richmond, William & Mary Rename Football Rivalry As Capital Cup Archived 2011-06-16 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on November 11, 2009.
- ^ RichmondSpiders.com. "...Saturday in the 118th meeting between long-time rivals at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg." Retrieved on November 28, 2008.
- ^ "CAA Football Announces Spring 2021 Conference Schedule". richmondspiders.com. University of Richmond Athletics. October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
- ^ Richmond Spiders Athletic Site. "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.
- ^ All-time results Archived June 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. University of Richmond Spiders football. Retrieved on November 12, 2009.
- ^ "Football Claims Capital Cup Win Over William & Mary". RichmondSpiders.com. March 6, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- College football rivalries in the United States
- Richmond Spiders football
- William & Mary Tribe football
- American football in Virginia
- Awards established in 1898
- Recurring sporting events established in 1898