Pomona football goes back more than 100 years, which is plenty of time to develop some serious rivalries.

Dating to 1895, the longest-standing rivalry is with Occidental College. It’s the oldest college football rivalry in Southern California and one of the 10 oldest in the entire country. The winner gets possession of The Drum, which has the scores of each annual game written on it.

The Drum is the symbol of Pomona's longstanding football rivalry with Occidental College. The winner of the annual game gains possession of the Drum.

While the Oxy rivalry has the most history, Pomona’s rivalry with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps hits closest to home. This annual game pits Pomona-Pitzer against three other members of the Claremont Colleges.

These rivals once played on the same team. Pomona and Claremont Men’s College (which later became Claremont McKenna) competed as a single Claremont Colleges team from 1947 to 1958.

The cross-campus rivalry began in 1959 after separate athletic departments and intercollegiate programs were started. Pitzer College opened in 1964 and eventually joined Pomona students to form Pomona-Pitzer teams.

For the annual game, the stadium is always packed and students crowd around the field as the two teams battle for possession of the Peace Pipe. “It’s as noisy as it gets for these types of games,” says former Pomona-Pitzer coach Roger Caron.
 

Today's Sagehens in action

And victory has special meaning for the players because members of the opposing teams are bound to cross paths on the campuses of the Claremont Colleges. “It’s important for the kids because it’s … bragging rights,” says Caron. “They see each other in class.”

Then and now: Pomona's first football team is depicted in this 1890s photo. To the right, see the Sagehens in action today.