Maroon and gold versus blue and white. The rivalry needs no introduction. The stakes: defend the Fords’ pride and bring home the sweater. Months of anticipation culminate as students, faculty, families, and alumni fill the stands, their deafening “F-O-R-D-S!” chants echoing across the fields.
“I’ve been here since Kindergarten, so every year EA Day brings the community together. What makes it special is that you can have a football game with the upper school there, but EA Day is a collective event,” Sixth Former Peter Halpert said. “You’ll see as many lower schoolers as upper schoolers, and everyone bonds over sports. I also think there’s a lot of respect between the two teams, which makes it special.”
In 1889, The Haverford School and Episcopal Academy began their annual athletic competition. More than a century later, the rivalry remains one of the defining traditions of both schools. Sheer passion keeps the rivalry relevant and fierce.
“The sweater means a lot to me,” Sixth Former Cal Tierney said. “I don’t play sports, but I don’t want to see us lose. The number of students involved makes it different. A lot of other games are just attended by a small group of kids, but on EA Day, the whole school is involved. Everyone knows about it.”
Although the rivalry is more than a century old, its most recognizable symbol is considerably younger. The split sweater tradition began in 1980, when the schools introduced a shared sweater featuring Haverford’s maroon and gold stripes on one half and Episcopal’s blue and white on the other. The school that wins the most competitions throughout EA Day gets to keep the sweater for the following year. At the end of the day, the sweater ceremony officially settles the rivalry—at least until the next fall.
“As you mature, you realize how important EA Day is, beyond simply whether we win or lose,” Sixth Former Will Armstrong said. “You begin to understand its importance to our school’s history and how the entire first part of the year builds up to it.”
Last year’s EA Day ended in disappointment for the Fords, as Episcopal reclaimed the coveted sweater for the first time since 2019. Haverford entered the final football matchup tied with EA at two wins apiece after hard-fought victories in water polo (6–5) and soccer (1–0 in overtime). That left the sweater hanging on the outcome of the afternoon’s football game. EA, however, pulled away with a 24–3 victory, securing the overall win and taking the sweater back to Newtown Square. Now, with a year of waiting behind them, the Fords come in strong.
“This year, as a senior, I know a lot of the people playing important minutes in these games,” Armstrong said. “We have some really competitive sports teams, and I think we have a good shot at taking the sweater back.”
“There’s a ton of buildup and hype,” Sixth Former Brayden Trexler said. “Alumni often come back, too. That’s what’s special about this place: people want to return and give back. It shows how much the community cares. At the end of the day, you need to know what we’re playing for. It’s bigger than yourself. You’re playing for the sweater.”
Fords golf shared the PAISAA title. Fords Footy won the Inter-Ac. The Gridiron Fords have picked up several commanding wins: 39–19, 31–20, 42–7, 48–0, and 24–6. The last two came against Inter-Ac rivals Penn Charter and Germantown Academy, respectively. Fords cross-country is coming off of a strong Inter-Ac League Championships race.
“It’s a highly competitive environment, with a lot of passion and emotion going into the games,” Trexler said. “It’s probably the most attended event of the year because it’s not just about the upper school. Lower schoolers, middle schoolers, alumni, parents, and everyone else knows how important the day is and tries to be there.”
“I like that brotherhood the school always talks about and being able to spend time with people you don’t know very well, whether at a football game or a soccer game,” Third Former Connor Mullin said. “I think the energy is much greater than anything else.”
For other teams, such as Fords water polo, this determines if they win the Inter-Ac League.
“For me, the environments have always been really positive,” water polo captain and Sixth Former Thomas Springer said. “I enjoy having a big crowd, especially at Haverford when they’re right there. I’ve seen it bring out different emotions in different people. For some, it creates more pressure, but I’ve always seen it as a really cool atmosphere.”
“It always makes it the most fun race of the year and the most exciting for us to compete in.”
Cross-country captain Lucas Crutchlow ’27
For some athletes, EA Day is the only time they get to compete in front of a large crowd.
“It’s the only time anybody really watches us,” cross country captain and Sixth Former Lucas Crutchlow said. “It always makes it the most fun race of the year and the most exciting for us to compete in.”
“The crowd is inconsistent because the starts and finishes are the most electric parts of the entire season,” Fourth Former Naren Lee said. “When we’re running through the woods, it’s completely different. But seeing everyone as we finish, especially at the top of the hill, is a real motivator.”
EA Day also draws spectators to sports that they might not typically watch.
“I usually wouldn’t go to watch a cross-country or water polo match, but on this day in particular, I’d go to anything,” Sixth Former Kevin Chan said. “It’s the biggest competition of the year, and I want to support our Fords in any way I can.”
However, the intensity of EA Day can sometimes bring out a less admirable side of school spirit. At other athletic competitions this year, student behavior has crossed a line, with some students banned from games and facing disciplinary consequences. With the rivalry’s heightened stakes and packed crowds, a question arises: Can students support the Fords competitively yet respectfully?
“As much as it’s important to want to beat EA, because that’s the whole point of the day, it’s also important that we conduct ourselves in a way that doesn’t embarrass ourselves or reinforce harmful and untrue stereotypes about our school,” Fifth Former Benno Goldstein said. “We need to maintain the fiery brotherhood that we have here while doing that.”
