# Central Connecticut–Hartford rivalry

The Central Connecticut–Hartford rivalry was the collegiate athletics rivalry between the Central Connecticut (CCSU) Blue Devils sports teams of Central Connecticut State University and Hartford Hawks sports teams of the University of Hartford. Unlike most in-state rivalries, Hartford and CCSU compete in different conferences. Hartford competed in the America East Conference until the school's 2023 reclassification to Division III and move to the Conference of New England and CCSU competes in the Northeast Conference.
College Comparison :
| | Central Connecticut | Hartford |
| Founded | 1849 | 1957 |
| Type | Public | Private |
| Conference | Northeast Conference | Commonwealth Coast Conference |
| Students | 9,653 | 5,740 |
| School colors | | |
| Nickname | Blue Devils | Hawks |

## Basketball

The two schools starting playing each other as division II rivals in 1958. After the 2002 edition the series went on hiatus until 2010 when both schools competed against each other in the Connecticut 6 tournament held at Mohegan Sun Arena. During the break in the series, Central Connecticut became a power in the Northeast Conference under head coach Howie Dickenman making the NCAA tournament in 2000, 2002, and 2007.
Traditionally the game is played at the beginning of every season. In the 2017 matchup Central's head coach Donyell Marshall and assistant coach Anthony Anderson were both suspended for the game due to an altercation at practice, assistant coaches Mike Witcoskie and Anthony Ross handled the coaching duties for the Hartford game.

### Men's basketball series record

| Central Connecticut victories | Hartford victories |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | December 13, 1958 | | Central Connecticut | 82–73 |
| 2 | February 10, 1960 | | Central Connecticut | 69–60 |
| 3 | February 7, 1961 | | Central Connecticut | 92–79 |
| 4 | February 5, 1971 | | Central Connecticut | 82–79 |
| 5 | January 26, 1972 | | Central Connecticut | 91–82 |
| 6 | December 1, 1972 | | Central Connecticut | 69–67 |
| 7 | December 1, 1973 | | Central Connecticut | 80–68 |
| 8 | December 7, 1974 | | Hartford | 84–67 |
| 9 | December 6, 1975 | | Hartford | 84–76 |
| 10 | December 10, 1976 | | Hartford | 79–78 |
| 11 | December 10, 1977 | | Central Connecticut | 83–81 |
| 12 | December 8, 1978 | | Hartford | 71–67 |
| 13 | December 7, 1979 | | Central Connecticut | 67–66 |
| 14 | December 5, 1980 | | Central Connecticut | 80–68 |
| 15 | November 20, 1981 | | Central Connecticut | 79–57 |
| 16 | February 5, 1983 | | Central Connecticut | 67–49 |
| 17 | January 14, 1984 | | Hartford | 77–72 |
| 18 | February 27, 1991 | West Hartford, CT | Hartford | 68–53 |
| 19 | January 22, 1992 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 81–80 |
| 20 | January 11, 1993 | West Hartford, CT | Hartford | 83–53 |
| 21 | January 25, 1994 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 122–103 |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 22 | December 5, 1997 | West Hartford, CT | Hartford | 85–72 |
| 23 | December 4, 1998 | Hartford, CT | Hartford | 89–82 |
| 24 | December 3, 1999 | Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 64–61 |
| 25 | November 30, 2000 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 81–65 |
| 26 | November 29, 2001 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 73–59 |
| 27 | December 11, 2002 | Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 70–66 |
| 28 | November 13, 2010 | Uncasville, CT | Central Connecticut | 64–62 |
| 29 | November 26, 2011 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 92–58 |
| 30 | November 24, 2012 | West Hartford, CT | Hartford | 80–77 |
| 31 | December 10, 2013 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 73–59 |
| 32 | December 6, 2014 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 56–47 |
| 33 | November 13, 2015 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 92–83 $^{2OT}$ |
| 34 | November 11, 2016 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 75–60 |
| 35 | November 10, 2017 | West Hartford, CT | Hartford | 85–84 $^{OT}$ |
| 36 | November 6, 2018 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 75–68 |
| 37 | November 5, 2019 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 74–59 |
| 38 | December 4, 2020 | West Hartford, CT | Hartford | 80–65 |
| 39 | December 18, 2021 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 75–65 |
| 40 | February 8, 2023 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 82–73 |
| Series: Central Connecticut leads 25–15 |||||

## Baseball

Central Connecticut and Hartford first played each other in baseball in 1985. Central started to dominate the series in the early part of the millennium, with its teams making multiple trips to the NCAA tournament. In 2010 CCSU completed construction of Balf–Savin Field on campus, their first game in the new stadium was a 12–11 loss to Hartford. Starting in 2018, Central Connecticut and Hartford played against each other at Dunkin' Donuts Park in downtown Hartford in March and in May. In 2023, the two played their last baseball game against each other and Central Connecticut won 5–3.

