Nothing in life can match the passion, excitement and unpredictability of college football. While the sport has undergone several changes in recent years with more soon to come, college football in its purest form is truly the greatest sport of all. One of the unique facets that makes the game so great is the rivalries. Some, such as Texas-Oklahoma or Michigan-Ohio State are well known. However, there are also plenty of rivalries that even some of the most diehard college football fans may not be fully aware of. Naturally, many of these rivalries have some sort of trophy involved.
When it comes to college football trophies, one could argue that the College Football Playoff Trophy is one of the most boring in the sport! There are so many different types of college football rivalry game trophies that are contested annually. This list won’t be focusing on your standard Victory Bells or Cups. We’re looking to get weird! Thus, we present the following list of the wackiest and most unique college football rivalry trophies under the sun.
Author’s Note: The trophies are listed in no particular order for the simple reason that I can’t possibly rank by favoritism from this incredible bunch!
Wackiest College Football Rivalry Game Trophies
The Bones — Memphis vs UAB
Every trophy on this list is wacky and unique, but in terms of badassery, The Bones takes the top spot. A bronze rack of ribs is very fitting for a rivalry between the Memphis Tigers and UAB Blazers. In a nod to the south’s top-notch barbecue and cooking, the two teams’ rivalry game is adequately known as The Battle for the Bones. The series began in 1997 and UAB holds a 10-7 all-time edge.
Platypus Trophy — Oregon vs Oregon State
For a rivalry with a name as simple and epic as “The Civil War”, a top-tier trophy is also a must. So, when you have the Ducks of Oregon battling the Beavers of Oregon State, why not go with a platypus? After all, it has features of both mascots, which is exactly why the Platypus Trophy came to be back in 1959. Unfortunately, it was only contested three times beofre the trophy was lost for a whole 40 years from 1962-2006. Oregon leads the all-time series 69-49-10 and has a 15-6 record in years the platypus’ whereabouts has been known.
Jeweled Shillelagh — Notre Dame vs USC
For all of the pomp and circumstance that the annual Notre Dame-USC game attracts, the Jeweled Shillelagh that is awarded to the winning team doesn’t get nearly enough recognition. For each victory the teams earn in the rivalry series, a new jeweled ornament is added to the club. USC victories earn a ruby-adorned Trojan head while Notre Dame wins result in shamrocks with an emerald stud in the center. The Fighting Irish lead the all-time series 51-38-5.
Golden Screwdriver — Fresno State vs Hawaii
As I’m sure you can imagine, there’s an interesting backstory to a trophy that is essentially a golden screwdriver stuck in some fake grass. The concept supposedly harkens back to Hawaii’s first-ever win in Bulldog Stadium in 2002. Then-Rainbow Warriors head coach June Jones allegedly had a screwdriver thrown at him on the sideline from the stands. So, not only is this trophy wacky but so is the meaning behind it! The trophy may have been born in the aftermath of a Hawaii win, but Fresno State leads the all-time series 30-25-1.
Bronze Stalk Trophy — Ball State vs Northern Illinois
Would you go to battle for 3+ hours on the gridiron for the right to host a bronze corn stalk? Yes, even the MAC gets in on the wackiest college football rivalry game trophies fun! The Ball State-Northern Illinois rivalry is actually extremely tight, with the Cardinals’ 2024 victory tying the all-time series at 25-25-2. The Bronze Stalk was first introduced in 2008 and was created as a tribute to the abundance of corn that exists near Muncie, IN and DeKalb, IL. Go figure.
$5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy — Minnesota vs Nebraska
Although the $5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy doesn’t come close to matching the longevity of the Minnesota-Nebraska rivalry (first played in 1900), it is an iconic piece of hardware. The trophy was birthed in 2014 following a spat on X (formerly Twitter…sorry had to do it) between Minnesota mascot Goldy Gopher and a then-Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini parody account known as “Faux Pelini”. The Golden Gophers lead the all-time series 37-25-2 and have hoisted the $5 Bits of Broken Chair seven of a possible ten times.
