Central Connecticut–Hartford rivalry

Central Connecticut–Hartford men's basketball rivalry
	Central Connecticut Blue Devils Hartford Hawks
Sport	Basketball
First meeting	December 13, 1958
Latest meeting	February 8, 2023; Central Connecticut 82, Hartford 73
Statistics
Current win streak	Central Connecticut 2 (2021-present)

5km
3miles

Central Connecticut

Hartford

Locations of the two universities in Connecticut.

The Central Connecticut–Hartford rivalry refers to the American collegiate athletics rivalry between the Central Connecticut Blue Devils sports teams of Central Connecticut State University and Hartford Hawks sports teams of the University of Hartford. The two campuses are located 10 miles apart. Unlike most in-state rivalries Hartford and Central Connecticut compete in difference conferences. Hartford competes in the America East Conference and Central Connecticut competes in the Northeast Conference. On May 6, 2021 the University of Hartford board of regents voted to transition the university’s athletic program from Division I to Division III, putting the future of the rivalry in doubt.^[1]

College Comparison
	Central Connecticut	Hartford
Founded	1849	1957
Type	Public	Private
Conference	Northeast Conference	Commonwealth Coast Conference
Students	9,653	5,740
School colors
Nickname	Blue Devils	Hawks

Basketball[edit]

The two schools starting playing each other as division II rivals in 1958. After the 2002 edition the series went on hiatus until 2010 when both schools competed against each other in the Connecticut 6 tournament held at Mohegan Sun Arena.^[2] ^[3]^[4] During the break in the series Central Connecticut became a power in the Northeast Conference under head coach Howie Dickenman making the NCAA tournament in 2000, 2002, and 2007.

Traditionally the game is played at the beginning of every season.^[5] In the 2017 matchup Central's head coach Donyell Marshall and assistant coach Anthony Anderson were both suspended for the game due to an altercation at practice, assistant coaches Mike Witcoskie and Anthony Ross handled the coaching duties for the Hartford game.^[6]

Basketball series record[edit]

Central Connecticut victories	Hartford victories

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	December 13, 1958		Central Connecticut	82–73
2	February 10, 1960		Central Connecticut	69–60
3	February 7, 1961		Central Connecticut	92–79
4	February 5, 1971		Central Connecticut	82–79
5	January 26, 1972		Central Connecticut	91–82
6	December 1, 1972		Central Connecticut	69–67
7	December 1, 1973		Central Connecticut	80–68
8	December 7, 1974		Hartford	84–67
9	December 6, 1975		Hartford	84–76
10	December 10, 1976		Hartford	79–78
11	December 10, 1977		Central Connecticut	83–81
12	December 8, 1978		Hartford	71–67
13	December 7, 1979		Central Connecticut	67–66
14	December 5, 1980		Central Connecticut	80–68
15	November 20, 1981		Central Connecticut	79–57
16	February 5, 1983		Central Connecticut	67–49
17	January 14, 1984		Hartford	77–72
18	February 27, 1991	West Hartford, CT	Hartford	68–53
19	January 22, 1992	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	81–80
20	January 11, 1993	West Hartford, CT	Hartford	83–53
21	January 25, 1994	New Britain, CT	Hartford	122–103

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
22	December 5, 1997	West Hartford, CT	Hartford	85–72
23	December 4, 1998	Hartford, CT	Hartford	89–82
24	December 3, 1999	Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	64–61
25	November 30, 2000	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	81–65
26	November 29, 2001	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	73–59
27	December 11, 2002	Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	70–66
28	November 13, 2010 ^[7]	Uncasville, CT	Central Connecticut	64–62
29	November 26, 2011	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	92–58
30	November 24, 2012	West Hartford, CT	Hartford	80–77
31	December 10, 2013 ^[8]	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	73–59
32	December 6, 2014 ^[9]	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	56–47
33	November 13, 2015 ^[10]	New Britain, CT	Hartford	92–83 ^2OT
34	November 11, 2016 ^[11]	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	75–60
35	November 10, 2017 ^[12]	West Hartford, CT	Hartford	85–84 ^OT
36	November 6, 2018	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	75–68
37	November 5, 2019	New Britain, CT	Hartford	74–59
38	December 4, 2020	West Hartford, CT	Hartford	80–65
39	December 18, 2021	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	75–65
40	February 8, 2023	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	82–73
Series: Central Connecticut leads 25–15

