The college football rivalry between Hampden–Sydney College and Randolph–Macon College dates to 1893. The game was played on Hampden–Sydney's campus, as the previous year President Richard McIlwaine had banned the team from traveling to keep them from "vicious temptations and surroundings"; Randolph–Macon was one of the only teams willing to travel to Hampden–Sydney without potential reciprocation. Randolph–Macon won the game 12–6. Since then, the two teams have met 122 times in what has been called the South's oldest small-school rivalry. Hampden–Sydney's longest streak without losing is 14 games, from 1915 through 1926. Likewise, Randolph–Macon's longest streak without losing is 9 games, from 1930 through 1938. Hampden–Sydney has won 8 of the top 10 largest point-differential games with the widest margin being by 62 points and the lowest being 32; Randolph–Macon has won by over 30 points twice—in 1997 by 31 and in 2019 by 42. Since 2011, the Yellow Jackets have won 8 games and the Tigers 1. Hampden–Sydney leads the series 58–54–11 with Randolph-Macon winning the most recent matchup in 2019 to extend its current winning streak over Hampden-Sydney to 6 games. Known to fans simply as "The Game", it is by far the highest profile matchup on either team's schedule. It is played in November as the final game of each team's regular football season. It often decides the champion of the ODAC. Being only 78 miles from each other and within an hour of Richmond, Virginia, the two NCAADivision III non-scholarship schools overlap in their recruiting pool, heightening the rivalry particularly in Richmond, where thousands of alumni from both colleges reside. The year-round nature of the rivalry has led fans to consider "The Game" the highlight of the schedule.
The Game results
Men's basketball
While the football matchup has the most history, the rivalry has extended across all sports in which the schools compete, and since the 1990s the men's basketball series has gained national attention. Since that time both schools have been national Division III contenders, with both ranked in the top ten in multiple years. As such, the games often have championship implications for one or both teams. In 2003 the #1 Yellow Jackets beat the #3 Tigers in a game that sold out weeks prior; in 2007 Hampden–Sydney derailed Randolph–Macon's postseason hopes with a playoff victory after being swept in the regular season. Both teams were in the top ten in 2004 when the #8 Yellow Jackets upset the undefeated, first-ranked Tigers.
