Coast to coast

The first years never left the Northeast

The belt began in New Jersey, with Rutgers beating Princeton in the first game anyone ever played, and for 49 years it did not leave the Northeast at all. Reigns passed between the same handful of programs — the Ivies, the small Pennsylvania colleges, a service academy — because those were the teams that played each other, and the belt can only travel along the games that actually happen.

The first time it crossed out was November 16, 1918, when Michigan carried it to Michigan. From there the map starts to fill in.

First into the Midwest: Michigan, 1918

Michigan brought the belt to Michigan on November 16, 1918 — the first Midwest program to hold it. The region has had it 48 times since, across 14 programs, for 6,666 days in all.

First into the South: West Virginia Wesleyan, 1924

West Virginia Wesleyan brought the belt to West Virginia on November 8, 1924 — the first South program to hold it. The region has had it 101 times since, across 29 programs, for 14,334 days in all.

First into the West: Stanford, 1932

Stanford brought the belt to California on September 17, 1932 — the first West program to hold it. The region has had it 58 times since, across 14 programs, for 6,767 days in all.

First into the Southwest: Texas A&M, 1941

Texas A&M brought the belt to Texas on December 6, 1941 — the first Southwest program to hold it. The region has had it 43 times since, across 12 programs, for 4,419 days in all.

The map today

39 states have been home to the belt. New Jersey (6,890 days), California (4,726 days), Connecticut (4,704 days), Pennsylvania (4,340 days), Alabama (4,321 days) have held it longest.

The longest it has ever stayed in one state without leaving is 7 years in New Jersey: 2 consecutive reigns, from Rutgers in 1869 to Princeton in 1876.

5 states have had the belt exactly once: Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Wyoming.

Where it has never been

11 states are still waiting for their first reign: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Vermont.

That is the geography of the rule, not of talent: a state gets the belt when one of its programs happens to be scheduled against the holder on the right Saturday, and nothing else. The My Team page shows how far away each program is right now.