This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/AllHawkeyesGoToHell on 2024-05-05 16:34:58.
Continuing this series on non-FBS rivalry trophies, you can see Friday’s post here.
I found the group of trophies I thought fit the bill as among the best, I judged them all in a holistic and subjective manner based on the following criteria:
- Age: both when the trophy was introduced and the age of the artifact
- Cultural or Regional Ties: should evoke a connection to the communities the trophy is for
- Name: Good branding elevates everything
- Quirkiness, the stranger the better
- The rivalry the trophy is for: A trophy is only as good as those who fight for it
- Size: the more linemen who have to carry it, the better
- Uniqueness: enough with the cups and bells. If it’s going to be like another trophy, it needs to do it in an interesting fashion
Additional criteria: non-FBS games, and needed to have a trophy.
Today we have wagons, books, old statues and my favorite, mugs.
| 5) The Goat |
|---|
[D3] Carleton vs St. Olaf A wooden slab made in a dentist’s garage, unlike the live beast that roam’s Navy’s sidelines, St. Olaf and Carleton have played for the Goat Trophy since 1931. This trophy gets points for the bizarre expression depicted on this tortured animal’s face, along with age, and the fact it was made by the same man, Dr. Ranthus Fouch, who made Minnesota and Wisconsin’s “Slab of Bacon” trophy. No one knows why this man was so prominent in creating the junk Minnesotans treasured, but his work spawned trophies across the conference, solidifying this bizarre fall tradition.
| 4) The Great Divide Trophy |
|---|
[FCS] Montana vs Montana State This trophy is a gargantuan 300+ pound monster, carved into the shape of a bobcat and grizzly bear climbing up Trophy Rock, a large landmark at Homestake Pass on the Continental Divide that runs between Missoula and Bozeman. It is an important centerpiece to the postgame celebrations for the victor in the Brawl of the Wild between Montana and Montana State, a rivalry dating back to 1897 between the Treasure State’s largest universities. Introduced in 2001, the story goes that at the end of the 21st century whoever has the best record against the other will get to keep the trophy forever. Montana leads 75-42-5, and the Great Divide series 11-10.
| 3) The Cortaca Jugs |
|---|
[D3] Cortland vs Ithaca While it is typically referred to in the singular, the Cortaca Jugs are three jugs painted with the results of the game between SUNY Cortland Red Dragons and the Ithaca Bombers. “Cortaca” is a portmanteau of the two. The game was fairly competitive by the time the jug was introduced in 1959 by Tom Decker, a Cortland football captain, who bought it at a yard sale and painted it, adding the scores of the game over time. Unlike other such jugs, they added a second jug when the first one filled up in the 80s and a third jug when the second one filled up in 2015. The game was held at MetLife Stadium in 2019 and 2022, the two most attended D3 football games of all time. Ithaca leads the series 43-35-3.
| 2) Dakota Marker |
|---|
[FCS] North Dakota State vs South Dakota State The Dakota Marker, a scale replica of the 7-foot tall quartz obelisks that marked the border between North & South Dakota, is awarded to the winner of the FCS’ premier rivalry between North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The series is much older, having been played 115 times with several years having repeat matchups in the playoffs as these two schools combine for 11 of the last 12 FCS national championships. NDSU leads the all-time series 63-47-5 and the trophy series is tied at 10 wins apiece.
| 1) Brice-Cowell Musket |
|---|
[FCS] Maine vs New Hampshire Maine and New Hampshire battle for this antique fowling musket, named after Fred Brice (Maine) and Butch Cowell (New Hampshire), who coached at the schools during the 1920s and 30s. It is a flintlock with a 43-inch (110 cm) barrel in .65 caliber, made by Ebenezer Nutting of Falmouth, Maine, sometime between 1722–1745. It was first awarded to New Hampshire after the 1948 meeting. New Hampshire leads both the all-time series (59-46-8, since 1903) and the trophy series (43-28-4), but nothing has the series lead over a 300-year-old firearm.
Thanks for reading! I will look through and get some honorable mentions pulled up when I can. This was a lot of fun to read and write about.