Holy Cross football back at Polar Park on Sept. 30, as Crusaders clash with Harvard

Jennifer Toland, Telegram & Gazette
·2 min read
Goal posts are installed last spring at Polar Park for a series of local football games held at the ballpark. Polar Park will host Holy Cross and Harvard on Sept. 30.
Goal posts are installed last spring at Polar Park for a series of local football games held at the ballpark. Polar Park will host Holy Cross and Harvard on Sept. 30.

WORCESTER — The Holy Cross football team, which is coming off a historic 2022 season, will host Harvard on Sept. 30 in its annual game at Polar Park, HC athletics and the Worcester Red Sox announced Friday.

Kickoff time and ticket information for the third EBW Football Classic, named for the late Edward Bennett Williams, a prominent Holy Cross alumnus and mentor to Worcester Red Sox chairman and principal owner Larry Lucchino, will be available in the coming months.

Holy Cross football season ticket members will have the HC-Harvard game included in their ticket packages. A presale for WooSox season ticket holders will be determined.

The Crusaders won their first two games at Polar Park, a 42-10 victory over Colgate in 2021 before a sold-out crowd of 9,508, and a 57-0 thrashing of Bucknell last season, with 7,658 fans on hand. As the attendance figures indicate, the game has become a popular event for the college and the Worcester community.

“As we continue to invest in our relationship with the Worcester Red Sox, moving the Harvard game to the heart of the city in a truly special venue is something we are very excited about,” Holy Cross associate vice president and director of athletics Kit Hughes said. “Division 1 athletics at Holy Cross is a vehicle for engaging communities and telling our distinctive story to a broad audience, and we know that this year’s game will help to showcase all the great things going on with our football program, college and city.”

Last year’s Crusaders set a program record for wins with 12, captured their fourth straight Patriot League championship, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs, and finished the season with a No. 6 national ranking.

Among HC’s 12 victories in 2022 was a thrilling 30-21 win over Harvard, which marked the Crusaders’ first triumph over the Crimson at Harvard Stadium since 2000.

This year’s Holy Cross-Harvard matchup will be the 74th between the New England rivals in a series that began in 1904. Harvard leads the all-time series 45-26-2.

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTolandTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross will host Harvard in third football game at Polar Park