Little Brown Jug (American Football)

Little Brown Jug (American Football)

The Michigan–Minnesota football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team of the University of Minnesota and Michigan Wolverines football team of the University of Michigan. The Little Brown Jug is an earthenware jug that serves as a trophy awarded to the winner of the game. It is not the oldest rivalry trophy (Officially 1901), but one of the oldest rivalries, in American college football; The oldest rivalry trophy is "The Territorial Trophy" between Arizona and Arizona State (1899) Canada's Yates Cup is the oldest trophy in North America. While some historians and the NCAA state that the oldest rivalry with a trophy is between what is now Arizona and Arizona State, the Territorial Cup did not start changing hands until 2001, as it was a one-time award after their first series in 1899.

Both universities are members of the Big Ten Conference. As a result of the Big Ten not playing a complete round-robin schedule, Michigan and Minnesota occasionally did not play. In 2011, however, with the University of Nebraska joining the Big Ten as its twelfth member and the conference's initiation of divisional play, Michigan and Minnesota were both placed in the Big Ten's Legends division under the new two-division alignment. As everyone in the division plays each other on a yearly basis, this series is scheduled not to have any interruption going forward. Michigan is the current holder of the jug with a 35-13 victory on November 3, 2012.