With the competition to get the most visitors to the corn maze nearly over, IC holds a commanding lead over Cortland.
With the competition to get the most visitors to the corn maze nearly over, IC holds a commanding lead over Cortland.
Even though Ithaca and Cortland don’t play each other until November 11, I wanted to jump into the Cortaca Jug rivalry a bit early. So earlier this fall, I went to the Moore Family Tree Farm in Groton, N.Y., to try my hands — and sense of direction — at their five-acre Cortaca Jug-themed corn maze.
While I love corn mazes, I am far from proficient at them. But when a local family business cares so much about one of Ithaca College’s most revered traditions, I knew I had to give this one a shot.
The Moore Family Farm is open through October 29, so you still have time to check out their Cortaca Jug themed corn maze and bring home a victory to IC.
The maze was filled with fun facts about the Cortaca rivalry. (Photo by Elle Schumacher '26)
When I arrived at the entrance to the farm, one of the first things I noticed was the scoreboard next to the ticketing booth. The Moore family — which boasts both Ithaca and Cortland alumni in its ranks — has spent the fall tracking which college had the most guests show up wearing their school’s apparel. I was excited to see that Bomber Nation had shown up in droves, powering up to a massive lead over the Red Dragons — and I was even happier to be able to extend our lead over our Route 13 rivals.
“We’ve been seeing kids come out in red and blue all weekend,” said Carrie Moore, “It’s great to be a part of the competition.”
Now it was time for the biggest task of all — navigating the maze. With a coded map in hand, I marched bravely into the sea of stalks… immediately into a dead end.
The corn maze measured approximately five acres, and it took me approximately 40 minutes to find the center. (Photo by Elle Schumacher '26)
This was an occurrence that would repeat itself more than a few times as I maneuvered my way through the five-acre maze. But the Moore family had ensured that even those who got lost during their journey would have an enjoyable time. Several wrong turns directed me to signposts that included facts about the history of Cortaca, which allowed me to learn more about this fantastic rivalry.
Eventually, after about 40 minutes, I managed to find the center of the maze. It took a bit longer than I’d hoped but I had a great time regardless. It was wonderful seeing the sense of community that the Cortaca Jug inspired, and it was a reminder that it was a great day to be a Bomber.
Finally standing there at the center of the corn maze, I realized that I couldn’t celebrate my victory for too long. Cortaca was just weeks away, and I still had to navigate my way to the exit.