Harvard Crimson football


The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1873. The Crimson has a legacy that includes 13 [College football College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national championships] and 20 College Football Hall of Fame inductees, including the first African-American college football player William H. Lewis, Huntington "Tack" Hardwick, Barry Wood, Percy Haughton, and Eddie Mahan. Harvard is the tenth winningest team in NCAA Division I football history.
The Crimson play their home games at Harvard Stadium in Boston.
WWW gocrimson.com/sports/foot...

History

Early history

Though rugby style "carrying game" with use of hands permitted between freshmen and sophomores were played in 1858 the rugby team was not founded until December 6, 1872, by former members of the Oneida Football Club, formed in 1862 and considered by some historians as the first formal "football" club in the United States. Oneida had developed the "Boston game" ", an early code of football that was also used by the recently established Harvard club. Harvard team is considered the oldest rugby team in the United States.
Old "Football Fightum" had been resurrected at Harvard in 1872, when Harvard resumed playing football. Harvard, however, had adopted a version of football which allowed carrying, albeit only when the player carrying the ball was being pursued. As a result of this, Harvard refused to attend the rules conference organized by the other schools and continued to play under its own code.
In 1873 when the Harvard team received an invitation from the McGill University football club. The McGill team was then in a similar situation as Harvard, as they sought some team with which to play rugby football and no other club wanted to play that game. Harvard boys agreed to a rugby match with McGill under the condition the Canadians played the Boston Game. As McGill accepted, a two-game series was scheduled for May 1874 in Boston. The team captains sent letters detailing their respective game's rules and it was agreed that the first game would be played under Boston rules and the second under rugby rules. Inasmuch as rugby football had been transplanted to Canada from England, the McGill team played under a set of rules which allowed a player to pick up the ball and run with it whenever he wished. Another rule, unique to McGill, was to count tries, as well as goals, in the scoring. In the rugby rules of the time, a touchdown only provided the chance to kick a free goal from the field. If the kick was missed, the touchdown did not count.
The first game showed the kicking of a round ball as the most prominent feature of the "Boston Game". The Canadians were easily defeated by a Harvard squad familiarised with the Boston rules in contrast to the lack of experience of McGill players. During the second game under the rugby rules, the Harvard players easily adapted to the less restrictive rules of the game, such as the unlimited running and passing the ball or the more aggressive and constant tackling. Within a few years, Harvard had both adopted McGill's rules and persuaded other U.S. university teams to do the same. On June 4, 1875, Harvard played another rugby match v Tufts University, and then Yale on November 13. That game caused Yale to drop association football in favour of rugby.
The McGill team traveled to Cambridge to meet Harvard. On May 14, 1874, the first game, played under Harvard's rules, was won by Harvard with a score of 3–0. The next day, the two teams played under "McGill" rugby rules to a scoreless tie. The games featured a round ball instead of a rugby-style oblong ball. This series of games represents an important milestone in the development of the modern game of American football. In October 1874, the Harvard team once again traveled to Montreal to play McGill in rugby, where they won by three tries. Harvard later brought the Harvard/McGill rules to a game against another American college. On June 4, 1875, Harvard played Tufts University under rules that included each side fielding 11 men, the ball was advanced by kicking or carrying it, and tackles of the ball carrier stopped play. This is likely the first game between two American colleges in this early era that most resembled the modern game of American football.
The Harvard Crimson was one of the dominant forces in the early days of intercollegiate football, winning 9 college football national championships between 1890 and 1919. In the forty-year period from 1889 to 1928, Harvard had more than 80 first-team All-American selections. Under head coach Percy Haughton, Harvard had three consecutive undefeated seasons from 1912 to 1914, including two perfect seasons in 1912 and 1913.
In both 1919 and 1920, headed by All-American brothers Arnold Horween and Ralph Horween, Harvard was undefeated. The team won the 1920 Rose Bowl against the University of Oregon, 7–6. It was the only bowl appearance in Harvard history.

NCAA Division I subdivision split

The NCAA decided to split Division I into two subdivisions in 1978, then called I-A for larger schools, and I-AA for the smaller ones. The NCAA had devised the split, in part, with the Ivy League in mind, but the conference did not move down for four seasons despite the fact that there were many indications that the ancient eight were on the wrong side of an increasing disparity between the big and small schools. In 1982, the NCAA created a rule that stated a program's average attendance must be at least 15,000 to qualify for I-A membership. This forced the conference's hand, as only some of the member schools met the attendance qualification. Choosing to stay together rather than stand their ground separately in the increasingly competitive I-A subdivision, the Ivy League, along with several other conferences and independent programs moved down into I-AA starting with the 1982 season.

Recent history

Since the formation of the Ivy League in 1956, Harvard has won outright or shared 20 Ivy League championships, 1961, 1966, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023, 2024, and 2025. The Crimson is behind Dartmouth's 21 Ivy League Football Championships.
In summer 2020, the Ivy League announced that the fall season would be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic; the 2020 football season was eventually cancelled altogether. Harvard did not resume play until September 2021, after a nearly two-year hiatus, with a 44-9 victory over Georgetown.

