Cornell Big Red

3-4

Stature and coaches, 1936–1981

The program’s standing over time, with every coach’s tenure beneath it — read down to see who was there for each rise and fall.

Cornell is Regional Program today. Never reached Dynasty tier; National Program is its high, most recently in 1954.

1936: Regional Program1937: Regional Program1938: Regional Program1939: National Program1940: National Program1941: National Program1942: National Program1943: National Program1944: National Program1945: National Program1946: National Program1947: National Program1948: National Program1949: National Program1950: National Program1951: National Program1952: National Program1953: National Program1954: National Program1955: Regional Program1956: Regional Program1957: Regional Program1958: Regional Program1959: Regional Program1960: Regional Program1961: Regional Program1962: Regional Program1963: Regional Program1964: Regional Program1965: Regional Program1966: Regional Program1967: Regional Program1968: Regional Program1969: Regional Program1970: Regional Program1971: Regional Program1972: Regional Program1973: Regional Program1974: Regional Program1975: Regional Program1976: Regional Program1977: Regional Program1978: Regional Program1979: Regional Program1980: Regional Program1981: Regional Program194019601980
DynastyBlue BloodPower ProgramNational ProgramRegional Program
FBS medianbest: 1941program stature (★ = Dynasty-tier season)Carl Snavely · 1937–1940SnavelyEd McKeever · 1946George James · 1947–1960JamesTom Harp · 1961–1965HarpBob Blackman · 1977–1981Blackman194019601980

Every coach, tenure by tenure, on the coaching page →

What this program never forgets

Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.

1890

Penn rivalry (sixth-most played)

Cornell-Penn is the sixth-most played rivalry in college football history

1906

Pop Warner Era

Pop Warner coaches at Cornell and builds the foundation of the program

Moment of the year · 2026

Won 38-25 vs Yale

Week 4 of 2026. An upset win.

Upset · was a 14-point underdog

More in this tab

ConferenceWhere this team sits in this season's conference standings.

Ivy standing · 2026

7th in the Ivy

Cornell Big Red is 7th of 8 in the Ivy at 1-3. The path to the title is steep — the focus is on playoff positioning and rivalry wins.

#ProgramRecord
1Dartmouth3-1
2Harvard3-1
3Princeton3-1
4Brown2-2
5Yale2-2
6Columbia1-3
7Cornell1-3
8Pennsylvania1-3
Coaching historyCurrent head coach Bob Blackman, hired 1977

Coaching history

  • Bob Blackman departs19-27-1, 5 seasons
  • Hired Bob Blackman1977
  • Tom Harp departs19-23-3, 5 seasons
  • Hired Tom Harp1961
  • George James departs66-58-2, 14 seasons
  • Hired George James1947
  • Ed McKeever departs5-3-1, 1 season
  • Hired Ed McKeever1946
CFB Zeitgeist “Go Big Red.”
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