The Battle of the Bull
November 17, 2004 | Football
Just about anyone who follows the University of Wisconsin football team is aware of how Paul Bunyan's Axe is up for grabs when the Badgers take on Minnesota.
However, the battle for the Heartland Trophy is one that may take a few years before gaining the same notoriety. The trophy will be on the line for the first time this Saturday at UW travels to Iowa City to take on Iowa.
This is the inaugural year that the border rivals will battle for a trophy that goes to the winner of the game. The teams have squared off 79 previous times with Wisconsin holding a slim 39-38-2 series advantage.
The Heartland Trophy is in the shape of a bull and measures 30 inches tall, 36 inches long and 18 inches deep. The bull was designed and produced by artist Frank Strub, a former Iowa football player living in Des Moines.
There are now 16 trophy games involving Big Ten institutions. The most-recent additions prior to the Heartland Trophy were the Governor's Victory Bell (Penn State vs. Minnesota) and the Land Grant Trophy (Penn State vs. Michigan State) in 1993.
The Badgers and Hawkeyes kickoff at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams.
