Typically, the Red Dragon that lives 22 miles east of Ithaca only gets widespread and national coverage in mid-November for the annual Cortaca Jug football game as the “biggest little game in the nation.” However, SUNY Cortland is seen as a rival in the eyes of the Bombers’ athletic programs all year round.
In the week of April 10 to April 14, three Ithaca College teams were scheduled to face Cortland: baseball, golf and men’s lacrosse. Baseball has since been postponed, but the other matchups are still on. Of the 28 varsity sports offered at IC, about 18 meet the Red Dragons each year.
Despite Cortland being out of conference and a part of the State University of New York public college system, the physical proximity and established history of the schools ignite the eternal flame. IC was formerly a part of the Empire 8 Conference, where it competed with Cortland in football, before transitioning to the Liberty League conference in 2017.
Leading up to the matchups, athletes of the respective teams have had an abundance of emotion toward the Red Dragons. Brendan Occhino, senior attacker for the men’s lacrosse team, said the rivalry has represented a “brand of Upstate New York.”
“I think you see [the rivalry] in our school community,” Occhino said. “I think the football game does kind of amplify the rivalry in other sports. … On the lacrosse field too, we recognize [the history] and we want to beat them as much as our football team does, as much as any team on this campus does.”
Men’s lacrosse’s most recent matchup against Cortland burned an impression in the memories of the returning players. After winning by one goal in 2024, the Bombers lost in double overtime 11-10 to the No. 18 ranked Red Dragons on April 16, 2025 in Cortland’s home nest. Before giving a personal testimony of the game, senior midfielder Cullen Adams, who scored two goals in the loss, took a heavy sigh and pause.
“Yeah, yeah,” Adams said. “It’s definitely motivating that last year ended that way. It left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths, I can tell you that.”
Cortland’s men’s lacrosse team has historically dominated the rivalry, dating back to their first matchup in 1968. Out of 59 meetings, the Bombers cradled home just 15 wins.
The baseball team has recently had stronger success against Cortland. The Bombers have won the past three matchups and in 2023, they sailed past the then No. 22 team 15-0 to claim a regional title. Senior infielder Matt Curtis, a first-year player at the time, registered a hit in the game and takes pride in the rivalry.
“You see people from town [at the games] that really have no relations to us or anything,” Curtis said “They just want to go see two really good baseball teams. It kind of shows just how much it means to everybody.”
IC baseball began its dates with Cortland in 1931, just a year after the Cortaca Jug was born, but the competition isn’t exclusive to the spring months. The teams typically see each as a part of their fall ball series, fighting for “bragging rights,” according to the players.
The team also uses the games as checkpoints to assess team and personal strengths since they meet frequently, according to Curtis.
“It’s very nice to play somebody that is really close in location and to us in skill level,” Curtis said. “So it means it is a good test to see where our team is and where I am as a player too.”
Other teams on South Hill also have positive perspectives on the Cortland rivalry. Golf, a tight-knit team with four players on their current roster, spends quality time getting to know the Cortland golfers. Because of the nature of golf rotations, the players spend upwards of five to seven hours together on the green a day during meets and form personal relationships.
Junior Abby Bladen said the golfers consider each other “frenemies,” but hold a competitive and confident mindset towards one another.
“It’s definitely nice that people have friends out on the golf course, but I also know that I’m competing against them and wanting to beat them,” Bladen said. “When other teams talk about the rivalry, I’m like, ‘Oh, we demolished them [in past years].’”
Gymnastics, a sport that sees Cortland up to five teams a year because of the small community of Division III teams, finds an element of comfort in getting to compete with the same gymnasts. Graduate student and all-around competitor Jillian Freyman said that many of her teammates have become close friends with the Red Dragons and requests to rotate with them during national competitions.
“Overall our relationship is incredibly positive,” Freyman said. “There’s certainly a really high level of respect for what they do and for what both of us do. As competitors, we get along incredibly well. So we really love those girls.”
Seniors like baseball pitcher Reed Bailey got a taste of the bitterness at the first game at Yankee Stadium in 2022 before ever stepping onto a collegiate field.
“I remember that [game] was just such a cool environment where it kind of set the tone for what the rivalry [is],” Bailey said. “I remember going to that game [and] seeing some Cortland baseball sweatshirts on the train [in New York]. We were like, ‘oh, like, there’s the guys that we’re going to go play.’ So it was just a unique little experience that kind of was a little prerequisite for our season.”
The trademark football game also serves as motivation and a reminder of the true significance of the rivalry when the spring athletes’ season rolls around.
“You want to kind of release everything that you felt as a fan watching,” Curtis said. “[When] you can actually affect the impact of the game, or the result, it definitely makes you lock in a little more.”
When Cortaca was hosted by IC on South Hill in 2025 and 2023, the men’s lacrosse team got a front row view to the operations of the game by volunteering in the concession stands, according to Occhino. Integration with the community and other teams makes the rivalry extra special.
“We love to see other sports supporting us and us supporting other sports,” Bailey said.
Alumni also serve an imperative role in keeping the distaste alive. The men’s lacrosse team feeds off the energy of the crowd, which is often electrified by the alumni showing up for the game.
Former Bombers take pride in their school even after they graduate, sometimes coming back to express the weight of the rivalry to current athletes. Being rivals of Cortland is something that sticks forever, according to athletes like Adams.
“Obviously, for the rest of my life, I’m going to be hating on Cortland,” Adams said.
