Rivalries in sports have created some of the greatest moments in sports history. From the Yankees and Red Sox to the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, famous rivalries build fan engagement, form team identities and raise competition levels. But when it comes to Drexel, the question remains: do the Dragons have a true rival to compete against?
In sports, good rivalries have specific factors that make them enjoyable to watch. For college athletics, rivalries often form around factors such as shared history, proximity and competitiveness. Proximity in particular is important to a rivalry because it usually means frequent competitions and more familiarity for students and fans.
Delaware
Delaware was once widely considered Drexel’s main rival, but after their departure from the CAA conference, this may no longer be the case. At the height of the Dragon-Blue Hen rivalry, every game was competitive and high-stakes.
Last season, men’s basketball narrowly beat Delaware 78-74. These games had implications for conference placement, and frequent competitions allowed for the rivalry to grow. Drexel’s rivalry with Delaware seems to have ended with Delaware’s move to Conference USA this season. Furthermore, men’s basketball is not scheduled to play the Blue Hens this season
Temple
A fellow Philadelphia school, Temple, has qualities that could make for a great rivalry. Both colleges are of similar sizes, and games between the two, especially in basketball, are competitive. Temple has some recent shared history with Drexel, as former president John Fry became Temple’s new president this year.
Despite these factors, infrequent competition has not allowed this rivalry to grow. Neither the men’s nor the women’s basketball teams are scheduled to play Temple this season. In addition to this, Temple’s presence in the AAC conference, which has strong competitors such as Tulane and the Navy, means that a potential Drexel rivalry is overshadowed.
Penn
With Drexel and Penn sharing campuses in University City, Penn seems like an obvious choice for a rival. However, the one caveat is that Penn is an Ivy League school, and the ‘academic prestige’ mindset translates over to athletics. Games against Penn are usually competitive, with both men’s and women’s soccer games ending in ties this season. Despite this, Drexel simply does not have enough prestige for Penn to consider the Dragons a rival.
Students at Princeton sum up Drexel’s problem clearly. Penn thinks that Princeton is their rival, but Princeton does not see Penn as a rival. In other words, many people at Drexel think Penn is the biggest rival, while Penn does not give Drexel much thought.
Monmouth/Towson
After the departure of Delaware, Monmouth (West Long Branch, NJ) and Towson (Towson, MD) are the two closest CAA colleges to Drexel, which account for the proximity factor needed in a rivalry. Both of these schools have similar demographics to Drexel and are also considered to be mid-major programs. Because all athletic teams play these schools at least once, it also creates a frequency factor. Towson, in particular, has the potential to be a big opponent in men’s basketball, as it won the conference last year.
The only thing that holds Monmouth and Towson back as clear rivals to Drexel is the lack of shared history. While games against the two schools usually hold playoff implications, there have not been any major sports moments against them in recent memory.
Within the five schools listed above, there is at least one factor in each of them that holds it back from being considered a big rival to Drexel. This lack of a clear rival seems to reflect the bigger difficulties the athletics program faces: it is a mid-major university. Too small to compete with large D1 colleges, little school spirit and not enough prestige on the national level. These challenges make it hard for rivalries to thrive on campus.
There may be a day that a true rival for Drexel emerges, but that does not seem to be coming anytime soon. For now, the search for a true rival continues. Whether it be a college in Philadelphia, a CAA university, or another regional school, the debate will continue.