Bridging the Generations through the Yale Cup

The Yale Cup, an annual business school soccer tournament, is one of Yale SOM’s oldest traditions. First held in 1989, the Cup predates Evans Hall and even the SOM MBA degree. (Prior to 1999, we handed out MPPMs). SOM United, Yale SOM’s soccer team, hosted 14 teams in New Haven for the 30th Yale Cup in 2019. Yet even long-standing traditions buckled under COVID.

The tournament ceased running during lockdowns in 2020. By the time I started at SOM in 2023, it had all but vanished. Institutional memory is always hard to preserve, especially for two-year MBA students living through a global pandemic. But during my first year, SOM United captains began hearing about the Yale Cup from alumni, who wanted to revive the tradition. Perhaps naively, we decided to give it a shot, despite having no guidance except tips from our advisor Rob Bartholomew and some old news articles.

The Yale Cup was no easy feat to pull off. We had to build a budget and project plan from scratch, and we had to remind other business schools what the tournament is. We had teams drop last-minute, and we had some join past our stated deadline. With the support—and patience—of SOM’s Academic Affairs & Student Life department and Business Office, we made it to our November game day with 6 teams. We hosted Columbia, Harvard, Babson, and an SOM alumni team (some who traveled from as far away as California for the event!). SOM also fielded two strong teams of current students.

The tournament day could not have gone any better. Our teams were treated to a crisp but sunny day set amidst peak fall foliage. After three hard-fought games, the Harvard and SOM Alumni teams headed to the finals, where Harvard pulled out the win. While we would have loved to see Yale hoist the trophy, we are beyond elated that the Yale Cup is officially back.

The tournament reinforced my feeling that leading SOM United—and reviving the Yale Cup—is less about me and more about the success and continuity of the SOM soccer community. There is something special about sports that no amount of coffee chats or nights out can quite recreate. I saw this in our alumni team: some of them had not seen each other since the last Yale Cup five years ago, but it felt like old friends reuniting. One alum’s remark in 2011 captures this sentiment: “I’ve been to more [Yale Cups] than alumni functions.” I’m starting to see that a community built around soccer is like a family, something that has the power to bring alumni back to New Haven year after year.

This sense of community convinced me and my wife, Kristen, to serve as two of the co-captains this year. Last year, our team was incredible: we won the annual Harvard/Yale soccer game and the Boston Cup. However, I was particularly impressed with the team’s sense of community off the field. My wife, an SOM partner, was not only allowed but encouraged to play. We can only hope to carry that tradition forward this year. We’ve put together a packed schedule including biweekly practices, weekend intramurals, the Yale Cup, and an internal Cohort Cup. We also plan to attend the UT McComb Texas Winter Classic in February. Despite the time it takes to run the club, it’s rewarding. I love that we have such a large crew of soccer players (a cross-section of all degrees, years, countries, skill-levels, and partners) who come out every week, even as the temperature dips into the 30s.

Both Kristen and I know that we will be forever connected to SOM United, even after I graduate this spring. The soccer team will continue to draw us back to New Haven. We’re already excited for next year’s Yale Cup.