Huddled around a small screen inside an old-fashioned tavern in Cleveland’s Waterloo arts and entertainment district, alumni and fans of two Division III schools collectively held their breath.
Williams College faced fourth down and long while the game clock dwindled. As the ball snapped, patrons held onto the bar’s grizzled, but polished wood as Owen McHugh, the quarterback for Williams College, dropped back to pass.
The ball lofted toward the end zone before a player wearing another shade of purple jumped into its flight path. Amherst College’s Christian Moore, the wide receiver-turned-defensive back, intercepted the pass, which sealed a 21-14 victory for the Mammoths. Their first win over the Ephs in five years.
Onlookers at the Treelawn bar in Cleveland were a 600 mile drive from Pratt Field, Amherst’s football stadium and the site of this year’s edition of the rivalry dubbed The Biggest Little Game in America. But the alumni pride of both schools shines bright across the country.
Those donning the Mammoth purple and white jumped, fists pumping through the air, beaming with joy for their alma mater. Scattered through the hugs and elation of the Amherst faithful were spectators lowering their heads, wearing the other shade of purple. The royal purple paired with gold of the Williams College Ephs.
According to Williams, technically the school has only one college color. Their primary purple is often paired with a gold or yellow to differentiate Williams publications and uniforms from those with Amherst’s colors of purple and white.
In 2023, the Biggest Little Game in America streamed to 30 organized gatherings across the country from locations as far as Portland, Maine, to Palo Alto, California. A delayed viewing was scheduled internationally in Tokyo, Japan.
“When you step on the field against Amherst, you just know it’s different,” said Zach Barnes, senior linebacker for Williams. “The hype coming into the game is different. You feel it on campus, you feel it around, you see (social media) postings of people talking about their experience with the rivalry. You see the name that dons the game, the Biggest Little Game in America, it’s special. You really do feel it.”
Amherst and Williams own the fourth most played rivalry in NCAA football and the most played in Division III. Outside of a handful of hiatuses, the series has occurred annually since 1884. The most recent game was the 138th rendition.
The history between both schools goes back even further; all the way back to the development of Amherst College in the early 19th century.
In 1821, Williams College president Zephaniah Swift Moore left the school to create Amherst College. He believed Williamstown, Massachusetts, where Williams is located, was too remote of a location in the direct northwestern corner of the state. He packed his bags, brought along some students and faculty, and went 65 miles east, directly to Amherst, Massachusetts.
Moore’s actions of over two centuries ago sparked tensions that live on to current day.
Now, no matter your location across the country, you likely don’t need to travel far to find a combined gathering of alumni and fans watching their team compete in The Biggest Little Game in America.
The Amherst-Williams game has been broadcast live for viewing across the country since 1985, according to Williams College sports information. Initially, viewing was capable through a satellite feed while both schools jointly managed production.
The 1995 game received national broadcast attention after airing on ESPN2 thanks to the efforts of Williams’ Sports Information Director Dick Quinn, who has worked at the school since 1989.
Before the game’s national broadcast debut and online streaming abilities of current day, combined gatherings relied on satellite coordinates to view the contest on television. In 1994, the company managing the satellite feed received last minute news that their planned coordinates would not work. From the Amherst press box, Quinn called over 60 locations across the country and even over the world. After the high volume of frenzied phone calls to explain the situation and solution, only a small percentage of gatherings were then able to switch to the new coordinates and eventually view the game.
For the next season, he knew something had to change. The broadcast needs for the small college rivalry had evolved. They needed a dedicated signal.
Their first stop was the worldwide leader in sports, ESPN. Quinn didn’t know anyone at the network, but he planned to start with the best. He was put through to Dan Margulis in his initial outreach, explaining his goal to get the Biggest Little Game in America on ESPN the next year. Assuming he’d need to explain the rivalry, Margulis chimed in that he was well aware of the game since he is an Amherst graduate.
The shocked Quinn jokingly offered his condolences in the vivacious spirit of the rivalry. To this day, some Williams College faithful refer to Amherst as the ‘defectors’ because of Moore’s actions.
“I think of it as the purest rivalry because of the defection,” Quinn told ESPN. “Harvard didn't defect from Yale.”
After their initial call, Margulis told him that if he could get a national sponsor, then the game would be on ESPN. Quinn’s next call was to Coca-Cola, where Williams graduate Chuck Fruit was an executive. Fruit’s first words were, “what happened with the telecast?” as the 100 or so supporters at the combined gathering he attended in 1994 left disappointed.
He then agreed to sponsor the game, so the Biggest Little Game in America was easily viewed by the masses the following season.
