The Territorial Cup
The symbol of our (mostly friendly) football rivalry with Arizona State University is the oldest of its kind in college football, dating back to 1899.
A Thanksgiving Tradition
On Thanksgiving Day, 1899, the University of Arizona football team played the Normal School of Arizona, which later became ASU. U of A’s team was, at the time, ten days old. The Normal School won, receiving a silver-plated cup inscribed with “Arizona Football League Championship 1899 Normal” — henceforth, the Territorial Cup.
The Cup Vanishes
The cup — named for the fact that Arizona was still a territory when it was made — went into a long period of hiding, eventually turning up in the vault of a church next to the ASU campus. It has been symbolically passed back and forth to the winner of the game since 2001, when the rivalry was made official.
Duel in the Desert
It goes by many names — the Battle of Arizona, the Grand Canyon Rivalry, the Desert Wars, the Cactus War, the Duel in the Desert — but one thing is certain: Either the U of A or ASU will win.