There are few things in American sports that stir up as much passion among fans as college football rivalries.
In the case of the Ohio State Buckeyes, there are two games on their schedule every year that qualify. Pretty much all of us are familiar with one of them: the hate fest that is their annual clash with that team up north in Michigan. But there’s another rivalry the Scarlet and Gray are a part of that perhaps those not well-versed in the traditions and lore of Big Ten football may be unaware of.
That other rival originates from a rather surprising locale: Champaign, IL.
Yes, Ohio State and Illinois have been facing off on the gridiron since 1902, a game which incidentally ended in a scoreless tie. The first 13 meetings up until 1924 were thoroughly dominated by the Illini who won seven including six by shutout, while losing just four times and tying twice.
A year later, in 1925, the true foundations for a budding rivalry were lain.
It was then that two honor societies, Bucket and Dipper from Ohio State and Atius-Sachem from Illinois, agreed to create a trophy that symbolized longevity and the hope that these two teams would continue their series for years to come. What better way to do that then to go to a local fish market, as a few B&D members did, and purchase a live turtle. After all, turtles are known for living long lives, right?
The turtle was named Illy Illibuck and the winning school would take possession of it until the two teams met the following year. Unfortunately, the living version of this trophy didn’t last long, passing away in 1927. Since then, a wooden replica turtle has been the cornerstone of the rivalry. The tradition has been to write the score of each game on its shell until there’s no room left, in which case a new trophy would be created. In total, ten Illibucks have been crafted.
Saturday afternoon’s game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign will mark the 102nd time these two foes have squared off. In 88 of those games has the Illibuck been on the line. In fact, it is the second-oldest rivalry trophy in the Big Ten. Only the Little Brown Jug, given to the winner of the Michigan-Minnesota series, is older, having originated in 1903.
Ohio State has certainly had the greater of success among the two since they began playing for the Illibuck. They’ve compiled a 62-23-2 record, with the 2010 game, a 24-13 OSU win, having been vacated. The Buckeyes have fallen to defeat at the Illini’s hands just four times since 1993. Paradoxically, all four of those losses occurred in Columbus. The last time Illinois came out victorious at home was in 1991.
These two programs have met every year since that original Illibuck showdown save in 2004 and 2005. However, conference realignment will certainly make it difficult to ensure they will contest this game on a yearly basis in the future. The Big Ten schedule is set for the next four seasons, with Illinois slated to face OSU on just one occasion in that span. That despite the fact the Big Ten is going to a nine-game conference schedule next year, giving teams three crossover games against non-divisional foes.
There’s always that inevitable clash between progress and tradition that permeates many aspects of our lives, not just sports. The growing reduction and downright discontinuation of rivalry games in college football is a perfect example. Historic annual games such as Texas-Texas A&M and Kansas -Missouri are no longer and other ones such as Ohio State-Illinois will be occurring with greater infrequency.
Despite such a reality, it can only be hoped that the spirit of longevity those two aforementioned honor societies had in mind when they decided a turtle should represent the rivalry on the football field between Illini and Buckeye still has some semblance of continuity going forward.
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