Coe vs. Cornell: Battle for the Bremner Cup jcarlson26, October 15, 2023October 15, 2023 Historic Rivalry Maintains Fire Even Today No matter the level, rivalries play an integral part throughout college sports. The same holds true at the Division III level, when Coe College and Cornell College face each other. For the longest time, the teams faced off because both the Kohawks and the Rams had the same conference affiliation. While the teams have entered different leagues, the rivalry continues. Each season, Coe and Cornell battle in seventeen competitions in pursuit of a trophy, the Bremner Cup. History against Coe Cornell vs. Coe: an unparalleled rivalry (Image credit: cornellrams.com) These two small liberal arts colleges, both located in Iowa’s heartland, are just fourteen miles apart. Whether it’s on the football field, basketball court, or any other venue where the schools face off, the intensity of the rivalry always persists. The annual showdowns between Coe and Cornell teams are anticipated events that always draw enthusiastic crowds. Football is followed closely each season and is the biggest driver in the rivalry. First off, the Coe-Cornell series has an unmatched longevity. Known as the “longest living rivalry west of the Mississippi,” these schools first met in a 1891 football game. Cornell crushed Coe in that matchup, by an unforgettable 82-0 score. Needless to say, this is a margin of defeat that Kohawk fans would rather soon forget. This result has ignited the fire in the matchups between the Kohawks and the Rams ever since. The Kohawks-Rams rivalry has its fair share of memorable moments, including the 2003 football game (Image credit: d3football.com) Interestingly, both schools quarrel about the result of the 1902 football matchup. Both the Rams and the Kohawks maintain victory in that particular game, and neither side will relinquish that claim. Consequently, the all-time record between Coe and Cornell is up for debate. The 2003 football game between the Kohawks and the Rams delivered an explosion of points. At the time, the 66-63 victory by Coe College established an NCAA Division III record for total points scored (129) in a game. The record will forever be a memorable moment in the series, despite it being broken. Way back in 1921, Coe and Cornell entered the Midwest Conference at its inception. Both the Rams and the Kohawks departed the league in favor of the Iowa Conference in 1997. The Rams returned to the Midwest Conference in 2012. The Kohawks stayed in the Iowa Conference through its name change, to the current American Rivers Conference. Despite being in different leagues, the Rams and Kohawks keep the rivalry spirit alive. The Cup Few things are more satisfying for the Cornell Rams than capturing the Bremner Cup (Image credit: cornellrams.com) Nowadays, with Coe and Cornell in separate conferences, the Bremner Cup is the unifying force to keep the rivalry alive. The Cup bares the name of a legend at both schools, Barron Bremner. This man spent time with the Rams and Kohawks, serving in many different roles. Bremner’s illustrious career included time spent as athletic director, head wrestling coach, and a variety of other roles. The legendary Barron Bremner (Image credit: cornellrams.com) Bremner led his teams to 18 conference championships as head wrestling coach. Thirteen of those titles came with the Rams, and five with the Kohawks. Bremner is also a member of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, inducted in 1993. The Bremner Cup series involves seventeen competitions between Coe and Cornell during each athletic season. The first matchups in the fall season are football, women’s tennis, and volleyball, and the series generally concludes with baseball in the spring. Each event is weighted equally, which makes it even more exciting. A victory in any sporting event results in a point for the school with a win. The wins are added up for each school at the end of the year. Whoever claimed the most Bremner Cup points earns the trophy for that season. Nathan Watters (Image credit: cornellrams.com) Ultimately, the fight is to possess the Bremner Cup trophy at season’s end. Nathan Watters spent four years on the Cornell Rams track and field team, graduating in May 2023, and understands the importance of the Cup. “Getting to hold the Bremner Cup when Cornell won it back [in 2021] was huge for all teams,” Watters reflected. “Getting to see a physical representation of our hard work paying off fueled us even more to fight in the rivalry!” The collaborative nature of the rivalry involves the different athletic teams relying on each other to defeat their nemesis. In Cornell’s case, this entails the volleyball team cheering on the basketball team, and so forth. Every team plays an important part, and watching a fellow Rams team defeat the Kohawks can serve as a motivator. “Seeing any team beat Coe gave us the confidence and motivation to keep our winning streak going,” Watters continued. “To finish what they started.” Grace Marti (Image credit: cornellrams.com) Over the past three years, Cornell middle blocker Grace Marti has experienced the volleyball series of the rivalry, transferring into the program after her sophomore year at the University of Sioux Falls. “The Bremner Cup is our whole Cornell-Coe rivalry with all sports and it just makes games ten times more fun,” Marti said. “People WANT to go to the Coe games for the battles, the excitement, the energy, all of it.” The Coe matchups are eagerly anticipated from the Cornell College perspective. Certain things are woven into the fabric of the matchup, as with many rivalries. Certainly, in the basketball version of this series, a rather unconventional tradition exists. Traditions vs. Coe Basketball games between the Rams and Kohawks in Mount Vernon always include a