The Battle of the Blue is an annual

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

rivalry game between the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

Fightin' Blue Hens and

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

. The first game was played between the two teams in 1895, was played annually from 1964 to 1980 when Villanova dropped football, and then resumed with the re-emergence of Villanova football having been played annually since 1988. Beginning in 2007, the annual Delaware–Villanova game became known as Battle of the Blue. As part of this concept, the winning team gets to keep the Battle of the Blue Trophy at its institution for the year and is responsible for bringing the trophy to the following installment of the rivalry game. The trophy consists of a football with a Villanova logo and the Wildcat shade of blue on one side and the Blue Hen logo and the Delaware shade of blue on the other side. The ball sits in a wooden platform and the scores of each game are engraved on the base of the trophy. Villanova had possession of the trophy for the first four years, until Delaware won in 2011. Three times within the first four years of the rivalry's existence, one of the teams went on to reach the

NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was kn ...

. In 2007, the Wildcats upset #9 Delaware 19–14 to claim the first Battle of the Blue Trophy.

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

would later reach the FCS National Championship game before falling to the

Appalachian State Mountaineers The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and wer ...

49–21. In 2009, Villanova would win their first-ever appearance in the national championship, defeating the

Montana Grizzlies The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding six men's teams ( ...

23–21. The 2010 meeting marked the first time the game had gone into overtime, with the Wildcats securing another upset win over the #1-ranked

team on a recovered fumble. Once again, however, Delaware would reach the national championship, but would lose to

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

, 20–19. In 2011, the Battle of the Blue was the first American football game to be played at the venue now known as

Subaru Park Subaru Park (formerly known as PPL Park and Talen Energy Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to the Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River. The venue is home to the Phila ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

, in which

beat Villanova to earn the trophy for the first time. The 2020 season’s Battle of the Blue game, played in spring 2021 as with many other FCS regular-season games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ended in controversy when victorious

players mockingly danced on the Villanova “V” midfield logo as the final seconds ticked away, inciting a skirmish requiring coaches of both teams restraining student-athletes.

Game results

References

{{Colonial Athletic Association football rivalry navbox College football rivalries in the United States Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football Villanova Wildcats football Recurring sporting events established in 2007

Game results

See also

References