Lehigh-Lafayette Rivalry Game

Lehigh-Lafayette Rivalry

Known as THE RIVALRY, the Lehigh-Lafayette football game is the most-played college football rivalry in the nation. The two teams first took to the gridiron in 1884, just one year after the first standardized football rules were established, and have played 159 times since.

Rivalry 160

The 160th edition of the most-played rivalry in all of college football will be on November 23rd, 2024 at Goodman Stadium.

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Lehigh-Lafayette Alumni Telecast

Rivalry Forever

The Rivalry doesn't end at graduation. Lehigh alumni are some of the loudest and proudest supporters of this annual tradition. Between festive tailgates on Goodman Campus and a host of telecast parties across the nation, the love for The Rivalry lasts forever. Explore the Lehigh-Lafayette events for alumni, parents, and friends!

10.8

miles between stadiums (how the Mountain Hawk flies)

72

all-time wins for Lehigh (72-82-5 overall)

1967

year of the first Bed Races down The Hill

2.6

miles are run (up and down the hill) during the Turkey Trot

1884

The year of the first Rivalry game.

18-12

the Mountain Hawks' record in The Rivalry since 1995

The Rivalry

College football is a sport built on great rivalries. But there is truly nothing like The Rivalry. Learn more about The Rivalry >

Spirit Week

From bed races to bedsheet banners, the week leading up to The Rivalry game is full of campus celebrations and long time traditions. Learn more about Rivalry Week >

Beat Lafayette!

Across all sports, Lehigh won the 2022-23 academic year 25-8. In 2021-22 the record was 23-7-1. View Lehigh-Lafayette game reports >

The Rivalry: Told Through Traditions

An old photo of a Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry football game

The Game

The Lehigh-Lafayette game is the most-played and longest uninterrupted college football rivalry. This year marks the 160th meeting of the two teams.
A man wearing Lehigh gear plays the trumpet

Eco-Flame

The most unpredictable Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry week tradition is Eco-Flame. The student marching band enters classrooms before the game and briefly interrupts classes to play spirit tunes.
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Turkey Trot

Every year on the Thursday before the Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry game, students, faculty and staff gather in front of Packer Chapel to participate in the Turkey Trot.

View all The Rivalry: Told Through Traditions posts

Rivalry Week Events

 
View all Rivalry week events >
Marching 97 playing

Eco Flame

The Marching 97 “Eco-Flame” began in the 1970s, when Professor Rich Aaronson asked the band to play during his ECO 001 class.

Lehigh's Bed Races

Bed Races

Students form teams, decorate beds and drag race them down Packer Avenue in one of Lehigh’s most treasured traditions.

Kevin Cahill

Coach Kevin Cahill

For Coach Cahill’s second season in Fall of 2024, Rivaly 160 will be played again at Goodman Stadium.

Lehigh's Turkey Trot

Turkey Trot

A 2.6-mile run through campus to the top of “The Hill” and back to the Clayton UC lawn, the Turkey Trot draws participants from the entire Lehigh community.

Beat Lafayette Luncheon

Beat Lafayette Luncheon

On the Friday before the game, senior players & coaches have lunch with members of the “50 Game Club,” who have attended 50 or more Lehigh-Lafayette games.

LeLaf Beam Crushing

Beam Crushing

A newer tradition hosted by the American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter, participants are invited to witness the 5 million-pound testing machine in Fritz Lab crush a Lafayette steel beam.

Bedsheet sign

Rivalry on Display

One of the most popular, and creative, traditions is “Bedsheet Banners” hung up in front of residence halls, off-campus housing, or even in offices.

Tearing down goalposts

Tearing Down Goalposts

Taylor Stadium was Lehigh’s home for The Rivalry from 1914 to 1988.