technical foul (Image credit: cornellrams.com) Many things about the Coe-Cornell rivalry are unparalleled, and one of the traditions during basketball season is certainly unique. On the first made basket of both the men’s and women’s games against Coe in Mount Vernon, Cornell students toss toilet paper onto the court. The Rams are immediately assessed a technical foul, but the students will gladly accept that penalty. To be sure, this is something that administrators of Cornell might frown upon. However, the Rams take great pride in the tradition, and it will continue for years to come. Fabian Brandenburg (bottom left) watches a rally of Cornell volleyball (Image credit: cornellrams.com) Fabian Brandenburg spent two years on the Cornell Rams football team from 2021-22, experiencing the rivalry twice on the gridiron. Brandenburg now works as a Sports Medicine Assistant, and is a huge supporter of all Rams athletic events. He cheers passionately at events he attends, especially the Coe games. “I know from the Cornell side of things, we put a lot into the rivalry due to the history,” Brandenburg described. “That is not always what Coe does, but they still have a reason to show out in force to cheer at games against us.” There are tangible benefits to the rivalry as well, beyond just wins and losses. Cornell’s sports medicine department sells “Beat Coe” shirts each season. The money earned from shirt sales goes back to the students working in sports medicine, helping them with costs associated with academics. Additionally, the revenue assists the sports medicine department overall. Rivalries are the events that are always circled on the schedule, no matter the sport or level. These matchups serve as motivators for athletes to perform to the best of their abilities. Something about squaring off face-to-face against one’s nemesis unlocks another level of skill. While it is difficult to quantify, the impacts are certainly there. Testimonies The Coe game environment is unmatched at any other point of the volleyball season (Image credit: cornellrams.com) Grace Marti explained the emotion that the matchup brings each season. “The Coe rivalry is for the school and community! It definitely means a lot to the team and myself included, because nothing sucks more than losing to them, but I think it’s more so for the fans.” Especially in the Small Athletic and Wellness Center, the games between Coe and Cornell volleyball are electric. “No game is more exhilarating to play than a Cornell vs. Coe volleyball game,” Marti attested. With Marti in the mix, the Rams volleyball team has done their job, going 2-1 against the Kohawks in Bremner Cup matchups. Colin Konicek was an iron man at catcher for Rams baseball, anchoring the position in his junior and senior seasons. Notably, Konicek started all forty games in 2023, his senior season, at catcher. To be sure, the man caught a boatload of innings and gained an appreciation for the Coe-Cornell series along the way. Colin Konicek, standing in the middle of the photo, always brought energy to the Coe-Cornell rivalry (Image credit: cornellrams.com) “Every sport has the opportunity to make an impact on the Bremner Cup,” Konicek explained. [No matter the sport], there are always a lot of students from each school there to cheer on their team.” Because of the equal distribution of events in the Bremner Cup series, track and field has just as much responsibility as any other sport. Nathan Watters spoke about the mindset of his sport while at Cornell. Jordan Magnani shoots a three-pointer against Coe during the 2022-23 season (Image credit: cornellrams.com) “Having the rivalry with Coe has always severed as a way to push your entire team to reach their potential,” Watters said. “The competition they bring pushes us to become our best, preparing both on and off the field, becoming a more complete athlete.” Jordan Magnani, the all-time leading scorer in Cornell men’s basketball history, knows the Bremner Cup rivalry well. Magnani averaged just under 13 points in seven career games against the Kohawks from 2018 to 2023. “The Coe-Cornell rivalry was always one of the most competitive games of the year,” Magnani remembered. “The rivalry always made for a great environment to play in and allowed the players to shine in brightest spots.” Final Message The meetings between Coe and Cornell are special, no matter the sport and no matter the result. There are certain sports that generally win their Bremner Cup point, both on Cornell and Coe’s side. While that is the case, it still doesn’t detract from the spirit of the Bremner Cup in the slightest. More than anything else, the Bremner Cup is a special unifier of the Rams. It ties different sports together in pursuit of the same goal: beat the Kohawks and take home the Cup. “I am proud to say we beat Coe my junior and senior year in baseball,” Colin Konicek declared. “There was nothing better than holding onto the cup at the football game last year [in 2022 for the 2021-22 Cup won by the Rams] in front of all the Kohawk fans.” Grace Marti shared a sentiment that many alumni and current Cornell students hold. No matter where the Rams go after graduation, they will always remember their Bremner Cup memories…and of course, cheer passionately for Cornell to defeat the Kohawks. Short and sweet, Marti perfectly captured the emotion of the rivalry. “Always and forever, BEAT COE.” To hear more from Grace Marti, check out our Jeff Meeker article: https://digitalwriting.cornellcollege.edu/hilltop-sports-report/2023/10/11/the-success-of-jeff-meeker/ Follow us on Instagram: @hilltopsportsreport Follow us on X/Twitter: @hilltopsports_ Historical bremner cupcoe collegecoe kohawkscoe vs. cornellcornell collegecornell ramscornell rams volleyballcornell volleyballhistorylongest-standing rivalryrams vs. kohawksrivalry