Championships

National championships

Harvard has won 12 national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors.
Harvard claims seven of these college football national championships.
1874Parke DavisArthur B. Ellis1–1
1875National Championship Foundation, Parke DavisWilliam A. Whiting4–0
1890PD, NCF, Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System George A. Stewart, C. Adams11–0
1898BR, HAF, HS, NCFWilliam Forbes11–0
1899HAF, HS, NCFBenjamin Dibblee10–0–1
1901Billingsley, Parke DavisBill Reid12–0
1908BillingsleyPercy Haughton9–0–1
1910BR, HAF, HS, NCFPercy Haughton8–0–1
1912BR, HAF, HS, NCF, PDPercy Haughton9–0–0
1913HAF, HS, NCF, PDPercy Haughton9–0–0
1919College Football Researchers Association, HAF, HS, NCF, PDBob Fisher9–0–1
1920BoandBob Fisher8–0–1

Bold indicates claimed championship

Conference championships

Harvard has won 19 conference championships, all of which occurring during their tenure in the Ivy League, which they joined in 1956, with eight of them being outright and nine being shared. They are second in total Ivy League football titles, behind Dartmouth.
1961†Ivy LeagueJohn Yovicsin6–36–1
1966†Ivy LeagueJohn Yovicsin8–16–1
1968†Ivy LeagueJohn Yovicsin8–0–16–0–1
1974†Ivy LeagueJoe Restic7–26–1
1975Ivy LeagueJoe Restic7–26–1
1982†Ivy LeagueJoe Restic7–35–2
1983†Ivy LeagueJoe Restic6–2–25–1–1
1987Ivy LeagueJoe Restic8–26–1
1997Ivy LeagueTim Murphy9–17–0
2001Ivy LeagueTim Murphy9–07–0
2004Ivy LeagueTim Murphy10–07–0
2007Ivy LeagueTim Murphy8–27–0
2008†Ivy LeagueTim Murphy9–16–1
2011Ivy LeagueTim Murphy9–17–0
2013†Ivy LeagueTim Murphy9–16–1
2014Ivy LeagueTim Murphy10–07–0
2015†Ivy LeagueTim Murphy9–16–1
2023†Ivy LeagueTim Murphy8–25–2
2024†Ivy LeagueAndrew Aurich8–25–2
2025†Ivy LeagueAndrew Aurich9–26–1

† Co-championship

Postseason

NCAA Division I FCS playoffs

The Crimson have made one appearance in the Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs, with a combined record of 0–1.
2025First RoundVillanovaL, 7–52

Head coaches

The following are the head coaches in the history of Harvard football and their records.
No coach1873–188072–19–4
Lucius Littauer18815–1–2
Frank A. Mason188612–2
George A. Stewart & George C. Adams1890–189234–2
George A. Stewart & Everett J. Lake189312–1
William A. Brooks189411–2
Robert Emmons18958–2–1
Bert Waters18967–4
William Cameron Forbes1897–189821–1–1
Benjamin Dibblee1899–190020–1–1
Bill Reid1901, 1905–190630–3– 1
John Wells Farley190211–1
John Cranston19039–3
Edgar Wrightington19047–2–1
Joshua Crane19077–3
Percy Haughton1908–191672–7–5
Wingate Rollins19173–1–3
Pooch Donovan19182–1
Bob Fisher1919–192543–14–5
Arnold Horween1926–193020–17–3
Eddie Casey1931–193420–11–1
Dick Harlow1935–1942; 1945–194745–39–7
Henry Lamar1943–19447–3–1
Arthur Valpey1948–19495–12
Lloyd Jordan1950–195624–31–3
John Yovicsin1957–197078–42–5
Joe Restic1971–1993117–97–6
Tim Murphy1994–2023200–89
Andrew Aurich2024–present17–4

Rivalries

Yale

Harvard and Yale have been competing against each other in football since 1875. The annual rivalry game between the two schools, known as "The Game", is played in November at the end of the football season. As of 2022, Yale led the series 69–61–8. The Game is the second oldest continuing rivalry and also the third most-played rivalry game in college football history, after the Lehigh–Lafayette Rivalry and the Princeton–Yale game. Sports Illustrated On Campus rated the Harvard–Yale rivalry the sixth-best in college athletics in 2003. Ted Kennedy played football for Harvard and caught a touchdown pass in the 1955 Harvard/Yale game. In 2006, Yale ended a five-game losing streak against Harvard, winning 34–13. The star of the game was freshman QB Derrick Szu-tu. Despite never playing high school football, the frosh went 27-for-35 for 359 yards and six passing touchdowns. That Harvard winning streak was third longest in the history of the series, after Yale's 1902–1907 six-game winning streak and Yale's 1880–1889 eight-game winning streak. Harvard has since beaten Yale in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Game is significant for historical reasons as the rules of The Game soon were adopted by other schools. Football's rules, conventions, and equipment, as well as elements of "atmosphere" such as the mascot and fight song, include many elements pioneered or nurtured at Harvard and Yale.

