In the early 1870s, several boat clubs came into being on the south shore of Cayuga Lake. In 1873, Cornell President Andrew Dickson White procured a new shell and a new coach, Henry Coulter, and Cornell rowing, a program that would become rich with success and tradition, was born.
Heavyweight Rowing
Legendary coaches like Charles "Pop" Courtney (above) and R. Harrison “Stork” Sanford are the fathers of that success. Courtney was named the official head coach of Cornell rowing in 1889, although he assisted in the training of the crew for five or six years previous. He led the Big Red to a total of 14 intercollegiate championships. Courtney was also far ahead of his time with respect to women’s sports, training women to row though intramural sports during his tenure.
With the arrival of Stork Sanford in 1937, the Big Red continued its winning ways. The Sanford era lasted 34 years and during that time the Red saw six IRA championships, four Eastern Sprints championships and an undefeated crew that broke a 118-year-old Henley record in 1957.
All-Time Heavyweight Commodores
All-Time Letter Winners
Team Award Winners
Year-by-Year Results and Coaching History
Heavyweight Rowing All-Time vs. Opponents
Cornell World Champions and Oympians
The Madeira Cup
The Carnegie Cup
The Goes Trophy
The Howard Smith Cup
EARC History and Ivy League Champions
IRA History and Past Winners
Henley Royal Regatta History
Lightweight Rowing
Lightweight crew was introduced in 1920. The first championship season was in 1949, and that was followed by four EARC championships between 1961 and 1968. The program had another undefeated national championship season in 1992, and in both 2006 and 2008 the team won both the EARC championship (the eighth and ninth in the program’s history) and the IRA national championship. The 2007 team also won the IRA national title, with both squads finishing as the runner-up at the Henley Royal Regatta in the Temple Challenge Cup.
Cornell Rowing Time Line
All-Time Lightweight Captains
All-Time Letter Winners
Year-by-Year Results and Coaching History
Lightweight Rowing All-Time vs. Opponents
The Geiger Cup
The Baggaley Cup
The Platt Trophy
The Matthews-Leonard Cup
EARC History and Ivy League Champions
IRA History and Past Winners
Cornell World Champions and Olympians
Henley Royal Regatta History
Women’s Rowing
Women rowed at Cornell until 1933 when American and world events pushed the program into hiatus until 1974. It later became a varsity sport in 1975. Recent history is highlighted by a national championship in 1989 (pictured above) and the first bid to the NCAA championships in 2002, with many EAWRC medals in between.
Cornell Women's Rowing Time Line
1989 National Championship Team Reflection Video
All-Time Women's Rowing Captains
Individual Honors and Awards
All-Time Letter Winners
Year-by-Year Results and Coaching History
Women's Rowing All-Time vs. Opponents
Class of '75 Cup
Johnson/Groth Cup
The Dunn Bowl
Raritan Cup & Class of '89 Plaque
Parents Cup
Cayuga Cup
Cornell World Champions and Olympians