### Baseball series record

| Central Connecticut victories | Hartford victories |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | April 1, 1985 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 7–4 |
| 2 | April 15, 1986 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 15–4 |
| 3 | April 30, 1986 | East Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 6–3 |
| 4 | April 20, 1987 | East Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 1–0 |
| 5 | April 20, 1987 | East Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 5–3 |
| 6 | April 16, 1988 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 3–1 |
| 7 | April 16, 1988 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 8–1 |
| 8 | April 17, 1988 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 3–2 |
| 9 | April 22, 1989 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 9–0 |
| 10 | April 22, 1989 | East Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 3–2 |
| 11 | April 23, 1989 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 13–11 |
| 12 | April 14, 1990 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 8–1 |
| 13 | April 14, 1990 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 2–1 |
| 14 | April 16, 1990 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 2–1 |
| 15 | May 2, 1991 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 8–6 |
| 16 | April 22, 1992 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 6–5 |
| 17 | April 21, 1993 | Simsbury, CT | Hartford | 11–8 |
| 18 | April 28, 1993 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 6–2 |
| 19 | April 20, 1994 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 8–5 |
| 20 | April 27, 1994 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 12–5 |
| 21 | April 19, 1995 | East Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 5–3 |
| 22 | April 26, 1995 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 17–3 |
| 23 | April 4, 1996 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 11–9 |
| 24 | April 24, 1996 | East Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 17–9 |
| 25 | April 22, 1997 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 9–7 |
| 26 | April 21, 1998 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 11–10 |
| 27 | April 14, 1999 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 3–2 |
| 28 | April 21, 1999 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 9–6 |
| 29 | April 12, 2000 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 6–4 |
| 30 | April 17, 2001 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 12–10 |
| 31 | May 1, 2001 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 22–11 |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 32 | March 19, 2002 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 15–3 |
| 33 | April 17, 2002 | East Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 17–4 |
| 34 | April 16, 2003 | East Hartford, CT | Hartford | 4–3 |
| 35 | April 21, 2003 | New Britain, CT | Tie | 12–12 |
| 36 | March 11, 2004 | Simsbury, CT | Central Connecticut | 22–1 |
| 37 | April 12, 2004 | Bristol, CT | Central Connecticut | 19–6 |
| 38 | March 8, 2006 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 10–4 |
| 39 | March 15, 2006 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 13–7 |
| 40 | March 14, 2007 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 2–1 |
| 41 | March 14, 2007 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 13–9 |
| 42 | March 27, 2009 | West Hartford, CT | Hartford | 9–8 |
| 43 | March 10, 2010 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 12–11 |
| 44 | May 4, 2010 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 19–6 |
| 45 | March 9, 2011 | New Britain, CT | Tie | 3–3 |
| 46 | March 7, 2012 | West Hartford, CT | Hartford | 5–2 |
| 47 | May 2, 2012 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 3–2 |
| 48 | May 15, 2013 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 9–4 |
| 49 | May 13, 2014 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 5–1 |
| 50 | March 11, 2015 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 4–3 |
| 51 | May 12, 2015 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 8–5 |
| 52 | March 9, 2016 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 11–9 |
| 53 | May 17, 2016 | West Hartford, CT | Hartford | 10–0 |
| 54 | March 8, 2017 | New Britain, CT | Central Connecticut | 6–4 |
| 55 | May 17, 2017 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 11–10 |
| 56 | March 31, 2018 | Hartford, CT | Hartford | 2–1 |
| 57 | May 6, 2018 | Hartford, CT | Hartford | 3–0 |
| 58 | May 7, 2019 | Hartford, CT | Hartford | 7–3 |
| 59 | March 4, 2020 | New Britain, CT | Hartford | 8–5 |
| 60 | May 3, 2022 | West Hartford, CT | Central Connecticut | 14–9 |
| 61 | May 2, 2023 | New Britian, CT | Central Connecticut | 5–3 |
| Series: Central Connecticut leads 34–25–2 |||||