^[13]

Baseball[edit]

Central Connecticut and Hartford first played each other in baseball in 1985. Central started to dominate the series in the early part of the millennium, with its teams making multiple trips to the NCAA tournament. In 2010 CCSU completed construction of Balf–Savin Field on campus, their first game in the new stadium was a 12-11 loss to Hartford.^[14] Starting in 2018, Central Connecticut and Hartford played against each other at Dunkin' Donuts Park in downtown Hartford in March and in May. The two schools played again at Dunkin' Donuts Park in May 2019. In 2020 the series will be moved back to campus with Central Connecticut hosting a single game in March.

Baseball series record[edit]

Central Connecticut victories	Hartford victories

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	April 1, 1985	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	7–4
2	April 15, 1986	New Britain, CT	Hartford	15–4
3	April 30, 1986	East Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	6–3
4	April 20, 1987	East Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	1–0
5	April 20, 1987	East Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	5–3
6	April 16, 1988	New Britain, CT	Hartford	3–1
7	April 16, 1988	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	8–1
8	April 17, 1988	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	3–2
9	April 22, 1989	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	9–0
10	April 22, 1989	East Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	3–2
11	April 23, 1989	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	13–11
12	April 14, 1990	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	8–1
13	April 14, 1990	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	2–1
14	April 16, 1990	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	2–1
15	May 2, 1991	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	8–6
16	April 22, 1992	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	6–5
17	April 21, 1993	Simsbury, CT	Hartford	11–8
18	April 28, 1993	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	6–2
19	April 20, 1994	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	8–5
20	April 27, 1994	New Britain, CT	Hartford	12–5
21	April 19, 1995	East Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	5–3
22	April 26, 1995	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	17–3
23	April 4, 1996	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	11–9
24	April 24, 1996	East Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	17–9
25	April 22, 1997	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	9–7
26	April 21, 1998	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	11–10
27	April 14, 1999	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	3–2
28	April 21, 1999	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	9–6
29	April 12, 2000	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	6–4
30	April 17, 2001	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	12–10
31	May 1, 2001	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	22–11

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
32	March 19, 2002	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	15–3
33	April 17, 2002	East Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	17–4
34	April 16, 2003	East Hartford, CT	Hartford	4–3
35	April 21, 2003	New Britain, CT	Tie	12–12
36	March 11, 2004	Simsbury, CT	Central Connecticut	22–1
37	April 12, 2004	Bristol, CT	Central Connecticut	19–6
38	March 8, 2006	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	10–4
39	March 15, 2006	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	13–7
40	March 14, 2007	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	2–1
41	March 14, 2007	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	13–9
42	March 27, 2009	West Hartford, CT	Hartford	9–8
43	March 10, 2010	New Britain, CT	Hartford	12–11
44	May 4, 2010	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	19–6
45	March 9, 2011	New Britain, CT	Tie	3–3
46	March 7, 2012	West Hartford, CT	Hartford	5–2
47	May 2, 2012	New Britain, CT	Hartford	3–2
48	May 15, 2013	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	9–4
49	May 13, 2014	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	5–1
50	March 11, 2015	New Britain, CT	Hartford	4–3
51	May 12, 2015	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	8–5
52	March 9, 2016	New Britain, CT	Hartford	11–9
53	May 17, 2016	West Hartford, CT	Hartford	10–0
54	March 8, 2017	New Britain, CT	Central Connecticut	6–4
55	May 17, 2017	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	11–10
56	March 31, 2018	Hartford, CT	Hartford	2–1
57	May 6, 2018	Hartford, CT	Hartford	3–0
58	May 7, 2019	Hartford, CT	Hartford	7–3
59	March 4, 2020	New Britain, CT	Hartford	8–5
60	May 3, 2022	West Hartford, CT	Central Connecticut	14–9
Series: Central Connecticut leads 33–25–2

