Wayne Cavadi | NCAA.com | October 12, 2020

The 11 most played rivalries in DII football history

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South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State played Saturday, Oct. 10 for the 135th time in the history of the two programs. That marks the longest played rivalry in the DII football record books.

Let's take a look at the 11 most-played rivalries between current DII football programs.

That rivalry from The Mount Rushmore State is the oldest on the list, dating back to 1895. The Hardrockers were shutout by their now-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes 18-0 that late November day. South Dakota Mines took it to heart, and when the teams next met in 1900, the Hardrockers dominated the Yellow Jackets 27-0 to start a 14-game unbeaten stretch in the rivalry. After SD Mines' latest victory, the Hardrockers lead the all-time series, 64-60-11.

The two have been pretty consistent of late, splitting the last decade with a 5-5 record. This year, the Hardrockers won the Black Hills Brawl convincingly3 4-17 behind running back Ahmad Lewis and quarterback Jayden Johannsen.

In 2019, Tuskegee and Morehouse played for the 108th time since the first meeting between the two in 1902. Tuskegee holds the most lopsided advantage on our list, leading the all-time series 71-29-8 after a 21-10 win last season. Morehouse finally got back in the win column in 2018 with a 30-24 victory, snapping a Tuskegee six-game winning streak in the series.

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The Turnpike Tussle and Battle of the Ravine — perhaps two of the better know rivalries in all of college football — are famous because of their proximity. Emporia State and Washburn travel the 58-mile trek down the Kansas Turnpike each year for some exciting MIAA football while Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist literally walk across the street to each other's stadium to see who will claim the rights to the Ravine.

Washburn cut into Emporia State's lead in 2019 with a 37-17 victory. Emporia State now holds a four-game lead over its Kansas rival. Ouachita Baptist eked out a 24-21 victory in 2019, breaking the deadlock, and now have a 44-43-6 advantage in the series.

Below is a list of the 11 most played rivalries in DII football along with their series records and the most recent matchup between the two.

DII football rivalries: The 11 most played rivalries in history

Games	Teams (Series leader listed first)	Series Record	First game	LAST meeting
135	South Dakota Mines, Black Hills State	64-60-11	1895	SD Mines, 34-17
116	Emporia State, Washburn	57-53-6	1899	Washburn, 37-17
110	Virginia State, Virginia Union	57-45-9	1900	VSU, 27-24 (OT)
107	Tuskegee, Morehouse	70-29-8	1902	Tuskegee, 21-10
105	Southeastern Oklahoma St., East Central	50-47-8	1909	East Central, 42-38
99	Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne	49-46-4	1907	Lenoir-Rhyne, 49-3
98	Pittsburg State, Emporia State	62-34-2	1915	Pitt. St., 47-23
97	Truman, Central Missouri	52-40-5	1905	N/A*
93	Ouachita Baptist, Henderson State	44-43-6	1907	OBU, 24-21
91	Truman, Northwest Missouri State	54-33-4	1908	N/A+
90	Pittsburg State, Washburn	63-26-1	1921	Washburn, 49-38

(Notes: *Have not played since 2013 | + Have not played since 2011. Truman left the MIAA for the Great Lakes Valley Conference, annual games no longer scheduled. All records via the official NCAA DII football record book on NCAA.org.)