Cornell and Pennsylvania first met in 1893 and have played 110 times; Pennsylvania leads the series 65–40–5. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Pennsylvania 8–2. The winner takes home the Trustees’ Cup, played for since 1995. Cornell has held it since the 2025 game. Share
Who holds it comes from the games on file: the winner of the latest regular-season meeting since 1995 (bowl rematches aren’t played for it); a tie leaves it with the holder (the usual rule; the article doesn’t say). The rivalry’s article counts the games for it: Penn leads, 21–9. From Wikipedia’s list of rivalry games and the rivalry’s article (CC BY-SA). More on the Trustees’ Cup.
Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Cornell’s side (Sharpe 3–0 against Brooke). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.
Both programs through the years
Cornell PennsylvaniaTicks under the axis: each meeting, in the winner’s color
Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.
From the newspapers
1894 · Richmond dispatch, Richmond, Va., Nov 18, 1894
1895 · The herald, Los Angeles [Calif.], Nov 29, 1895
1898 · The daily morning journal and courier, Nov 25, 1898
Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.
Photos
C – O – R – N – E – L – L flags carried by Cornell University cheerleaders. Cornell at Penn football, November 9, 2019.Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe 2019 game
Cornell University cheerleaders at Cornell-Penn game, November 9, 2019. Penn won, 21–20.Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe 2019 game
UPenn vs. Cornell football at Franklin Field, November 9, 2019. Penn won, 21–20.Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe 2019 game
Cornell University cheerleaders execute the “Liberty” stunt at Cornell-Penn game, 2019.Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe 2019 game
From the rivalry’s and its games’ categories on Wikimedia Commons (free licenses only, each credited).
