Rowing 150: The Packard Cup

The Syracuse men's rowing team will travel to Fairlee, Vermont, on April 26, as 'Cuse and Dartmouth will lineup side-by-side on Lake Morey to race for the Packard Cup. The annual showdown is a race both squads have had circled since the spring schedule was announced.

The Packard cup was commissioned by Anthony Ladd in 1959 to honor his father-in-law, Edward N. Packard. Packard was a Syracuse graduate (Class of 1906) whom sat stroke seat of the 1904 varsity eight that captured Syracuse's first IRA championship. The cup, made of sterling silver, is awarded annually to the winner of the varsity eight race between Syracuse and Dartmouth.

'Cuse has taken home the Packard Cup 31 times in 62 races, winning the past two contests on Lake Morey in 2023 and 2024. The Orange and the Big Green are both 4-4 in the past eight races between the two storied programs.

Dartmouth holds the record for longest win-streak with 15 races (1991-2005). The Orange have won seven races in a row twice, first winning the inaugural seven races from 1960-66 before again going undefeated from 1980-86.
Syracuse is looking to win three-straight Packard Cup races for the first time since claiming four in a row from 2006-09.

About Syracuse 150:
Syracuse University is celebrating 150 years of rowing during the 2024-25 season. In the fall of 1874, the SU Rowing Club was founded, but it wasn't until the 1899-1900 school year that a varsity crew existed with the Syracuse University Navy, coached by Cornell alum E.R. Sweetland. On June 15, 1900, Syracuse competed in its first intercollegiate race on Onondaga Lake against Cornell, birthing a rivalry that still exists today.

Syracuse has won six IRA National Championships (Varsity 8) while claiming the Stewards Cup (Freshman Eight) 12 times, the Kennedy Challenge Cup (JV Eight) six times and the Eric Will Trophy (Varsity Four with Coxswain) once in its illustrious career. Syracuse is one of three programs to have reached the Grand Final of the IRA Regatta in each of the last four seasons, placing 4^th (2021), 5^th (2022 and 2023) and 6^th in 2024.

For more on Syracuse men's rowing, follow @CuseMRowing on social media.

Syracuse University Athletics

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