by Franklin & Marshall President, by Daniel R. Porterfield On August 3, 1852, the Harvard and Yale rowing clubs raced on New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee in the first American intercollegiate athletic competition. (Harvard prevailed, accepting the walnut trophy oars from Gen. Franklin Pierce). Thirty-two years later, the Lehigh and Lafayette football teams squared off on the gridiron to launch what has become the longest uninterrupted college rivalry series in the United States.