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Just three years after a record-setting day at MetLife in New Jersey, the annual Cortaca Jug football game soon heads to Yankee Stadium.
Leaders from SUNY Cortland, Ithaca College and the New York Yankees announced a historic agreement to play the historic rivalry at that legendary baseball field in the Bronx.
“To be a small part of the history and tradition of iconic college football rivalries held at Yankee Stadium is both humbling and exhilarating,” said Cortland’s head football coach Curt Fitzpatrick. “This is an awesome opportunity for Red Dragon football to once again play on a national stage in an iconic venue. Thank you to the New York Yankees organization for the invitation.”
Kickoff is set for 1 pm on Saturday, November 12, 2022.
This year’s matchup is still on for November 13 at the Red Dragons stadium complex.
A 2019 game at MetLife shattered the Division III attendance record with 45,161 fans.
Mark Holtzman, vice president of non-baseball sports events for the Yankees, said this success inspired him to reach out.
“We are looking forward to rolling out the pinstriped carpet and welcoming Ithaca and Cortland to the Yankee Stadium lineup,” said Holtzman. “We believe we have the opportunity to have a sellout crowd and we are intent on creating a memorable experience for the teams and for their fans.”
Once referred to by Sports Illustrated as “the biggest little game in the nation,” last year’s Cortaca Jug was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Additional details about the 2021 game in Cortland and the 2022 game at Yankee Stadium will be shared soon at CortlandRedDragons.com, RedDragonNetwork.org and Cortland.edu/Cortaca.
Ithaca and Cortland will each be issued tickets in the fall of 2022 for sale to their students, faculty and staff at a price of $24.50. General public sales begin at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021.
Most seats are priced from $24.50 to $69.50 and can be purchased through any of the following:
- www.ticketmaster.com
- www.cortacajug.com
- www.alumni.ithaca.edu/Cortaca22
All tickets will be delivered digitally and mobile presentation will be the sole method of entry.
“We are excited about this opportunity to once again showcase this great game in such an iconic venue,” said Cortland’s Director of Athletics Mike Urtz ’94, M ’00. “What Cortland and Ithaca have is so unique at our level. It’s all because of the great and storied history of both universities and their athletic programs, including football.”
While the stadium is best known as the home of baseball’s Bronx Bombers, it has also seen its share of memorable football games and currently hosts the annual New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
“Anyone who has ever attended a Cortaca Jug game can tell you that there is nothing else like it in Division III athletics,” Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum said. “It has been a proud tradition for more than six decades and is ingrained in our institutional DNA. We are thrilled by this opportunity to again take this cherished event to a national stage.”
The rivalry originated in 1959, when friends and respective team captains Tom Decker ’61 of Cortland and Dick Carmean of Ithaca picked up a jug at a yard sale to serve as the prize for the winner of the annual game between the schools.
Each year’s result is painted on the Jug — the original one ran out of room for scores in the mid-1980s, and the teams are now on their third Jug. Ithaca currently leads the Cortaca Jug series 37-24.
“Our Cortaca tradition is an amazing way to bring Red Dragons together and share our collective Cortland spirit,” said Erin Boylan, executive director of Alumni Engagement at SUNY Cortland. “We are very excited to host alumni at Yankee Stadium. Our game at MetLife Stadium was our largest alumni event to date and we look forward to making Cortaca 2022 the Biggest Little Game ever.”
