Last updated: November 1, 2026
Harvard vs Yale returns to Fenway Park on Saturday, November 21, 2026, for the 142nd edition of The Game, with Yale riding a four-game winning streak after its 45-28 upset in New Haven last fall. The rivalry dates to 1875, and this year’s meeting is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPNU.
Quick summary
- The 2026 Harvard vs Yale game is November 21 at Fenway Park in Boston, 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
- Yale won the 141st meeting 45-28 on November 22, 2025, its fourth straight win in the series.
- Yale leads the all-time series, which began in 1875.
- Harvard won the last Fenway meeting in 2018, 45-27.
The 2026 Game at Fenway Park
Harvard Athletics confirmed the 142nd meeting for Saturday, November 21, at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The last time The Game moved to Fenway, in 2018, Harvard broke a 7-7 second-quarter tie and won 45-27.
Harvard enters the season coming off a 9-2 year in 2025, a share of its third straight Ivy League title and an at-large berth in the FCS playoffs. Yale ended Harvard’s perfect-season hopes last November and will look to extend its streak to five.
🗳️ Vote: Make your prediction for Harvard vs. Yale on RallyFuel (Nov. 21)
Harvard vs Yale: Recent Results
- 2025: Yale 45, Harvard 28 (New Haven)
- 2024: Yale 34, Harvard 29 (Cambridge)
- 2023: Yale 23, Harvard 18 (New Haven)
- 2022: Yale 19, Harvard 14 (Cambridge)
- 2021: Harvard 34, Yale 31 (New Haven)
- 2019: Yale 50, Harvard 43, 2OT (New Haven)
- 2018: Harvard 45, Yale 27 (Fenway Park)
No game was played in 2020. In last year’s meeting, WBUR reported the 45-28 upset, with Yale quarterback Dante Reno accounting for three touchdowns.
What’s at Stake in 2026
The Ivy League now sends its champion to the FCS playoffs, and Harvard reached the 2025 field as an at-large team, so the last Saturday of the Ivy season can carry real postseason weight. A Harvard win would snap Yale’s four-game run and could decide the league title. A Yale win would push its streak to five, a remarkable run against a Harvard program that has won three straight Ivy titles. Either way, the result will shape how both programs remember the 2026 season.
Game day at Fenway
Fenway Park turns The Game into a Boston event. Expect large alumni crowds from both schools, tailgates around the Fenway neighborhood and limited parking, so plan to take public transit and arrive early for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
Games That Defined The Game
1968: “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29”
Both teams arrived unbeaten, and Yale led 29-13 late. Harvard scored 16 points in the final 42 seconds, including a touchdown on the last play and a two-point conversion, to force a 29-29 tie. The Harvard Crimson’s famous headline declared, “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29.” Future actor Tommy Lee Jones played for Harvard that day.
2004: The prank
Yale students posing as a Harvard pep squad handed out placards in the Harvard section that were supposed to spell “Go Harvard.” Raised together, they spelled an insult aimed at Harvard instead. Harvard still won the game easily and finished unbeaten.
2005: Triple overtime
Harvard won 30-24 in three overtimes, one of the longest games in the rivalry’s history.
2019: Racing the dark
A protest at midfield delayed the second half at the Yale Bowl, which has no lights. Yale won 50-43 in double overtime as darkness fell.
The NIL Angle
Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships, and the league did not opt into revenue sharing under the House settlement, so Harvard and Yale athletes do not receive direct school payments. They have the same NIL rights as other NCAA athletes. Learn more in our Ivy League NIL guide and our Yale NIL guide.
More Ivy League Rivalries
For the rivalry that started it all, read Princeton vs. Yale, and see our Cornell vs. Harvard breakdown. Not to be confused with the Big Ten’s version, The Game: Ohio State vs. Michigan.
Follow both programs on RallyFuel: the Harvard page, the Yale page and the Ivy League page.
FAQ
When is the 2026 Harvard vs Yale game?
Saturday, November 21, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Fenway Park in Boston, on ESPNU.
Who won the 2025 Harvard vs Yale game?
Yale won 45-28 in New Haven on November 22, 2025.
Who leads the Harvard vs Yale series?
Yale leads the all-time series, which began in 1875 and reaches its 142nd meeting in 2026.
Why is it called The Game?
Harvard and Yale have called their annual football meeting simply “The Game” for generations, reflecting its place as one of college football’s oldest rivalries.
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