"Duel in the Desert" Friday, Nov. 25.
arizona vs asu
TUCSON -- This year's Arizona vs. Arizona State football
game will mark the 79th game between the two state rivals
for the original Territorial Championship Cup. The first game
played between the two schools was in 1899. The cup has
been recognized by the NCAA as the oldest traditional rivalry
trophy in college football, according to information provided
by the Arizona Alumni Association.
As UA athletics director Jim Livengood puts it, “Arizona is
fortunate to have one of the greatest in-state football rivalries
in the nation and it’s fitting that the two schools have rediscovered
the early roots of that tradition. The games themselves have
assumed various proportions in the last century depending on
the annual success of both teams, but always they’ve been a
matter of pride more than hardware. Now, it’s the oldest
intercollegiate rivalry trophy game in America with a century-old silver award.