Hobart and 'Cuse Always Delivers Raucous Environment
2/26/2020 1:33:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
106th meeting of the rivalry is Friday night
Syracuse vs. Hobart is one of the lacrosse's oldest rivalries and heading into their 106th meeting, the two upstate programs have hardware on the line for the 35th time on Friday night.
Named for two giants of the sport, the Kraus-Simmons Trophy has been on the line each year since 1986. It is named for legendary head coach Roy Simmons Sr., who won 253 career games from 1931-70 at Syracuse, and Babe Kraus, who compiled 208 victories at Hobart.
"It's an important game," said Head Coach John Desko on the rivalry. "Roy Simmons Jr. will be up in the box watching and Roy Simmons III will be on the sidelines. It's always a big game for us and for the Simmons family, who mean so much to the Syracuse lacrosse program."
The Simmons are the first family of Syracuse lacrosse. Roy Sr. played at Syracuse when the team won back-to-back USILA National Championships in 1924 and 1925, while also playing football and boxing at SU. Later, he'd go on to lead the Orange from 1931-70, winning 253 games in his hall of fame coaching career.
His son, Roy Simmons Jr., then took over the helm of the Orange program in 1971, where he coached the Orange until 1998, leading 'Cuse to six NCAA titles and 290 career victories. Roy Simmons III has been a member of the lacrosse staff for 30 years after playing at Syracuse from 1978-81.
To put their run in perspective, a member of the Simmons family has been on the Syracuse roster or coaching staff for 826 of the Orange's 915 victories all time. The Simmons family as a unit has been part of more wins than all but two other NCAA lacrosse programs – Johns Hopkins (991), Syracuse (915) and Maryland (837) – are the only teams with more.
Kraus coached the Statesmen from 1925-1966 and went head-to-head with Simmons Sr. 37 times, with Syracuse winning 28 of those matchups. The trophy was introduced to the rivalry in 1986, with the winner of the annual showdown keeping the trophy until the next meeting. 'Cuse has won 31 of the 34 matchups since the trophy began being awarded.
The trophy itself is on its second incarnation. Last season, Syracuse added a new base to the trophy since it was out of room. The original cup still sits atop, but a new base with the history of the rivalry and an ode to each coach it's named after sits on the sides below.
While the matchup of late has favored the Orange, the luster hasn't worn off on the Upstate New York battle. Fans still anticipate the yearly showdown and most certainly still hold the animosity. In 2017, the Orange bus was hit with an egg while rolling into Geneva as eager party-goers were preparing for that evening's matchup. In 2005, when Hobart still played at McCooey Field next to a pond, a trout tossed onto the field by a fan leading to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty helped 'Cuse escape with the victory.
The conference era of lacrosse has limited the stake in games such as this from future outlook and playoff seeding go, but make no mistake that the Hobart and Syracuse rivalry still stands as heated as ever. The Statesmen entering this weekend's game ranked No. 19 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll makes this the second-straight meeting between the two teams as ranked squads.
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Named for two giants of the sport, the Kraus-Simmons Trophy has been on the line each year since 1986. It is named for legendary head coach Roy Simmons Sr., who won 253 career games from 1931-70 at Syracuse, and Babe Kraus, who compiled 208 victories at Hobart.
"It's an important game," said Head Coach John Desko on the rivalry. "Roy Simmons Jr. will be up in the box watching and Roy Simmons III will be on the sidelines. It's always a big game for us and for the Simmons family, who mean so much to the Syracuse lacrosse program."
The Simmons are the first family of Syracuse lacrosse. Roy Sr. played at Syracuse when the team won back-to-back USILA National Championships in 1924 and 1925, while also playing football and boxing at SU. Later, he'd go on to lead the Orange from 1931-70, winning 253 games in his hall of fame coaching career.
His son, Roy Simmons Jr., then took over the helm of the Orange program in 1971, where he coached the Orange until 1998, leading 'Cuse to six NCAA titles and 290 career victories. Roy Simmons III has been a member of the lacrosse staff for 30 years after playing at Syracuse from 1978-81.
To put their run in perspective, a member of the Simmons family has been on the Syracuse roster or coaching staff for 826 of the Orange's 915 victories all time. The Simmons family as a unit has been part of more wins than all but two other NCAA lacrosse programs – Johns Hopkins (991), Syracuse (915) and Maryland (837) – are the only teams with more.
Kraus coached the Statesmen from 1925-1966 and went head-to-head with Simmons Sr. 37 times, with Syracuse winning 28 of those matchups. The trophy was introduced to the rivalry in 1986, with the winner of the annual showdown keeping the trophy until the next meeting. 'Cuse has won 31 of the 34 matchups since the trophy began being awarded.
The trophy itself is on its second incarnation. Last season, Syracuse added a new base to the trophy since it was out of room. The original cup still sits atop, but a new base with the history of the rivalry and an ode to each coach it's named after sits on the sides below.
While the matchup of late has favored the Orange, the luster hasn't worn off on the Upstate New York battle. Fans still anticipate the yearly showdown and most certainly still hold the animosity. In 2017, the Orange bus was hit with an egg while rolling into Geneva as eager party-goers were preparing for that evening's matchup. In 2005, when Hobart still played at McCooey Field next to a pond, a trout tossed onto the field by a fan leading to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty helped 'Cuse escape with the victory.
The conference era of lacrosse has limited the stake in games such as this from future outlook and playoff seeding go, but make no mistake that the Hobart and Syracuse rivalry still stands as heated as ever. The Statesmen entering this weekend's game ranked No. 19 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll makes this the second-straight meeting between the two teams as ranked squads.
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