Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin Badgers

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History of the Heartland Trophy: Wisconsin vs. Iowa

While Wisconsin and Iowa have played football for over a century, with their first meeting coming in 1894, the Heartland Trophy was introduced to the series in 2004. Wisconsin has won it seven times, while Iowa has taken it home five times.

The gold bull on the trophy is meant to represent each team's nominal play style. Aside from that, it's a piece of hardware with no hidden meanings, other than you can find bulls in both states in abundance.

The trophy almost looked VERY different. The original version of the Heartland Trophy actually had miniature football players on top of it, but the Wisconsin athletic department rejected the design, according to Land of 10.

As for who designed the trophy? That would be the late Frank Strub, who passed away in 2016. Strub, an Iowa alum, designed the Heartland Trophy as a way to give back to his college.

The actual trophy is pretty big (30"x36"x18"), but you can order a smaller version for your football-viewing den if you want to fill your home trophy case.

Video: Stadium Sports


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