References[edit]

^ "University of Hartford Board of Regents votes to move from Division I to Division III in athletics". Hartford Courant. 7 May 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
^ "Connecticut 6 basketball tournament cancelled". CT Post. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
^ "Central-Hartford Basketball Rivalry Is Blooming Once Again". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
^ "Central not eager to see Hartford's streak stop". The Middletown Press. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^ "HAWKS, BLUE DEVILS SIGN FIVE-YEAR AGREEMENT". Hartford Athletics. 10 August 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
^ "Central Connecticut's Donyell Marshall, Assistant Remain 'On Leave'". Hartford Courant. 13 November 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
^ "Cent. Connecticut St. 64, Hartford 62". Associated Press. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
^ "Central Connecticut State tops Hartford 73-59". Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
^ "CCSU gets first win, tops Hartford 56-47". Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
^ "Hartford survives against CCSU, 92-83 2OT". Associated Press. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
^ "Central Handles Hartford 75-60 In Donyell Marshall's Debut". Hartford Courant. 12 November 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
^ "Hartford holds on, beats Central Connecticut St. 85-84 in OT". Associated Press. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
^ "CCSU men's basketball record book" (PDF). CCSU athletics. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
^ "Late Comeback Fuels 12-11 Victory in Baseball's Opener at CCSU". Hartford Athletics. 10 March 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2019.

[1] "University of Hartford Board of Regents votes to move from Division I to Division III in athletics". Hartford Courant. 7 May 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.

[2] "Connecticut 6 basketball tournament cancelled". CT Post. Retrieved January 21, 2018.

[3] "Central-Hartford Basketball Rivalry Is Blooming Once Again". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 21, 2018.

[4] "Central not eager to see Hartford's streak stop". The Middletown Press. Retrieved June 4, 2018.

[5] "HAWKS, BLUE DEVILS SIGN FIVE-YEAR AGREEMENT". Hartford Athletics. 10 August 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2018.

[6] "Central Connecticut's Donyell Marshall, Assistant Remain 'On Leave'". Hartford Courant. 13 November 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2020.

[7] "Cent. Connecticut St. 64, Hartford 62". Associated Press. Retrieved January 21, 2018.

[8] "Central Connecticut State tops Hartford 73-59". Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2018.

[9] "CCSU gets first win, tops Hartford 56-47". Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2018.

[10] "Hartford survives against CCSU, 92-83 2OT". Associated Press. Retrieved January 21, 2018.

[11] "Central Handles Hartford 75-60 In Donyell Marshall's Debut". Hartford Courant. 12 November 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2018.

[12] "Hartford holds on, beats Central Connecticut St. 85-84 in OT". Associated Press. Retrieved January 21, 2018.

[13] "CCSU men's basketball record book" (PDF). CCSU athletics. Retrieved June 24, 2023.

[14] "Late Comeback Fuels 12-11 Victory in Baseball's Opener at CCSU". Hartford Athletics. 10 March 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2019.

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v t e Central Connecticut Blue Devils men's basketball
Venues	William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1965–present)
Rivalries	Hartford
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e Central Connecticut Blue Devils women's basketball
Venues	William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1971–present)
Rivalries	Hartford
Culture & lore	History
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Hartford Hawks men's basketball
Venues	Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (1990–present)
Rivalries	Central Connecticut Trinity College
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Hartford Hawks women's basketball
Venues	Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (1990–present)
Rivalries	Central Connecticut
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Hartford Hawks baseball
Venues	Fiondella Field Dunkin' Park Beehive Field McKenna Field Muzzy Field
Rivalries	Central Connecticut
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023