Cornell Big Red The Cornell Big Red is the informal name of the sports teams , and other competitive teams , at Cornell University . The university sponsors 36 varsity sports , as well as numerous intramural and club teams . Cornell participates in NCAA Division I as part of the Ivy League . The men ' s and women ' s hockey teams compete in the ECAC Hockey League . Additionally , teams compete in the National Intercollegiate Women ' s Fencing Association , the Collegiate Sprint Football League , the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges ( EARC ) , the Eastern Association of Women ' s Rowing Colleges ( EAWRC ) , the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association , and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association ( EIWA ) . Facilities . The football , lacrosse , & sprint football teams play in Schoellkopf Field , which has a capacity of 25 , 597 . The ice hockey teams play in Lynah Rink , which has a capacity of 4 , 267 . The Cornell men ' s soccer team plays on Charles F . Berman field on the southeast side of campus . There are also facilities about 2 miles east of campus that has multiple uses , but it is mainly used by the Cornell men ' s soccer team for practice . Other campus facilities include a Robert Trent Jones ( a Cornell alumnus ) designed golf course , baseball ' s Hoy Field , the Niemand • Robison Softball Field , the Oxley Equestrian Center , and numerous fields and gymnasiums . Some of the athletic playing fields along Tower Road are known as the " Alumni Fields " because the Cornell Alumni Association funded the grading and development of these fields in exchange for a promise that they would remain in perpetuity . A subsequent land swap resulted in giving the Agriculture College building sites at the east end of the fields in exchange for the site of what became Schoellkopf Field and Hoy Field . The Alumni Fields became the site of an underground Synchrotron Laboratory . Since the 1970s , several of the fields were used as sites for new biology buildings and were replaced by new fields along Jessup Road . Today , facilities are spread around campus with tennis courts and basketball courts located near a number of dormitories . In addition , the athletics department operates Helen Newman Hall ( formerly the women ' s athletics building ) and Noyes Center as remote fitness facilities . History . Cornell ' s teams did not have an official name until after 1905 , when a recent graduate , Romeyn Berry ' 04 , wrote lyrics for a new football song . The lyrics included the words " the big , red team , " and the nickname stuck . Cornell does not have an official mascot ; however , the bear has long been a symbol of Cornell Athletics . In 1915 , a live bear named Touchdown first appeared at football games to represent Cornell . The current version , which appears at many of Cornell ' s sporting events , is a brown bear costume ( the live bear was replaced in 1939 ) that is worn by an undergraduate student ; it is referred to as the " Big Red Bear " or by its nickname , " Touchdown . " And recently , " red man , " a person dressed in a tight red suit , has been seen running up and down the field of men ' s soccer games . Cornell ' s colors , carnelian red and white , date back to the university ' s Inauguration Day on October 7 , 1868 . Many of Cornell ' s athletic directors have made substantial contributions to collegiate athletics in general , including Romeyn Berry , James Lynah , and Robert Kane . Fight Songs . A number of fight song s are associated with Cornell sports teams , such as " The Big Red Team " , " Fight for Cornell " , and " New Cornell Fight Song " , but the one with the longest use and tradition is " Give My Regards to Davy " , a song written by three Cornellians in 1904 . The song is sung to the tune of George M . Cohan ' s " Give My Regards to Broadway " . Rivalries . Cornell maintains informal athletic rivalries with other collegiate institutions . The men ' s ice hockey team has a historic rivalry with Boston University , but , since BU left what became the ECAC Hockey conference to join Hockey East , this rivalry has been overshadowed by the more contemporary one with Harvard University , which was highlighted in the 1970 novel " Love Story " and its film adaptation . The men ' s ice hockey team also has rivalries with Clarkson and Colgate . Following tradition , when Harvard plays the men ' s ice hockey team at Cornell ' s Lynah Rink , some Big Red fans throw fish on the ice . Cornell has traditionally had a men ' s lacrosse rivalry with Johns Hopkins University and , since 1980 , Syracuse University . And the rising soccer team has formed an impressive rivalry with Syracuse University after its recent close games . Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania are long - time rivals in football . With more than 114 games played since their first meeting in 1893 , this is the seventh most - played rivalry in college football . Cornell ' s football series against both the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College are tied for second longest uninterrupted college football match - ups in history , both dating back to 1919 . The two teams play for the Trustee Cup . They are only surpassed by the Lehigh - Lafayette series , which is uninterrupted since 1897 . In polo , the men ' s and women ' s teams maintain rivalries with the University of Virginia and the University of Connecticut . For men ' s lacrosse , Cornell and Princeton University have historically been the perennial favorites in the Ivy League and the Princeton game is usually the most anticipated Ivy - game . Fellow upstate schools Syracuse University and Hobart are also considered Cornell ' s lacrosse rivals . Additionally , in Women ' s Equestrian Skidmore College is a constant rival . Varsity sports . The sprint football team has won the CSFL title six times . The men ' s ice hockey team has been NCAA champion twice , ECAC champion 12 times and Ivy League champion 20 times , and recorded the only undefeated season in NCAA Division I Hockey history in 1970 . The men ' s lacrosse team has been NCAA champion three times and Ivy League champion 27 times . The men ' s Lightweight rowing team varsity 8 + has won the IRA regatta four times since 1992 ( 1992 , 2006 , 2007 , 2008 ) . The women ' s polo team has won the National Women ' s Polo Championship 11 times and the women ' s hockey team has been Ivy League champion 8 times . Individual Champions . Cornell Big Red wrestling