By Brian Cortes
The thrill of beating your opponent while representing your team is a challenge that excites both players and fans alike. And this is especially true for the biggest rivalry in CUNY Athletics, Lehman vs. Baruch. These two sides are not only constantly battling it out, but they are also consistently at the top of their division. They compete across multiple athletic fields, often competing for equipment, making every game’s result that much more impactful. This rivalry has kept both sides on their toes, as neither side has fallen out of their high level of performance. It seems that they don’t want to miss each other, and if the past is any indication of the present, this rivalry will see both teams become bigger giants in their division.
I was able to speak with Ryan McCarthy, the Director of Athletics and Apex facilities, who oversees various aspects including the facilities, teams, coaches, and everything in between. When asked about his views on the rivalry between Lehman and Baruch, he commented “Three weeks ago today they beat us in the CUNY AC (Athletic Conference) Men’s Basketball Championship by two points, which is especially heartbreaking because it’s the third straight year in which they’ve beaten us.” Despite Baruch having more wins in the rivalry, both schools demand to see each other constantly at the finals. However, there is a more competitive aspect to the bigger picture. As McCarthy later comments, “Two years ago we beat them in the CUNYAC Men's Soccer Championship. Then last year Baruch was the first-place Baseball team in CUNY AC, but we beat them in the Cunyac baseball playoffs to go to the baseball championship.” The competitiveness of both schools spreads across multiple CUNY athletic conference sports, contributing to the growing rivalry between both sides.
Throughout this long competition, both schools will find themselves changing their position in the rankings, exchanging the lead. It is normal for any team to go through. At times, Lehman teams may find themselves experiencing a low point. Ryan explains the difficulty of guiding the team out of that position. He says “That [doing this] could come in a lot of ways you know, I think it’s about showing support. Whether that's at an individual basis to students, on a team basis, whether it’s for coaches, whether it’s from coaches whether it’s from my administrators and I.'' It's clear that all parts of the Apex show up and tend to all aspects of their teams, making sure they can be present and put in all their effort to participate in this rivalry. I later asked Ryan what he thought about the rivalry, and he responded “It’s been a friendly and competitive rivalry at the same time,” and “There's no bad blood, it's more out on the court or out on the field.” Rivalries in sports tend to get nasty and build up real animosity between the participants. Luckily, both schools can focus on the pros of being rivals and get positive things out of it. The last few years have left a clear track record of the effects of this rivalry.
To build a long-standing rivalry like the one that Lehman and Baruch have begun, the results of their games must be more than just for bragging rights. The track record shows that the competitiveness between both schools frequently includes a championship element, which has become a recurring feature of the rivalry. In collegiate sports, it’s a process to establish a system that consistently produces competitive teams. One of the main factors is that after four seasons, athletes graduate and new student-athletes join the team. These newcomers must succeed players and assume the role of trying to emulate the same or higher performance levels. When speaking to Ryan about this, he explained what he thought was a key factor in dealing with this process: “Most teams are only successful as their recruiting is” he later added, “No coach at any time is done recruiting cause the minute you’re done for this year you're already starting for the next year.” The Apex and all its facilities constantly have their foot on the gas to grow and cultivate a winning culture across their various sports teams. The rivalry between Lehman and Baruch looks to deliver showcases of performance and looks to continue the trend this season.
