CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Football, the two-time defending Ivy League champions, announced today its schedule for the 2025 campaign. This season's slate will feature 10 games overall, with five set for Harvard Stadium. The upcoming year will also represent the first season in which the Ivy champion will advance to the FCS Playoffs.
 
The Crimson will open the season on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Stetson, which will complete its home-and-home series with the DeLand, Florida, school. Last season, Harvard played host to the Hatters and won, 35-0, producing its first season-opening shutout since 2004.
 
Seven days later, the Crimson will look to avenge one of its two losses from last year when Brown visits Harvard Stadium on Sept. 27, at 6 p.m. ET. Harvard enters its Ivy opener with a 21-3 record against the Bears since 2000.
 
A short ride to Worcester is in store for the Crimson as it will face Holy Cross on Oct. 4. Harvard earned a 35-34 win in 2024, marking its second straight in the series and its fifth in the last six meetings. The last time these teams met in Wormtown, the Crimson defeated then-No. 5/6 Holy Cross, 38-28, at Polar Park.
 
Harvard will step back into Ivy League play on Oct. 11, when it welcomes Cornell to campus for a noon ET kickoff. The Crimson has won five straight in the series, including last year's 38-20 road victory on national television.
 
The final non-conference game of the campaign is slated for Oct. 18, against Merrimack College at noon ET. Both teams have shared the gridiron once, back in 2022, with Harvard winning at home and in overtime, 28-21.
 
With the first half of its schedule behind it, Harvard will begin its sprint to the finish line with five consecutive Ivy games, beginning with an Oct. 25 date at Princeton. The Crimson snapped a six-game losing streak to the Tigers with last season's 45-13 decision.
 
Dartmouth will make the trek south to Cambridge as the teams open the month of November at Harvard Stadium. The Nov. 1 game will mark the first time the schools will see each other since the Crimson rallied from two 10-point second-half deficits to win in Hanover, New Hampshire, 31-27. Kick time is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
 
Harvard heads to New York City for a clash with Columbia on Nov. 8. The Crimson, along with the Big Green and Lions, were Ivy champions a year ago, with Harvard completing the sweep after its 26-6 home win over Columbia. The Crimson has won two straight in the series, including a 38-24 victory the last time it played at Wien Stadium.
 
A week later, Penn travels to Harvard (Nov. 15, noon ET) after back-to-back thrilling games between the two foes. In 2023, the Crimson won at home in triple overtime to secure the Ivy League championship. Then last year, Harvard mounted a furious comeback, rallying from a 14-point deficit with 11:56 left in the third quarter to win, 31-28, to post its fourth straight series victory and, again, clinch at least a share of the conference crown.
 
The Crimson will end the regular season like it typically does, with a game against Yale. The 141^st playing of The Game is slated for Nov. 22, in New Haven, Connecticut. Although the games have been close between the teams, Harvard will be in search of its first series win since a 34-31 road decision in 2021. Each of the last three games have been decided by five points.
 
For the first time in Ivy League history, the conference will send its champion to the FCS Playoffs. The first round is tentatively set for Nov. 29, with the second round slated for Dec. 6. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 12-13 and Dec. 20, respectively. The championship game, meanwhile, will take place Jan. 5, in Nashville, Tennessee. 
 
All dates and times are tentative and subject to change.

2025 Harvard Football Schedule 

Sept. 20 – at Stetson, TBA
Sept. 27 – Brown*, 6 p.m. ET
Oct. 4 – at Holy Cross, TBA
Oct. 11 – Cornell*, Noon ET
Oct. 18 – Merrimack College, Noon ET
Oct. 25 – at Princeton*, TBA
Nov. 1 – Dartmouth*, 3 p.m. ET
Nov. 8 – at Columbia*, TBA
Nov. 15 – Penn*, Noon ET
Nov. 22 – at Yale*, TBA
 
*Ivy League game