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.

45km
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William & Mary

Richmond

  

Locations of Richmond and William & Mary

The Capital Cup is one of the oldest collegiate American football rivalries, played between the University of Richmond Spiders and the College of William & Mary Tribe. The yearly contest is the fourth-most-played game in Division I college football, and through the 2023 match-up has been played 134 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 four years that the game did not occur: 1900, 1902, 1943, and 2020.^[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 historic 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.^{[lower-alpha 2]} 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 (CAA) Football Conference season championship. Placekicker 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 CAA Football not playing in fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spiders and Tribe did not meet during a calendar year for the first time since 1943. Instead, the two teams were scheduled to meet twice in the spring of 2021 as part of a pared-down schedule of conference games,^[5] although the second meeting ended up being canceled due to COVID-19 related protocols.^[6]

The I-64 Trophy was the trophy that went to the winner of the annual William & Mary versus Richmond football game from 1984 through 2008.^[1][3][7] 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]

A Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award was established 2009, coinciding with the rivalry's renaming to Capital Cup.^[8]

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games
• List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I