Sport Football Trophy Secretaries Cup | Next meeting 2017 | |
 | ||
Teams Coast Guard Bears
Merchant Marine Mariners First meeting October 15, 1949
68 years ago
Coast Guard, 21–14 Latest meeting September 10, 2016
Merchant Marine, 31–27 | ||
The Secretaries Cup is an annual college football game in the northeast United States between the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Both academies compete in NCAA Division III athletics.
The Secretaries Cup is an intense rivalry game for both schools. Although not matching the intensity or tradition of the Army–Navy Game, the Secretaries Cup is often described as a small-college version of that matchup.
The rivalry was designated as the "Secretary's Cup" 36 years ago in 1981, when both academies were in the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation. The name of the contest was pluralized when the U.S. Coast Guard moved to the Department of Homeland Security in 2003.
The campuses are at opposite ends of Long Island Sound. The game alternates between the Coast Guard's Cadet Memorial Field in New London, Connecticut, and the Merchant Marine's Captain Tomb Field in Kings Point, New York, just east of New York City.
The game had been played on the last Saturday of the Division III football regular season (generally mid-November) from 1991 through 2005. When the Coast Guard Academy joined the New England Football Conference in 2006, the rivalry became a non-conference game and was moved to September.
Results
Through 2016, the Merchant Marine Academy has an overall lead in the series 31–14 (.689). Since the Secretaries Cup was established in 1981, the Merchant Marine Academy leads 24–12 (.667). There have been no ties in the series.