About 35 miles of central Ohio highway separate them: the Battling Bishops in Delaware, the Big Red up in Granville. Ohio Wesleyan and Denison have been playing football since 1891, one of the oldest continuous rivalries in American college sports, older than the forward pass and older than the NCAA itself. They were charter members of the Buckeye Conference together in 1928. Denison has played Ohio Wesleyan more times than it has played anyone else.
And right now, almost every meeting that matters is decided by a single basket, a single free throw, or a single goal.
Football
Entering 2019, Ohio Wesleyan led with 65 wins, 38 losses and 7 ties. Denison has closed ground since, going 11 and 9 across the annual matchups and winning seven of the last ten. On October 4, 2025, the Bishops led 7 to 0 after a quarter and 17 to 14 going to the fourth before Denison closed with 21 points to win 35 to 20.
Ohio Wesleyan’s last win was emphatic, 41 to 7 in 2022. And from 2012 through 2016, five straight meetings were decided by a touchdown or less, including a 38 to 37 finish that remains the closest game these two have played in twenty years.
Men’s Basketball
Since 2008, Ohio Wesleyan holds a 23 to 15 edge and has been especially strong at home in Delaware. Denison has answered with six consecutive wins, four of them by five points or fewer, a combined 12 points across the four.
Two of those clinched championships. In February 2025, Denison won 67 to 62 at Branch Rickey Arena to take its first NCAC regular season title and its first regular season crown of any kind since 1968. A year later, on February 21, 2026, Ohio Wesleyan won the second half 42 to 36 and Owen Giannoulias answered with a free throw in the closing seconds for a 71 to 70 win and a second straight title.
Women’s Basketball
This has been Ohio Wesleyan’s matchup. The Bishops went unbeaten against Denison from 2020 onward, won the NCAC regular season title in 2024 and 2025, the second at a spotless 14 and 0, and beat Denison 72 to 65 in January to hand the Big Red their only regular season loss.
Then February 21 at Livingston Gymnasium, ninth ranked against seventh. Macy Miller scored 29 with 10 rebounds, including the last nine Ohio Wesleyan points and the jumper that tied it at 70. Ada Taute answered with a layup that dropped with half a second left. Denison 72, Ohio Wesleyan 70.
Denison went on to beat an undefeated Scranton team 55 to 41 for the program’s first national championship, a Scranton side that had just ended NYU‘s 91 game winning streak in the semifinals. Ohio Wesleyan reached the national tournament at 20 and 5, hosted, and beat DeSales 68 to 53 before falling to WashU. Miller was named D3hoops.com Region 7 Player of the Year.
On that same afternoon, in that same gym, both Denison titles were clinched in the closing seconds, and two ranked Ohio Wesleyan teams finished two points away from the same celebration. Denison became the first NCAC school to sweep both regular season basketball titles since Wittenberg in 2004.
Men’s Soccer
Jay Martin coached 47 seasons in Delaware and retired after 2024 as the winningest coach in NCAA men’s soccer history with 762 victories and national titles in 1998 and 2011. The field carries his name, and Denison has never won there, going 0 and 7 with 2 ties in Granville while Ohio Wesleyan leads the series 15 to 6 with 3 draws since 2007.
Which made October 11, 2025 notable: third ranked Denison won 1 to 0 in Delaware on a single second half goal.
The Scoreboard
- Football. Ohio Wesleyan leads all time. Denison, three straight.
- Men’s basketball. Ohio Wesleyan leads 23 to 15 since 2008. Denison, six straight.
- Women’s basketball. Ohio Wesleyan unbeaten from 2020 until February 2026. Denison, one.
- Men’s soccer. Ohio Wesleyan leads 15 to 6 with 3 draws. Denison, one.
- Field hockey. Denison leads 21 to 16, but Ohio Wesleyan has won seven of the last ten.
- Men’s lacrosse. Denison leads 21 to 10 since 2008, even at 5 and 5 in the last ten. Ohio Wesleyan, four straight.
The Bishops Are Built to Answer
Look at that last line. It is the newest thing here. Ohio Wesleyan has taken the last four lacrosse meetings, including the 2025 NCAC championship game and a 14 to 12 win on April 29, 2026. The Bishops also hold the league record for men’s soccer tournament titles and have won seven of the last ten field hockey meetings.
The history runs deep too. Ohio Wesleyan provided the opposition for the first game in Ohio Stadium in 1922, a 5 to 0 Ohio State win that was the only blemish on an 8 and 1 season that included an Ohio Athletic Conference title. Five years later the Bishops opened Michigan Stadium, and in 1928 they returned to Ann Arbor and beat Michigan 17 to 7. Branch Rickey, the man who signed Jackie Robinson, is an alum, and the arena carries his name. Both of those opponents now play in the Big Ten, where a single roster can draw more NIL support than an entire Division III league.
The next football meeting comes this fall. Both programs are built to answer.
Rivalries Run on Fans. Fuel Yours.
In Division III there is no television money and there are no athletic scholarships. Every athlete in this story chose to be there and played a full season for a student section and a parent in a folding chair.
RallyFuel is a direct way to back them. Through verified, compliant NIL deals, 90 percent of every dollar goes straight to the athlete, and Division III athletes can earn from their name, image and likeness just like everyone else.
- Back the Bishops on the Ohio Wesleyan page, or go straight to men’s and women’s basketball.
- Back the Big Red on the Denison page, or fuel men’s basketball.
- Settle the debate with the School Rivalry tool, or browse all 383 athletes in the NCAC.