After the ESPN2 broadcast, the game was shown on New England Sports Network (NESN) beginning in 1996. ESPN’s College GameDay even made the journey to Williamstown in 2007 to cover the biggest little rivalry. Starting in 2016, the game began its streaming era across Northeast Sports Network (NSN), which is the current home for all live game coverage in the NESCAC, the conference where both schools compete.
Each year, groups led by watch party coordinators meet to view the battle placed on the second Saturday in November annually. The last game on the schedule for each school. As NESCAC schools do not compete in the Division III football playoff, the Amherst-Williams game is often the last organized football game many of its student athletes ever play.
Placing the word student in front of athlete has extra intentionality when discussing Williams and Amherst, as well as other NESCAC institutions. Both schools are considered “Little Ivies,” which is a group of small liberal arts colleges in the Northeast with high prestige and academic standards comparable to the Ivy League.
Within the Little Ivies is the Little Three, which includes Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan University inspired by the Ivy League’s Big Three rivalry between Harvard, Princeton and Yale. While athletics are held in a high regard, academics are the top priority for both Williams and Amherst. Football isn’t the only identity for many NESCAC athletes, a drastic difference compared to those at Division I programs.
“Williams and Amherst football players are great athletes,” Barnes mentioned. “But they’re just tremendous students as well.”
Amherst and Williams hold the top two spots in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for the top liberal arts colleges. Currently, Williams owns the top spot with Amherst at No. 2. Bragging rights based on academic rankings can hold as much weight as the latest football result.
The similarity in education and proximity between the schools leads to camaraderie after graduation. The rivalry’s connection and pride shines every year on the second Saturday each November.
Alex Bernstein, an Amherst graduate and NESCAC defensive player of the year in 1996, stays involved with the football program to this day. He played in historic battles against Williams before playing four seasons in the NFL. Along with other alumni, he wrote letters to Amherst teams that displayed in the locker room as bulletin board material during Williams week.
While living on the West Coast, he attended mixed watch parties in Palo Alto, waking up at dawn in time for the early kickoff out east. The Amherst fight song blared through his home first thing in the morning. His son Angus, who is now an offensive lineman at Amherst, heard the hymns.
Alex made the early morning drive, picking up a few fellow alumni on the way, to booked out sports bars made up of the area’s Williams and Amherst followers.
“Depending on how the score was going we would be talking trash when appropriate,” he said. “Or quietly eating our breakfast, shaking our heads, depending on how the game was going. I had a great group of friends on the West Coast, probably six or seven of us who all played together, we’d all pinky swear that we’d be here for the game.
“It’s early, kickoff is usually at 9 a.m. (PST), so we’d have to wake up early to get there. That’s awfully early for eggs and beer, but we’d all rally together to go watch the game.”
He met a number of Williams alumni through attending game watch parties that he maintains relationships with, despite their degree from the opposite side.
Alumni associations equip dedicated volunteers with supplies to help bring the rivalry to any location, including Amherst-Williams watch party BINGO. But the personal connection that the small schools provide, no matter the location, makes each event special. According to U.S. News & World Report, Amherst’s total enrollment is 1,898 as of fall 2022. Williams’ enrollment is 2,152 in the same period.
Solely attending either school likens to membership to an exclusive fraternity or sorority. Old and new bonds are then ignited by the product on the field. For the players, the Biggest Little Game in America is often the last organized football game that many will ever play.
There’s meaning in that.
Either side can go undefeated, but if they come up short in the Williams-Amherst game the full season has a sour taste. After beating Amherst in 1996, legendary Williams football coach Dick Farley described the weight the rivalry carries inside its competitors.
“What you see over there,” Farley pointed to his team while addressing media members after the win. “Celebrating with fans, friends and parents is the happiest 6-2 team in the country and what you see over there,” He then pointed toward the Amherst players. “Is the saddest 7-1 team in the country. I learned a long time ago, but never wanted to test the Williams theory, if you win only one game and you beat Amherst, it’s a great season. That pretty much sums up this rivalry, because this game means everything to these kids and these schools.”
The Biggest Little Game in America goes even further than the end result on the field, though. It's about the tradition, the relationships and the purity of sport. While Division I rivalries like Michigan vs. Ohio State, Alabama vs. Auburn and Army vs. Navy receive a dominant share of the national spotlight, Amherst-Williams continues on as a mainstay in college football as it has since 1884.
At the Division III level, true passion from both teams, their alumni and fans allows the rivalry to thrive. It keeps the second Saturday in November a pseudo holiday in western Massachusetts.
“We’re not looking to go to the NFL, we’re not really looking to play past our college years,” Barnes said. “We play because we love it, we love to play football, we love the competition. It shows in the Williams and Amherst rivalry. It has an electricity like no other.
“It’s pure sports.”
And the rest of the country feels it too.
