Cornell College’s in Mount Vernon, Iowa was founded in 1852. The Rams athletics history began 150 years ago with an 1876 baseball game against State University of Iowa . Cornell played its first football game in 1891 – against Coe College – which started a long-standing rivalry that remains strong today.
Cornell was a charter member of the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference, formed in 1921. Cornell has been an NCAA Division III member since the division was created in 1973.
Cornell College Football Team Photo from 1914
Of all Cornell’s athletic rivals, none compares to its Linn County neighbor in Cedar Rapids – Coe College.
The Cornell-Coe series is well known as the oldest college football rivalry west of the Mississippi River. The first meeting in 1891. The 125th game between the schools will be played in 2025.
Coe has been a regular opponent on Cornell’s schedules in all sports, and in 2012-13 when the schools were no longer affiliated in the same conference, the Bremner Cup was introduced to carry on the competitive spirit.
The all-sport traveling trophy is named after Barron Bremner, a former coach and administrator at both schools.