Thanks for reading week four of the Rivalry Name Rankings, brought to you this week by…Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Our No. 12 ranking is a Division III game played between the Hamline University Pipers and the Macalester College Scots, both of which are located in the city of Saint Paul. If you want to see just how close they are to one another, use the Google map search and type in “Snelling Ave N, St. Paul MN.”
Personally, I knew very little about these two schools before reading about the rivalry. But the two schools have played against each other since 1887 for a great – albeit strange – trophy. So, before I get to the trophy, let’s learn a little about these two tiny neighbor schools.
Hamline was established in 1854, and today enrolls 1,872 undergraduates. Macalester was established in 1874, and has 1,865 undergraduates. Considering the intensity of this rivalry, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Hamline students said, “Our’s [population] is bigger than yours.” By comparison, Virginia has 13,401 undergrads, which is about three and a half times the amount of the St. Paul duo combined.
Both teams play in the MIAC, or, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. It’s comprised of thirteen schools, According to the conference’s website, “The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) led all NCAA Division III conferences in football attendance for the second straight season in 2006. The conference's nine teams averaged 3,222 fans per game, which was a 204 spectator per contest increase over last season. Over 46 home contests in 2006, the MIAC total attendance was 148,203 fans.” Again, to compare to UVA: 54, 552 fans showed up to watch Virginia beat Miami, 17-7 this past year. That’s nearly 37 percent of the MIAC attendance in one game! But, the stats are only for fun, and not to degrade the MIAC. Plus, one must factor in two things: school size, and, it’s Division III.
Now, for the trophy…it’s the Old Paint Bucket. First question: “WHAT?”
Yes, that’s right. In the “completely random” game/trophy name category, we have the Old Paint Bucket. Second question: “WHY?”
That’s a good question. For the life of me, I couldn’t find any explanation of the history of the rivalry. But trust me, I didn’t make it up. To read a former player’s account of the rivalry, click here.
Lastly, for some rivalry updates: On September 30, 2006, Hamline beat Macalester 35-7 in the 107th meeting between the teams. The game included a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown by Hamline’s Pat Robinson. It was the 19th time in the past 20 matchups that Hamline won the trophy.
That’s it for this week – if you have any comments for me, please post them on the blog website, using the link on the left. Thanks for reading. Go Wahoos.
|
