Column: Be there for USU-BYU rivalry
Whether we’re talking about our ice cream or our sports teams, Aggie fans everywhere are always working to find reasons why we are better than BYU.
As our players and fans get ready to head down to Provo tonight, it brings back tons of emotions (be they good or bad) toward BYU. Everything about its campus, athletic department, and the university itself, sparks some sort of interest in everyone.
Where does this rivalry come from? Is it dying or only getting stronger?
With all the conference realignment going on in the NCAA this year, the future of rivalries such as this one and kind of unclear. In football, there are only two more guaranteed times of playing BYU. After 2012, nothing is certain.
One thing adding to the rivalry between in-state schools was the “Old Oquirrh Bucket.” Similar to the old wagon wheel that goes back and forth between BYU and USU for football, the Oquirrh Bucket has been passed around Utah schools for the last 37 years. Every year, it is awarded to the basketball team with the highest winning percentage among in-state schools. The U has won the Bucket the most times, but we are tied with BYU for the next most. USU is currently the holder of the Oquirrh Bucket and it is on display in the Spectrum.
This week, however, the four original schools involved (USU, BYU, Utah, and Weber State) have decided to retire the Oquirrh Bucket because of the conference changes and differing schedules between schools.
“I am a tradition guy, a guy who likes tradition and I get nostalgic and all of that, but going way back when that all started, I understand why it has been retired,” said Aggie head coach Stew Morrill.
When the tradition of the Bucket started, it was just the four main schools. Everybody was playing on an equal basis and playing each other twice. Now with the changing leagues and the Utah Valley and Southern Utah universities moving up to Division I, some schools play and some don’t.
“I understand why it was hard,” Morrill said. “There was some disagreement in the criteria. Some schools had thought they had won it and other schools thought they had won it.”
With or without the Oquirrh Bucket, the rivalries between Utah schools will remain for now. There are some that are stronger than others, (take BYU/Utah for example) but there is something fun about in-state competition.
BYU fans will say that USU fans are the only ones that see them as a rival. They don’t see us as a big threat and don’t understand why the Aggies make such a big deal of it all. However, that was in the era of USU always being killed by the Cougars in football. After we dominated them this year, will their thoughts change?
Last year, BYU came to the Spectrum for the first time since 2005. Head coach Dave Rose didn’t want to stick to the home-and-home pattern. He was willing to play us, but not at the Spectrum.
If there wasn’t a rivalry there, why would he refuse to come to Logan?
If BYU students don’t see us as a rival, that just provides a perfect opportunity for us to change their minds. The team is ready to go. They’re confident and ready to take on the Cougars at their house. We should have the same mentality.
Be there. Be loud. Wear blue. Let’s show them that the Spectrum can be wherever the team is.
-megan.allen@aggiemail.usu.edu