Okefenokee Oar — Florida vs Georgia
The rivalry known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” did not have a trophy on the line. That changed in 2009 when the Florida and Georgia student governments collaborated to introduce the Okefenokee Oar. Listed at an impressive 10 feet long, the oar was carved from a 1,000-year-old cypress tree that grew in the Okefenokee Swamp which sits on the border of the two states. Personally, the biggest irony here is that the bitter rivals worked together to initiate a trophy for a series that the two schools can’t even agree on the total number of games contested!
Fremont Cannon — Nevada vs UNLV
Created in 1970, the Fremont Cannon is designed to be a replica of the original cannon that accompanied explorer and politician John C. Fremont on his expedition to Nevada in the mid-1800s. Not only is this a sick trophy, but it was also at one point operable. The Fremont Cannon was originally fired after each touchdown scored in the annual “Battle for Nevada” by the occupying school but has not been fired since 1999. It is the heaviest and most expensive among all college football rivalry game trophies.
Depending on which team wins, the cannon will either be painted in Nevada navy blue or UNLV scarlet red on a given year. The Wolf Pack lead the all-time series 29-20, but the Rebels have kept the cannon scarlet as of late.
The Keg of Nails — Cincinnati vs Louisville
Few college football rivalry trophies can claim to have been contested in four different conferences. The Keg of Nails is one of, if not the only one to accomplish such a feat. Cincinnati and Louisville have done battle as members of the Missouri Valley, Conference USA, Big East and most recently the American Athletic Conference. Regular meetings have become a thing of the past with the two schools now in separate leagues. However, the rivalry was renewed for the first time since 2013 at the 2022 Fenway Bowl. The Cardinals won that game, but the Bearcats hold a 30-23-1 series edge.
Floyd of Rosedale — Iowa vs Minnesota
The Floyd of Rosedale is certainly one of the more well-known college football rivalry trophies. That said, the fact that Iowa and Minnesota do battle for a bronze pig also allows it to fit comfortably among our list of wacky trophies. This is also one of the oldest rivalries on our list, with the first meeting taking place back in 1891. The trophy came to be in 1935 when the governors of the two states bet a “prize hog” on the game. to try and soothe tensions between the fanbases. It gets its name after then-Minnesota governor Floyd Olsen, whose team won the game, and Rosedale Farms in Fort Dodge, Iowa, where the living prize pig came from.
Saddle Trophy — TCU vs Texas Tech
The TCU-Texas Tech rivalry first played out on the field in 1926. In 1961, what is officially known as the “West Texas Championship Saddle Trophy” came to be. The trophy is adorned with plaques depicting the final scores of each meeting between the two schools. We have another case of a trophy being lost here too, as the Saddle vanished after its tenth contest in 1970 before being reintroduced in 2017. The Red Raiders lead a nip-and-tuck all-time series 33-31-3 over their counterparts from Fort Worth.
Paniolo Trophy — Hawaii vs Wyoming
While we’re diving into wacky college football rivalry trophies, why not learn some Hawaiian while we’re at it? You see, Paniolo is the Hawaiian word for “cowboy”. Thus, the Paniolo Trophy perfectly suits the Hawaii-Wyoming series. Conference realignment temporarily paused this rivalry from 1997-2012, at which point a new trophy had to be created based on photos of the original as neither school could locate it. What is with these amazing rivalry trophies getting lost anyway?! The Pokes lead the all-time series 17-11.
Honorable Mentions – College Football Rivalry Trophies
As you might have guessed, narrowing the list of the wackiest college football rivalry game trophies down for this column was not easy. There are many other wildly unique trophies out there that, for varying reasons, didn’t quite make the cut above. However, the five below are still well worth recognizing as honorable mentions!
- Milk Can — Boise State vs Fresno State
- The Old Wagon Wheel — BYU vs Utah State
- Bayou Bucket — Houston vs Rice
- Old Brass Spittoon — Indiana vs Michigan State
- Telephone Trophy — Iowa State vs Missouri