Dartmouth

The series with Dartmouth dates to 1882.

Penn

The series with Penn dates to 1881.

Princeton

The series with Princeton dates to 1877.

Stadiums

Early stadiums

In its early years, the football team played at several stadiums including Jarvis Field, Holmes Field and Soldier's Field.

Harvard Stadium

Harvard Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. The stadium is an important historic landmark. Built in 1903, it is the nation's oldest stadium. Penn's Franklin Field is the oldest site still in use but its current stadium was built in 1922. It was also the world's first massive reinforced-concrete structure, and considered at the time of construction to be the 'finest structure of its kind in the world'. The structure was completed in just six months, mainly by the efforts of Harvard students, and for a budget of $200,000. Thus 'the stadium represents the thought, the money, the ideas, the planning, and the manual labor of Harvard men'. As such, it is one of four athletic arenas distinguished as a National Historic Landmark. The stadium seats 30,323. Temporary steel stands were added in the stadiums to expand capacity to 57,166 until 1951. Afterward, there were smaller temporary stands until the building of the Murr Center in 1998. In 2006, Harvard installed both FieldTurf and lights.

College Football Hall of Fame inductees

As of 2025, 18 Harvard Crimson football players and 3 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Charley BrewerFB1892–18951971
Dave CampbellEnd1899–19011958
Eddie CaseyHB1916, 19191968
Charles Dudley DalyQB1898–19021951
Hamilton Fish IIIT1907–19091954
Bob FisherG1909–19111973
Huntington HardwickEnd, HB1912–19141954
Dick HarlowCoach1915–19471954
Percy HaughtonCoach1899–19241951
Lloyd JordanCoach1932–19561978
William H. LewisC1888–18932009
Eddie MahanFB1913–19151951
Pat McInallyWR1972–19742016
Marshall NewellT1890–18931957
George OwenHB1920–19221983
Endicott PeabodyG1939–19411973
Stan PennockG1912–19141954
Bill ReidFB1897–18991970
Ben TicknorC1928–19301954
Percy WendellHB1910–19121972
Barry WoodQB1929–19311980

Harvard players in the NFL

Over 30 players from Harvard have gone on to play in the National Football League.
Joe AzelbyLB1984Buffalo Bills
Matt BirkC1998–2013Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens
Cameron BrateTE2014–2022Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Desmond BryantDT2009–2016Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns
Ben BrauneckerTE2016–2019Chicago Bears
Stanley BurnhamTB-BB1925Frankford Yellow Jackets
Roger CaronT1985–1986Indianapolis Colts
Eddie CaseyHB1920Buffalo All-Americans
Charlie ClarkG1924Chicago Cardinals
Bill CravenDB1976Cleveland Browns
Harrie DadmunG, T1920–1921Canton Bulldogs, New York Brickley Giants
Clifton DawsonRB2007–2008Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts
John DockeryDB1968–1973New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers
Nick EastonC2015–2020San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints
Chris EitzmannTE2000New England Patriots
Carl EtelmanB1926Providence Steam Roller
Earl EvansT, G1925–1929Chicago Cardinals, Chicago Bears
Anthony FirkserTE, H-Back2017–presentNew York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots
Ryan FitzpatrickQB2005–2021St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Washington Commanders
Herman GundlachG1935Boston Redskins
Arnold HorweenB1921–1924Racine Cardinals, Chicago Cardinals
Ralph HorweenB1921–1923Chicago Cardinals
Dan JiggettsT, G1976–1982Chicago Bears
Truman JonesDE2023–presentKansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots
Kyle JuszczykFB, TE2013–presentBaltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers
Isaiah KacyvenskiLB2000–2006Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams
Dick KingFB, HB1917–1923Pine Village, Hammond Pros, Milwaukee Badgers, Rochester Jeffersons, St. Louis All-Stars
Bobby LeoRB, WR1967–1968Boston Patriots
Joe McGloneBB1926Providence Steam Roller
Pat McInallyWR, P1976–1985Cincinnati Bengals
Al MillerFB, HB1929Boston Bulldogs
Joe MurphyG1920–1921Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians
Kevin MurphyOT2012– 2013Minnesota Vikings
Tyler OttLS2014–presentNew England Patriots, St. Louis Rams, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders
Joe PellegriniG, C1982–1986New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons
Adam RedmondC2016–2021Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys
Jamil SorianoG2003–2005New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins
Red SteeleEnd1921Canton Bulldogs
Rich SzaroK1975–1979New Orleans Saints, New York Jets

All-Americans

Since the first All-American team was selected by Caspar Whitney in 1889, more than 100 Harvard football players have been selected as first-team All-Americans. Consensus All-Americans are noted below with bold typeface.

Players notable in other fields

Below are Crimson football players who became notable for reasons other than football. Included is notability, position at Harvard, and any accomplishments while playing.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of January 2, 2026.
at New Hampshireat Colgateat St. Thomas
Colgate
Holy Cross