Every college football fan knows about The Iron Bowl, Red River and The Game.
But tucked away in trophy cabinets across the country are some truly bizarre prizes. Not championship cups or shiny silverware. We’re talking pigs, ribs, turtles, water jugs, bells and even a spittoon.
In the spirit of celebrating the sport’s wonderfully strange traditions, here are some of college football’s most gloriously obscure rivalry trophies and when they’ll be up for grabs in 2026.
🐢 Illibuck
Illinois vs Ohio State – 26 September 2026
Most rivalries play for a cup.
Illinois and Ohio State once played for a live turtle.
Thankfully, ‘common sense’!! eventually prevailed, and the live reptile was replaced by a carved wooden version. The trophy remains one of the sport’s strangest traditions and proof that college football was built by people who clearly didn’t overthink things.
🥛 The Little Brown Jug
Michigan vs Minnesota – 3 October 2026
The oldest trophy game in major college football centres around a forgotten water jug.
Back in 1903, Michigan left the jug behind after a game in Minneapolis. Minnesota students found it, painted the score on it and turned a lost item into one of the sport’s most treasured trophies. More than a century later, they’re still playing for it.
British equivalent: Imagine one club accidentally leaving a water bottle behind after an away match, only for both sides to spend the next century treating it like the Crown Jewels.
🍖 Battle for the Bones
Memphis vs UAB – 10 October 2026
This trophy is a 100-pound bronze rack of ribs. That’s the entire explanation.
Memphis and UAB represent two proud barbecue cities, so somebody decided smoked meat should determine regional supremacy. It’s ridiculous, it’s brilliant and it’s impossible not to love.
🔔 Victory Bell
Duke vs North Carolina – 17 October 2026
College football occasionally keeps things simple.
The Victory Bell is an old railway bell that changes colours depending on who won the previous meeting. It’s elegant, historic and refreshingly normal when compared to some of the other items on this list.
🐷 Floyd of Rosedale
Iowa vs Minnesota – 24 October 2026
What began as a real prize hog eventually became perhaps the most famous bronze pig in American sport.
Floyd of Rosedale weighs enough to require a decent strength programme and is treated with a level of reverence normally reserved for conference championship trophies.
🪓 The Axe
California vs Stanford – 21 November 2026
Officially the Stanford Axe, this rivalry prize is exactly what it sounds like.
A giant axe.
The trophy’s history includes theft, covert operations and enough student shenanigans to fill a streaming series. The annual Big Game may not grab national headlines, but few trophies have a better backstory.
🪣 The Old Oaken Bucket
Indiana vs Purdue – 28 November 2026
Representatives from the two universities were reportedly searching for a trophy when they spotted an old bucket hanging from a farm well.
Rather than continue the search, they simply made the bucket the trophy.
Peak college football.
More than a century later, the Old Oaken Bucket remains one of the sport’s most cherished rivalry prizes.
🚬 The Old Brass Spittoon
Indiana vs Michigan State – Next played in 2027
Nothing says “historic rivalry” quite like competing for an antique tobacco spittoon.
The schools take a scheduling break in 2026, but the trophy deserves a mention simply because somebody once looked at a brass spit bucket and decided future generations of student athletes should battle over it.
Why We Love These Trophies
What other sport allows elite athletes to spend months chasing championships, only to celebrate wildly because they’ve won custody of:
- A turtle
- A water jug
- A rack of ribs
- A railway bell
- A pig
- An axe
- A bucket
- A spittoon
These trophies are reminders of what made college football special long before television deals, NIL collectives and playoff rankings dominated the conversation.
As fans, we spend so much time debating who’s overrated and who belongs in the playoff that it’s easy to forget the sport’s greatest strength: tradition.
Sometimes the biggest game isn’t about a national title.
Sometimes it’s about making sure your rival doesn’t spend the next twelve months showing off a giant bronze pig.
And as a Florida State supporter who’s spent the last few years lowering expectations from “national championship” to “complete a routine third-down conversion”, I can assure you that perspective is healthy.
Mark Your Calendars
- 26 Sept – Illibuck (Illinois vs Ohio State)
- 3 Oct – Little Brown Jug (Michigan vs Minnesota)
- 10 Oct – Battle for the Bones (Memphis vs UAB)
- 17 Oct – Victory Bell (Duke vs North Carolina)
- 24 Oct – Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa vs Minnesota)
- 21 Nov – The Axe (California vs Stanford)
- 28 Nov – Old Oaken Bucket (Indiana vs Purdue)
Because somewhere this autumn, thousands of grown adults will passionately argue over ownership of a turtle, a bucket and a pig. And frankly, that’s why college football is the greatest sport on Planet Earth (TM Spencer McLaughlin of the Locked On College Football podcast). 🏈
