Iowa–Iowa State football rivalry
 | |
| First meeting |
October 1, 1894 Iowa State 16, Iowa 8 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting |
September 10, 2016 Iowa 42 Iowa State 3 |
| Next meeting | September 9, 2017 |
| Trophy | Cy-Hawk Trophy |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 64 |
| All-time series | Iowa leads 42–22 |
| Largest victory | Iowa, 57–3 (1985) |
| Longest win streak | Iowa, 15 (1983–97) |
| Current win streak | Iowa, 2 (2015–present) |
The Iowa–Iowa State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones. It is commonly referred to as ¡El Assico! - a parody of famous La Liga rivalry El Clásico and a tribute to the tendency of the game to be a low-scoring affair.[1] The Cy-Hawk Trophy is awarded to the winner of the game.
Conceived and created as a traveling trophy by the Greater Des Moines Athletic Club in 1976, the trophy was first presented to the winner by Iowa Governor Robert D. Ray in 1977. That game was the first meeting between the two since 1934.
Trophy Design
The trophy design used through the 2010 season featured a football, a running back in the classic stiff-arm pose, and the likenesses of Iowa State's Cy the Cardinal and Iowa's Herky the Hawk. The trophy was replaced after the 2010 game, making Iowa and Iowa State the only schools in the country to sell out a rivalry trophy for corporate sponsorship. Since then the Cy-Hawk trophy makes an annual tour with WHO sportscaster Keith Murphy the week before the game. It remains the recognizable symbol of the contest and, according to Murphy, "people love it."
A new trophy, donated by the Iowa Corn Growers Association, was introduced to the public during the Iowa State Fair on August 19, 2011. A sculpture atop the new trophy depicted a farm family with small children huddled about a bushel basket of corn. Dean Taylor, president of the Association, called it "a work of art that represents Iowans and their hard work."[2] Within hours of its presentation, however, the new trophy was widely ridiculed in newspaper columns and internet postings by the public. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad publicly provided negative feedback, as did retired Iowa football coach Hayden Fry, who said, "The farmer, family and corn is all wonderful, but I don't really get the relationship to a football game."[3]
On August 23, 2011, Iowa Corn Growers Association CEO Craig Floss announced that the new Cy-Hawk Trophy would be changed as a result of the negative public reaction. Selection of the new trophy would involve public input.[4] A temporary trophy was used for 2011.[5]
With fan input, the newly, redesigned trophy was unveiled at the end of the 2012 game won by Iowa State featuring mascots of the two universities, a raised football, and corn making up the background.
Game results
The two schools played each other 24 times between 1894 and 1934, before the Cy-Hawk Trophy was established in 1977. The series halted after 1934 after then University of Iowa Athletic Director and head football coach Ossie Solem would not return calls to reschedule the rivalry. Of the 64 games in the series played through 2016, 38 of them have been played in Iowa City while just 26 games have been contested in Ames.
| Iowa victories | Iowa State victories |
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References
- ↑ "Explaining ¡El Assico!, the greatest Iowa-Iowa State rivalry game of them all". SB Nation. 2015-09-11.
- ↑ "Cy-Hawk Trophy to change". KCCI. 2011-08-19.
- ↑ Associated Press (2011-08-23). "Fans Critical of New Cy-Hawk Trophy". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "Cy-Hawk Trophy to Change". HawkCentral.com. 2011-08-23.
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20140914040015/http://thegazette.com/2011/09/10/heres-you-temporary-trophy/