Heard it from a friend who heard it from friend that Lafayette College and Lehigh University are messing around with the idea of playing the 150th edition of their football rivalry in 2014 at Yankee Stadium.

It's a proposal that would certainly excite players, coaches, students, alumni and other fans of the most-played rivalry in college football.

Playing at the same stadium where Johnny Unitas led the Colts over the Giants in "The Greatest Game Ever Played" and where Y.A. Tittle led the Giants to three straight Eastern Division titles would certainly be memorable for both schools. Technically, it's not the exact same stadium but let's not spoil things.

Where the idea was hatched and how serious the two schools are about making it happen is difficult to tell.

When asked about the idea on Saturday, Lafayette athletic director Bruce McCutcheon admitted that he had spoken with Lehigh athletic director Joe Sterrett about doing "something special" for the 150th meeting. But McCutcheon wouldn't say whether the idea was under serious consideration or had legs at this point.

McCutcheon did say that playing the game at Yankee Stadium would certainly draw national attention and that ESPN would probably get involved if the idea ever got off the ground.

The two coaches who would be involved in the game -- Lafayette's Frank Tavani and Lehigh's Andy Coen -- shared similar sentiments about moving it. Both coaches admitted they knew little about any plans to play in New York.

Coen, meanwhile, seemed to know even less than Tavani about the proposal.

Tavani couldn't resist taking a shot at Lehigh.

Making a major change to the annual game usually requires unofficial approval of alumni.

Tavani said he remembers when ESPN wanted to televise the game but wanted to change the date. He said alumni trashed the idea because they plan on the game being on the third weekend in November. Instead, ESPN chose to televise the Easton-Phillipsburg high school game in 1988. The network also televised the 100th game between Easton and Phillipsburg in 2006.

The first college football game shown on ESPN2 was the 1993 Lafayette at Lehigh game. The network, which debuted on Oct. 1 that year, used WFMZ-69's production but its own announcers to televise the game nationally.

There is no doubt moving the game to Yankee Stadium would offer a ton of positives -- national attention for the schools and probable television coverage certainly wouldn't hurt recruiting efforts. It also would allow students and fans to enjoy a day or weekend in New York City.

Playing in New York would add to the appeal with all the nightlife in the city. In my view, picking another venue, such as Lincoln Financial Field or MetLife Stadium, really wouldn't serve the purpose of making the game special for fans.

The new Yankee Stadium, which opened for the 2009 baseball season, has tried to attract more games once Derek Jeter and company put the bats and balls away each fall.

The Pinstripe Bowl between Iowa and Rutgers drew 38,328 fans last fall and Army played Rutgers in November. Army is scheduled to play at Yankee Stadium vs. Boston College in 2014 and Rutgers in 2015.

College football returned to Yankee Stadium in 2010 with the Notre Dame-Army game and the Syracuse-Kansas State game in the first Pinstripe Bowl.

In their history, the Leopards played five times at Yankees Stadium between 1924 and 1937. Lafayette first defeated Washington & Jefferson, then played four straight contests against New York University, dropping three of the four. Lehigh played once there, falling to NYU in 1937.

The questions are: Could the schools afford the game at Yankee Stadium? Would the game draw?

Tavani said he has no idea what it would cost to play in the Bronx, but it certainly could be prohibitive.

Another Lafayette official, who did not want to be named, said he thinks the game would draw because students, alumni and fans would want to attend at a special venue. He thought other fans, who would want to attend the game out of curiosity, also would help fill seats.

Neither Lafayette nor Lehigh have any trouble selling out the game each year. Lafayette seats a little more than 13,000 and Lehigh about 16,000.

Expect to hear more about the 150th game in the coming weeks and months because moving a game to "That House That Ruth Built" takes time and tons of planning.

Sports Editor Barry Miller can be reached at 800-360-3601 or bmiller@express-times.com.