An Axe, a Bucket and a Cannon? Meet the Rivalry Trophies of College Football

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The most-played series in major college football history, the bitter border-state rivalry between Minnesota and Wisconsin, is punctuated each year with a postgame ritual by the winning team that could be described as jubilant yardwork.

When time expires on Saturday in the 135th edition of the Gophers-Badgers grudge match, currently even at 63-63 with eight ties, the victors will sprint toward Paul Bunyan's Axe, take turns hoisting the six-foot shaft above their heads as they parade it around the stadium, and aim the head at one of the goal posts in pretending to chop it down like it's a giant tree in the north woods. The axe has been awarded annually since 1948.

There's hardly a richer — or quirkier — tradition in college football than rivalry trophies, one of the few elements of the game that remains the same in the new era of revenue sharing and the transfer portal. From the small schools to the powerhouse programs, nothing captures a sports fan's attention quite like a traveling trophy.

"It’s a way for a community — certainly the students, alumni, fans and faculty, but even more casual fans — to get revved up for a football game," said Christian Anderson, a University of South Carolina professor whose research focus is on the history of higher education. "There are a lot of people who may not pay attention the whole season, and then the rivalry game comes and they’re a passionate fan for one Saturday."

Longtime members of the Big Ten boast perhaps the richest history of these one-of-a-kind prizes. The Little Brown Jug, which is neither little nor brown, dates to the Michigan-Minnesota game in 1903. Wolverines coach Fielding Yost, out of fear the Gophers might tamper with their water, had a student