Welcome to the Hope College website for the fabled NCAA Division III basketball rivalry between Hope and Calvin.
2025-26 Schedule
Men
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, Calvin at Hope
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, Hope at Calvin
Women
Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2026, Calvin at Hope
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, Hope at Calvin
Men's Rivalry Quick Facts
The series started in 1920-21 with a 31-13 Hope victory.
After 216 games, Hope leads the series 111-105.
After 216 games, just one point separate the two teams. Hope has scored 14,636 points, while Calvin has scored 14,637.
On February 2, 2019, The Rivalry's 200th game was hosted by Hope College at a sold-out DeVos Fieldhouse. The Knights prevailed, 82-80, to narrow the Flying Dutchmen's in the series to 103-97.
The 2014-15 NBA season is a forgettable one in New York City, so the New York Times asked reporter Scott Cacciola and photographer Guy Rhodes to spotlight the Hope-Calvin men's basketball rivalry on January 10, 2015, at DeVos Fieldhouse. Cacciola usually covers the New York Knicks as their beat reporter but was traveling the country for his "Not The Knicks" series highlighting good basketball elsewhere across the country. He chose the 189th game of the Hope-Calvin men's basketball rivalry after receiving several recommendations from readers. Click here to read The New York Times' full report.
More Men's Rivalry Facts | Men's Rivalry Results
Women's Rivalry Quick Facts
The Hope/Calvin women's basketball rivalry started in 1965 with a 49-35 Calvin victory.
Through 140 games, Calvin leads the all-time series 72-68. Since women's basketball became an official MIAA sport in 1978-79, Hope leads, 67-51. Since 2000, the Flying Dutch a 52-16 series advantage.
Hope put together a 19-game winning streak, the second-longest in The Rivalry for women's basketball, from Jan. 13, 2018, through Feb. 1, 2025. Calvin won 21 games in a row to open the series from Jan. 12, 1966 through Jan. 20, 1979.
More Women's Rivalry Facts | Women's Rivalry Results
National Spotlight
In 2023, The Rivalry was featured in the second season of LG Electronics "The Rivalries" docuseries that offered an exclusive look into college sports' lesser-known but no less intense rivalries. The Rivalries series is available free and exclusively on the NCAA Championships Channel (Channel 100) via LG Channels on LG Smart TVs.
For the third time in four years, ESPN in February 2009, highlighted the rivalry by including it with a photo from DeVos Fieldhouse in the Rivalry Week feature in ESPN The Magazine. It was the only small college rivalry featured in the article.
In July 2007, ESPN.com featured the series as "a great, under-the-radar college sports rivalry." The writer, Lauren Reynolds, noted: "The rivalry is (also) unique in the approach both fans and players take to the game. While everyone is excited for tip-off, the rivalry doesn't carry the animosity that's usually found when two schools compete so closely for so long."
An ESPN crew covered the Calvin at Hope game in February 2005 and later conducted an online "Fan Poll" where the Hope-Calvin rivalry received resounding support as America's best with more than 80% of the voters casting their ballot for the orange and blue/maroon and gold.
ESPN Ranks Hope-Calvin Rivalry the Best
ESPN identified the nation's greatest college basketball rivalries and to no one's surprise, the Hope-Calvin rivalry is tops in NCAA Division III and ranked fourth in all collegiate hoops. The ranking was based on a poll of fans last season and ESPN's "panel of experts".
#1 - Duke vs. North Carolina
#2 - Connecticut vs. Tennessee (women)
#3 - Louisville vs. Kentucky
#4 - HOPE vs. CALVIN
#5 - Xavier vs. Cincinnati
#6 - Indiana vs. Purdue
#7 - Philadelphia's "Big 5"
#8 - Illinois vs. Missouri
#9 - Penn vs. Princeton
#10 - Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State