To put a name to this idea: inclusivity.
“It’s easy, especially as seniors, to say, ‘This is our EA Day. It’s our last one,’” Armstrong said. “But to maintain that sense of school spirit, it’s important to include everyone and rally the entire school.”
“A big part of being there for the younger guys is remembering the seniors who knew me,” Tierney said. “Instead of just telling younger students that they have to come, it’s important to actually build relationships with them. You have to be loud and vocal, letting everyone know that we’re a brotherhood and making sure everyone feels included.”
“Leadership is about reminding those students what it felt like to all be together, and helping the new students understand that that’s what EA Day is all about,” Sixth Former and Student Body President Mac Brenan said. “For the returning guys, everyone remembers what the atmosphere was like last year. We didn’t win, but it was still the most together I’ve ever seen the school.”
A key part of maintaining a positive atmosphere is setting an example for younger students.
“I always remember the people I looked up to when I was younger,” Halpert said. “I think you should treat everyone the same and be someone they can talk to. Whether it’s a lower schooler or a freshman, you should be a genuine person they can look up to. Treat them equally and be a good role model for them. Be a brother to them.”
For some Sixth Formers, recognizing that influence shapes what they say and do.
“I definitely looked up to the seniors when I was younger,” Sixth Former Christian Case said. “I thought they were grown men. I want to be that person for the younger guys, too. I know I have more influence than I sometimes realize, so I have to be careful with what I do.”
Others agree.
“It’s important to show them how to conduct themselves,” Springer said. “Coming in as a freshman, the team is different, the way it plays is different, and the expectations are much higher. It’s important to show younger students how they should act during a game. Make sure they’re not yelling at the referees or losing their cool. In big moments, when things get heated, being able to stay composed is a really good skill to have.”
That said, loyalty to Haverford should not have to come at the expense of sportsmanship.
“It’s about putting our guys ahead, but it can also be about showing that we’re better than them,” Brenan said. “In a way, that puts them down, but I don’t think it’s the worst thing to show our strength by beating them.”
“It’s really all about sportsmanship,” Fifth Former Amir Brown said. “Just because EA is the opposition doesn’t mean they’re necessarily your enemy. It’s important to recognize that there’s more to the rivalry than just competing against another school.”
EA Day traditions have not always looked the way they do today. In the 1970s, Episcopal students reportedly took the train from Merion Station before marching down Lancaster Avenue toward Haverford. Haverford students, meanwhile, organized car parades to Episcopal’s former campus along City Line Avenue. The celebrations also featured pep rallies, bonfires, and even an old car brought to campus to be smashed. On one occasion, a plane flew overhead carrying a banner that read, “GO FORDS—BEAT EA.”
The buzz-cut tradition, however, has become increasingly controversial, with some questioning whether it crosses the line into hazing.
“I’m telling everybody to get haircuts,” Crutchlow said. “I’m trying to get every single person on the cross-country team to get one. I’m getting some pushback, but we’re making progress.”
“If you don’t want to get a haircut, you can just not go to the places where people are getting them, and you’ll be fine,” Case said. “But I can totally understand how someone might not realize they’re being pressured into getting a haircut. I think that’s something we need to be careful about.”
Students have been responsive to these concerns.
“I think we’ve done a pretty good job as a school of staying away from hazing,” Springer said. “It’s about leading by example, not just shaving all the freshmen’s heads because they’re freshmen. It’s about making the choice to get a haircut to support your team.”
One thing is for certain: EA Day has created lifelong memories for Haverford boys.
“EA Day 2025 was the greatest game I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Brenan said. “I consider last year’s performance the best I’ve ever played in any sporting event, because no matter how tired I was, I still had infinite energy because of the guys in the stands. Hearing them chant my name and seeing them get excited when we did something tough kept me in the game. Even when I made a mistake, they were still there supporting me.”
“It’s not just a high school event,” Third Former Alejandro Escobar said. “EA Day is for everybody, from lower schoolers to high schoolers.”
“My brother told me before I went to high school that Spirit Week would become my favorite part of the year.”
Brayden Trexler ’27
In recent years, Spirit Week has added to the festivities with themed dress-down days and school-wide activities. This year’s themes are Quarter Zip vs. Nike Tech (Monday), Red, White, and Blue (Tuesday), Jersey/Sports Day (Wednesday), White Out (Thursday), and Maroon and Gold (Friday). Students who dress down must follow the daily theme or their form loses a point in the week’s competitions.
“Even though all the teachers love to assign homework and projects that week, it’s still so much fun,” Case said. “We get to do random things, and everyone has ridiculous haircuts.”
“Even my brother told me before I went to high school that Spirit Week would become my favorite part of the year,” Trexler said.
The rivalry even extends to the alumni community. Through the annual Scramble for the Sweater, graduates from both schools compete to see which alumni network can achieve the higher participation rate in giving. In 2025, Haverford raised $25,019 from 212 supporters. This year’s competition is underway, with the final results to be determined on EA Day.
“It’s all about service and the work we do surrounding EA Day,” Goldstein said. “As much as there’s a rivalry, there’s also a sense of camaraderie between the two schools.”
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